I was attempting to export a video from quicktime into another format and
I WAS SENT TO:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201175
THROUGH A "BUY NOW" BUTTON on the QT 7 PLAYER... (MacOS High Sierra 10.13.2)
I see no place to buy the "upgrade"
SO WHERE DO WE BUY IT???
This page has information that does NOT help me understand what my options are.
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201288 < SO does this mean we CAN'T BUY IT? or we CAN?
IS there another link we need?
If you are saying you don't have QT7 "Pro" registration key and want to buy one, then you are too late. Apple is no longer selling such keys likely do to the imminent demise of the QT7 along with all other 32-bit apps in future macOS releases. If you are saying you have a "Pro" key and want to convert media content to a compression format that is still included in the current macOS but was turned off with the release of Lion, then use Terminal to turn it back on for QT7 "Pro" use but be advised the material will not be playback compatible with QTX apps or iOS/tvOS devices. If you are saying you have a QT7 "Pro" key and want to convert media to/from third-party or proprietary compression formats, then you must install such codecs yourself if available.
Why is this NOT supported?? this is very disappointing if this is the case.
A decade ago, Apple announced its intention to modernize QuickTime. As a result, active support for QT7 was more or less terminated about five years ago in favor of more highly scalable/higher resolution PS/TS compression/file formats supported by QTX. Those who chose not to upgrade to more modern compression formats are finding it harder and harder to employ Apple apps to support legacy formats abandoned by Apple since the advent of Mavericks. Latest rumors indicate High Sierra may be the last macOS to support 32-bit apps. If true, it is unlikely that QT7 will be supported by the next major macOS release.
Most importantly... WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE IF I WANT TO CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE VIDEO FORMAT/CODEC?
What Apple tool can do this?
It is impossible to answer your question without knowing what codecs, file types and/or workflows you have as a goal. If you are currently using legacy compression formats and have no intention of converting the source files to QTX compatible formats, then your best bet is to forget using Apple media apps for playback and switch to some third-party media player supported by its own internal codec package like VLC. If you have media files created using legacy or proprietary compression formats for which codecs are or can be installed on your system, want to convert them QTX compatible formats, and the these compression formats are supported by AVFoundation "Convert" structure, then they can be converted using either the QTX Player app or the Finder "Encode Selected Video Files" Context menu option. Otherwise, you will need to install and use a third-party transcoder utility. If your are only targeting H.264 and/or HEVC video for macOS, iOS, and/or tvOS playback, then I would normally recommend HandBrake (free) for this purpose but almost any FFmpeg based transcoder can handle most common third-party legacy and open source proprietary conversions.
