Real Player is a computer media player created by the corporation RealNetworks. RealNetworks also created the audio formats RealAudio and RealVideo, used for audio and video encoding. RealNetworks also offers other digital entertainment services such as cloud media services and audio library tools. Originally called Progressive Networks, RealNetworks’ creation in 1995 was as a distributer of progressive media on the internet. Since then, RealNetworks has become one of the internet’s leading media companies. With the acquisition of other media services, RealNetworks has continued to expand in the online media and digital entertainment market.

Real Player is a multimedia player used to view audio and video files on multiple computer platforms. Real is designed to play proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo files as well as other common media formats. Audio formats supported include MP3, WAV, Apple, and CD audio. For video, Real supports MPEG, AVI, Windows Media, Apple Quicktime, and DVD formats. Originally titled RealAudio Player, Real was one of the original programs designed to stream content over the internet. For many years, Real was the most popular media-streaming platform for use on the internet. Before the development of Adobe Flash, many websites, such as the British Broadcasting Corporation, used Real to stream audio and video files. The most current version, Real Player14, saw its release in November 2010.

Since its creation, Real has been designed to be an all-in-one media platform for users. The current version of Real incorporates many design features not included in the original program. Real allows users to easily download videos from popular websites such as YouTube and save them on their computers. Real also includes a conversion program to convert files from one video or audio format to another or even burn digital entertainment content to a DVD to watch on TV. With the popularity of mobile phone technology, Real allows users to easily transfer digital media between their computer and smart phone. Originally designed for Microsoft Windows, Real Player is compatible with Windows 7 with versions also released for Mac OS X and Linux. A version of Real has also been developed and released for the Android mobile phone platform.

Rhapsody is a digital music service that, until recently, was a part of the RealNetworks Corporation. Called RealRhapsody shortly after its acquisition, it is a provider of online subscriptions for digital media. As a subscription service, Rhapsody’s extensive music library is offered to subscribers who pay a monthly service fee. In exchange, the company allows subscribers to listen to whatever music is available in the library as many times as they want. An account comes with a free media player through which the customer listens to their music. A customer downloads the music to their player, which is then playable on one device – either a personal computer or smart phone. The company encodes music files downloaded by the customer with its own DRM (digital rights management) to protect them from illegal copying by users. The music library currently has over 11,000,000 songs available and more than 750,000 current monthly subscribers.

The company announced a restructuring in February of 2010 with the forming of their own corporation separate from RealNetworks in April. Rhapsody’s music program currently costs ten dollars per month for a subscription, which allows the subscriber to download music to one device. The company also offers a premier plus service available for fifteen dollars per month that allows the user to download music on up to three devices. There is currently an online promotion available for a fourteen-day free trial, during which time the user can cancel their service with no charge of the ten-dollar monthly fee.

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Category: Internet
Keywords: digital entertainment, rhapsody, real player