Real Launches New Player, Music Store 632
kforeman writes "You may have heard Real's
many announcements today, including the release of RealPlayer 10
with vastly improved codecs, as well as our new Music Store. As a
result of the player engine being developed in the Helix
community, we're able to offer the benefits of the new RealAudio
and RealVideo in
in the Helix Player for Linux. We read Slashdot here at Real, especially when the
subject of our company or technology comes up, so we know some of you
may not have liked recent versions of our player. This release
represents a much friendlier direction for us; more options that were
'opt-out' are now 'opt-in'. In developing RealVideo 10,
our codec team has been working closely with the Doom9 community, and
has been posting
updates to that forum (look for references to RV9-EHQ). The tests
that have been performed by that community show RealVideo doing
quite well against the competition." There's a CNET News article discussing the announcements, including the jukebox's ability to play "secure downloads from the iTunes store", for those looking for another point of view.
Tried to download their player (Score:5, Funny)
about realplayer... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:5, Informative)
Regarding the opt-out issues, Real's biggest problem was not so much that most of the items were opt-out, but that they hid the real opt-out items in a scrollable form where the visible options on the top were already unchecked. Unless you paid attention and made sure you scrolled through all the options, you may think you were opting out because everything you could see was unchecked, but there were 9 or 10 more nasty items checked below that.
The takeover issue is another big problem, which neither WMP nor Winamp have. Overall, Real has honestly earned their terrible reputation, and I for one will never trust them. Goodbye, Real.
Re:about realplayer... (Score:5, Interesting)
This endless delivery could only mean they were tapping into our systems, and selling everything in sight to anyone in sight.
Now we're supposed to open the door again? Friendly faces and promises to behave? Either they've run out of things to steal and sell, or they're no better now than they were then.
Real...listen up. This time it is our turn to ignore you. Go away.
Re:about realplayer... (Score:2, Informative)
That is really lame. All this hassle for wh
Re:about realplayer... (Score:5, Interesting)
That said, I'm willing to give them another chance.... in about 5 years when they have earned it by going legit and start donating to charity, and maybe even donating some to open source.
I'll believe it I see it.
Re:about realplayer... (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:2, Informative)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:5, Informative)
-Doubleclick the
-Set connection speed - Fair Enough
-5 clicks under "desktop settings" to deselect every additional option for more icons, extra search features, and including a nice "OPT-OUT" with free offers from Real.com. I just want the player and the codec, nothing else.
-Had to close webbrowser windows to continue.
-Install takes about a minute on a fast PC.
-Deselect every filetype that it wants to steal to play. I want it to play realmedia files, nothing else!
-Click "finish".
-Player connects to internet connection to "continue setup"
-Disable addon "Real Internet Toolbar" for IE.
-Asks to create an account with username and password to continue the install.
-Hit cancel to finish install without creating an account/signing in - sets player for "basic" version.
-Finished (when player starts)
So, the install is IDENTICAL to previous versions, so far as I can tell, and that's what turns most people off.
Just install the damn thing without ANY additional options or ANY additional media type playback selected. I do not WANT any "free media toolbars for IE installed". Do NOT prompt me to connect and create an account for a full version - if I had wanted the "pay" version, THAT's what I would've downloaded!
Besides the installer itself (Score:5, Insightful)
Really, this is the part that made me get to the point that now, if someone gives me a media url, if it can't be played in Quicktime or VLC I just don't bother.
Re:Besides the installer itself (Score:5, Informative)
It's easier to find than it used to be.
It's kind of stupid really, because the player itself includes BOTH versions and you can activate the "pay" features by using the player software itself to register an account and upgrade.
The only difference is that the website leads you through creating an account and paying for the player to get a registration before downloading the same
Alternative RealPlayer (Score:5, Informative)
From the installer notes:
---
More information and updates can be found on the following websites:
http://www.freecodecs.com
Now a "Coming Soon. But domains from us" page
http://mirror.edskes.com [edskes.com]
Redirects to http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/mirror.htm [hccnet.nl] that has downloads available
Real Alternative will allow you to play RealMedia files. This way you can play RealMedia files without having to install RealPlayer/RealOne Player. You do need a player that is capable of playing RealMedia. The included Media Player Classic supports it and works very well.
Supported:
- RealAudio (.ra
- RealMedia (.rm
- RealText (.rt)
- ReadPix (.rp)
- RealMedia embedded in webpages
---
The player says it is GPL by "Gabest". He has programs at http://sourceforge.net/projects/guliverkli/ [sourceforge.net]. He wrote the "Media Player Classic" that RealAlt extends.
You forgot the first 20 steps (Score:5, Insightful)
View page about the non-free player.
Find hidden link for Free Player.
