What is "pixlet"

Pixlet is a video codec created by Apple and based on wavelets, designed to enable viewing of full resolution, HD movies in real time at low DV data rates. According to Apple's claims, it allows for a 20-25:1 compression ratio. Similar to DV, it does not use interframe compression, making it suitable for previewing in production and special effects studios. It is designed to be an editing codec. However, this makes it poorly suited for broadcast use, due to low bitrates.

When it was introduced by Steve Jobs at Worldwide Developers Conference 2003, it was said that the codec was developed at the request of animation company Pixar.

A Power Macintosh with at least a 1 GHz PowerPC G4 processor is required for real time playback of half resolution High-Definition Video (960x540).

Pixlet, while part of the cross-platform QuickTime, is only available on Macs running Mac OS X v10.3 or later.