RealPlayer

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RealPlayer is a media player, created by RealNetworks, that plays a number of multimedia formats including MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, as well as multiple versions of proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo codecs. In 2006, PCWorld named it the second worst tech product of all time [link].

The first version of RealPlayer was introduced in April 1995 as RealAudio Player, one of the first media players capable of streaming media over the Internet. Version 6 of RealPlayer was called RealPlayer G2; version 9 was called RealOne Player. Free "Basic" versions have been provided as well as paid "Plus" versions with additional features. On Windows, version 9 subsumed the features of the separate program RealJukebox.

The current version for Windows is RealPlayer 10.5 and other versions, but with far fewer features, are available for Mac OS X, Linux, Unix, Palm OS, Windows Mobile and Symbian OS. The program has an underlying open source media engine called Helix.

RealPlayer 10.5 for Windows also contains audio CD burning capabilities, PVR-style playback buffering, multimedia search, Internet radio, a jukebox-style file library, an integrated web browser (based on Microsoft Internet Explorer) and the ability to transfer media to a number of portable devices, including Apple's iPod, MP3 players and Windows Media devices.

RealPlayer 10.1.0 (412) for Mac OS X supports web browsing via WebCore. Since WebCore handles cookies, RealPlayer and Safari automatically use the same cookies (along with Shiira or any other WebCore application).

Contents

1 Version history, criticisms, and response

1.1 Annoying alerts
1.2 Privacy violation
1.3 Other information
1.4 Slowing down the processor

2 Trivia
3 See also
4 External links

Version history, criticisms, and response

The previous logo

All of these complaints generally apply to only the Microsoft Windows version of the player. OS X and Linux versions seem unaffected by these issues.

Annoying alerts

RealOne Player G2 contained an alert that would alert users inside its interface, whether or not an upgrade was available. This upgrade might require money, but Real did not make this clear enough for some users' taste. It also included AIM, and RealJukebox depending on various factors such as whether users opted out of the recommended download and chose a more basic package on the download page.
RealPlayer 10 on Windows modifies the Windows Registry to run its message center (realonemessagecenter.exe) automatically at system startup. It will do so again every time RealPlayer shuts down.
* The message center launches "messages" which are advertisements for bands etc. Some have said this could qualify as adware. There is an option to turn the messages off. However, RealPlayer 10 will automatically turn some message options back on, namely: New Music Alerts, Movies, and Best Clip of the Month. The effect is that the Message Center will almost always popup with new advertising.
There have also been complaints that after signing with RealPlayer, one is bombarded with endless emails, although unsubscribing is possible.

Privacy violation

A security researcher, Richard M. Smith, dissected some of RealJukebox's network traffic and discovered that it was sending a unique identifier with information about the music titles its users were listening to. RealNetworks acknowledged this, and after an outcry, they released a patched version which upped the version number to 1.02. Their download page said that RealJukebox had "privacy enhancements" and gave a link to the privacy policy.

Wikipedia Main Page loaded in Real Player

Other information

10.5 included Harmony technology, making the Music Store compatible with iPod and Windows Media DRM compatible players. (Previously, it had only been compatible with one music player and Palm PDAs).
RealPlayer Enterprise Edition does not contain significant adverts, popups or otherwise unneeded components and is still free - but it is not promoted and advertised as much.

Slowing down the processor

Many users report that RealPlayer's background process, realsched.exe, eats processor time [link].

Trivia

When playing some RealMedia files, RealPlayer can pop up annoying ad windows. This can be disabled by dynamically evaluating and modifying some Registry entries.[link]

External links

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