Windows computer playing Qucktime h.264 video....
Can a windows computer play a video encoded with Apples QuickTime h.264 without QuickTime being installed?
... it depends on what we mean by "QuickTime being installed", David. There are some third-party "Codec packs" and other players or utilities that can be used to display QuickTime content without having the QuickTime Player installed on the PC. But what they tend to do is stash QuickTime componentry on the PC (quite often in exotic places on the PC), which allows the content to be displayed.
Troubles relating to having QuickTime componentry stashed in peculiar places on the PC forms the basis of an iTunes/QuickTime for Windows troubleshooting-advice-provision industry I've been involved with for ... nigh on six years now? I keep track of that endeavour using the following search:
QuickTimeVR.qtx ("Codec pack" troubleshooting ... fixing iTunes and QuickTime Player launch failures by removing old QuickTime componentry from the system files.)
... so if you want to go down that route, it's usually best not to have the standard versions of iTunes and/or the QuickTime Player installed on the PC in question. Otherwise, you run the risk of iTunes launch trouble every time you update your iTunes or QuickTime Player. (If there's a version mismatch between "QuickTime proper" and the other QuickTime componentry in the other locations, everything turns to custard.)