View another page advertising the non-free player.
Find hidden link for Free Player...
Re:You forgot the first 20 steps (Score:3, Informative)
Re:You forgot the first 20 steps (Score:3, Funny)
Ah. My own preferred account details are kissmy@ass.com. I'm always astonished that I can still register using this address.
My install was different... (Score:5, Informative)
Clicked the button in my freedesktop.org KDE/Gnome menu and it worked.
No spam, popups, system tray crap, or anything else in the Linux version. Though they should
Here's the package [cyber.com.au], by the way, for Fedora Core 1.
Here's the source package [cyber.com.au]
If the files aren't there right now, they will be soon.
Re:My install was different... (Score:5, Informative)
Eh? Why did you have to agree to the GPL?
I really do not understand why so much free software uses the GPL as a click-through license. It specifically states, in the GPL text, that "You are not required to accept this License, since you have not signed it", and that the GPL only applies to the act of distribution - it has nothing to do with your use of the software!
But a few are... (Score:5, Informative)
Media Player Classic [sourceforge.net] (MPC) is a shining example of a solid, simple player with a good feature set.
Since you're probably interested in being able to play most video formats, you'll want to download Real Alternative and Quicktime Alternative [hccnet.nl] to save you the hassle of installing the invasive Quicktime and Real players. Both QT and Real alternative are codecs rather than full blown players, and allow you to view their respective video formats in MPC.
Top it off with the DivX [divx.com] and XviD [hopto.org] codecs, and you should be able to play pretty much anything under the sun with the exception of DVDs.
Unfortunatly I don't know of a free codec that can play DVDs, thanks to the RIAA's work on DeCSS. If you have a registered DVD decoder package, you'll probably be able to use MPC with it's supplied codec.
You can now play all your videos in a single place without sacraficing your privacy.
I hope that helps.
Re:But a few are... (Score:5, Informative)
Amazing feature set, every conceivable option for handling all media types, and totally free (unless you want the DVD-capable version).
Great stuff!
Re:But a few are... (Score:4, Informative)
I know these days you need a scorecard to keep the villainous industry groups straight, but for DeCSS I think you want to direct your ire towards the MPAA, not the RIAA..
Its not even free (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:about realplayer... (Score:5, Insightful)
> But what do you suggest Real do?
1. No spyware, adware, scumware, malware. Ads are acceptable, although I don't get ads with other players.
2. Don't take over any formats except RealMedia files (since I can watch other media just fine without ads in Media Player).
3. NO TRAY ICONS, and don't bury the location for disabling in a different spot it with every new release.
4. No bloatware.
If you don't meet ALL of the above, I'll use a player that does. Sell services and and streaming products, not ads! I don't mind the occasional non-annoying commercial in your Internet Radio or Internet TV stations (like many Shoutcast stations do now). If the commercial is annoying, I change the channel.
Any spyware? (Score:5, Insightful)
Put any software that can be labelled as spyware in your product, become an instant pariah. I'm already VERY wary of any Real-player-related product.
Ryan Fenton
Re:Any spyware? (Score:4, Interesting)
hey, I hate spyware as much as the next guy, and actually, because I don't run windows, I don't see it...but these guys that give away software need to fund development some how (yes, I know free software blah blah...but a guy hacking code at night for the love of it is a world away from a corporation that answers to a board and shareholders).
Re:Any spyware? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Any spyware? (Score:5, Informative)
Simple enough -- make a free version that lacks nifty but not critical features of the pay version.
However, Real does it the other way around -- they add the loathed features even to the pay version. I complained and finally received a refund(!) because there was no way to turn off the bugging in the pay version, asking me to update. I didn't want to update -- I wanted to continue to run the version I had, which I had already paid for.
Real is, if you'll excuse the American, the worst piece of proprietary shit I've ever encountered, bar none. It's intrusive, bloated, buggy, and highly incompatible even with itself (try mixing versions). It makes Microsoft Windows Mediaplayer look good!
Remember Xing? Already 8 years ago or so, they made a streaming mpeg server (for multiple platforms), which actually worked quite well. So well that Real bought it. They took the free player, added their intrusive "features", made it Windows only, and now charge $30 for it. The encoder, they split into two, and charge $250 for each part. The StreamWorks server probably competed too much with their own software, cause it's nowhere to be found.
So much for open standards.
Regards,
--
*Art
Re:Any spyware? (Score:3, Insightful)
To be brutally honest, my answer is: That's not my problem.
The question here OUGHT to be, why on earth should I, the customer, be expected to go to the bother of downloading and installing their product (which, historically, has been an ordeal, and always ends with me worrying their installer covertly snuck in something nasty) when QuickTime is already on my computer and serves all of R
Re:Don't forget. (Score:3, Interesting)
"Hey you downloaded the free version of our software. But you really want to pay version, right?"
not in the playback window, but still, an ad pitch.
Real (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Real (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Real (Score:5, Funny)
Seriously, how many people downloaded their first media program to view porn?? Hands up.
Step 1) Hop on fast track and download loads of pr0n.
Step 2) Re-encode into realmedia format.
Step 3) Upload on a big fat pipe.
Step 4) $$$ Profit $$$
Re:Real (Score:5, Funny)
Third Party Support (Score:2)
Question to Poster: Has it really changed? (Score:5, Interesting)
I do *NOT* like this situation. Real has caused us more headaches than any other app we use.
What, besides the "options" being opt-in, would make me *want* to install RealPlayer for our users?
Re:Question to Poster: Has it really changed? (Score:5, Informative)
But I shouldn't assume too much. What problems are you having?
If you find that RealPlayer 10 still isn't solving your problems, you've got two options for a fully legal way of giving your end users what they need beside using our consumer edition of RealPlayer:
- RealPlayer Enterprise [realnetworks.com] - This is a paid product which lets you control what features you deploy to your end users. It's not a free product, but you can download a free trial
- Work with us on developing a Win32 version of the Helix Player (currently only for Linux, soon for Solaris) [helixcommunity.org]. Given that the Helix Player uses Gtk, and there's a Gtk for Win32, it may not be that tough to port. Not an instant gratification solution, but one which gives you maximum control.
It sounds like you're using a free consumer product in an enterprise setting. It should work (which is why I want to know what problems you're having), but it may be that mismatch is where your problems lie.Rob Lanphier
Helix Community Coordinator
RealNetworks
Re:Question to Poster: Has it really changed? (Score:4, Interesting)
On the RealNetworks website, I see no indication that your RealPlayer 10 is available for Linux. All I see is that the "community supported 7/8" player is available. Please correct me if I am wrong. It's always so difficult to navagate the mess of links on the Real.com page to find information.
I've considered the Helix player, but what will it do on Linux for me that MPlayer doesn't already do? If it merely plays Realmedia files, then do I really have a use for it? I'd almost rather download media in WMV format instead. There is very little RealMedia content on the web anymore. What of other codecs on Linux? Sure, Windows users have the capability to play any format with your player. Linux users must resort to using Windows DLLs with MPlayer and XINE (and derivatives), and some people even question the legality of redistributing such codecs alone, on platforms other than Windows. There is so much WMV content on the web, as well as MOV, and DiVX AVIs, that any player that cannot play these is essentially useless.
In addition, I *really* want a player that allows me to access your new song library. I would love to be able to buy songs online, and play them with a stable and feature-rich player on Linux. Even if they are in an AAC format with Real's DRM, it doesn't matter. I want to be able to buy songs without having to resort to getting WMAs from Walmart.com, only to have to play them with MPlaer and a hacked WMV codec, or convert them to raw WAV-->MP3 and suffer a substantial quality loss. Can your Linux player do this for me? Can I buy songs online and play them through your player with efficient playback and high quality sound?
Frankly, until someone writes a player that can do all of these things, only the current top-tier opensource players will suffice. MPlayer and XINE are the way to go, in my opinion. I can play all sorts of content, including RealMedia. The only thing that is lacking for us is an easy and effective method of buying songs online. Can the "new" RealNetworks be up to these tasks with the new player and Helix technology? Please let us know, because I can't find substantial information anywhere.
Re:Question to Poster: Has it really changed? (Score:5, Informative)
1) System tray icons
2) Popup windows bugging you to go to Real's site
3) Steals associations with every friggin file type
4) Sucks up tons of CPU when not even open
5) Loads crap on bootup
6) Tries to force IE bars, etc.
7) Installs spyware
I've given Real plenty of chances. It's sure not going on any of my machines anymore, no matter how much they claim to have reformed. I just don't trust them anymore. And there are far too many alternatives out there now.
Haven't we seen this before (Score:5, Insightful)
Does anyone know if they updated the Mac version, and if so, does it play iTunes Store files there?
Re:Haven't we seen this before (Score:3, Interesting)
We read Slashdot here at Real (Score:5, Insightful)
Then I hope you read this. RealOne was one of the most offensive pieces of software I've ever installed on my system. I eventually managed to get rid of it and put on an older player, but some Real content just doesn't play without the new player. As a result, I simply avoid content for Real Player. Haven't really missed it. I rather expect that many Slashdot readers feel as I do.
Re:We read Slashdot here at Real (Score:2)
See, the standard browser where I work (a community college) is Netscape 4.72 (I know there is a newer 4.7x but for some reason 4.72 is still our standard - Never mind the existence of Mozilla) and it comes with RealPlayer G2. We use RealVide
Re:We read Slashdot here at Real (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:We read Slashdot here at Real (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:We read Slashdot here at Real (Score:5, Informative)
enough already. I went to real.com and I couldn't find a download link that didn't require an account (creditcard info - cancel within 14 days OR ELSE).
On a hunch I clicked on service (it's your core business, not some cuddly extra!) and there I could download realplayer 10. Of course, a crappy installer which first decompresses files ("preparing to install") which later need to be decompressed, but that's about standard on windows. So the installer finally pops up with a license agreement. Pretty preposterous terms, including "delete this in 120 days" and "we can revoke your license with 14 days notice" bullshit, and that's even disregarding whole sections on DRM and autoupdates. Not very open-sourcy!
Then I have to remove checks from checkboxes because you want to give me a zillion shortcuts (including Free Offers? v.iagra?)..
Then it won't let me unselect all filetypes except real, unless I click advanced.. Sure, that's not pushy AT ALL..
Then a fucking toolbar.. Then I have to creat an account?? WTF?? fake@example.com is already registered, damn it.. Then another ad.
Only NOW do I get the UI of real player itself. And another ad! Close it down, start it again. Another ad (realguide)!
I notice MessageCenter (SPAM) is still there, and enabled by default. Fucking spamware.
MediaPlayerClassic install: download. Run. If I like it, register the filetypes in the options menu (perhaps a bit leet for newbies, but doable).
No bloat. No ads. No built-in spammy shortcuts. No stealthily installed and enabled popup ads. No non-standard confusing and icky looking non-themed widgets. A tenth the size. Just add codecs. Give Mplayerc.exe and a decent codec pack and three lines of instructions to my mom, et voila, even she can install it.
MediaPlayerClassic is GNU GPL. How about real patch it up with some real streaming, release some codec, and ok, make an installer for it (a NON-hijacking one).
The ONLY thing I like about this realplayer is the page with a lot of radio stations (kind of like shoutcast, AHEM).. The thing I don't like is it loading some stupid webpage when I click on a live365 feed (with NO warning).
Even windows media player and iTunes are better behaved than Real, and the open source players beat it hands down for being polite and respectful.
And you sir, lured me into downloading a spammy ad-laden piece of hijacking crap under the pretense that it was finally cleaned up. I'm not calling you a liar, but I was mislead by statements you represented as factual truths, which are not.
That's me (and anyone who listens to me) done installing anything from Real.com for the next five years, unless I hear from 3 independent parties that it doesn't suck anymore.
ditto - you bastards at Real (Score:2)
Re:Another "me too" post (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:We read Slashdot here at Real (Score:3, Insightful)
I actually find that very hard to believe, seeing that they're still releasing that complete garbage that they dare to call software
I've got a better idea (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I've got a better idea (Score:5, Informative)
http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/finalbuilds.htm [hccnet.nl]
Re:I've got a better idea (Score:5, Informative)
Recent versions of MPlayer [mplayerhq.hu] can play realaudio streams if you compile with Live library support [live.com]. MPlayer will even let you save a stream to disk with the -dumpstream flag, which is nice if you want to do timeshifting.
RealPlayer 10 Beta? (Score:2)
What kind of support for Treo 600? (Score:5, Interesting)
Anyone know if this will be the case, or will it just support playback on the Treo after you buy them on your PC?
Beware Realplayer... (Score:5, Interesting)
We, we, we? Who are you? Who compromises the "we"??
BTW, I was unable to see the helix website because my browser said the security certificate did not match the name of who it was granted to.
So how many more hidden things are "opt-in". If you hear us, then why hide spyware?
Re:Eh, don't worry about it. . (Score:3, Interesting)
(Call me paranoid, but I'm just not sure I trust a project which claims to be OSS and then wants me to tell them who I am before I d/l their software)
Re:Beware Realplayer... (Score:3, Informative)
Sorry about the browser cert thing...it's a little weird right now due to some funky wildcard cert stuff (for *.helixcommunity.org). Some browsers are just fine with it (my Mozilla on Linux never prompts me...YM
HOLD THE PHONE (Score:5, Interesting)
Will it do my laundry as well?
Only one question (Score:2)
Re:Only one question (Score:2)
Also, they really try hard to "hide" the link to their "free" player on their site to try and get you to buy it.
The fact is, if nobody upgrades, their revenue stream withers
Saturated market (Score:3, Insightful)
Suggestion to Real (Score:5, Insightful)
Alternate point of view (Score:5, Insightful)
As far as I'm concerned, it's your actions now and the trust you can give me for your future actions that affect my opinion of you. If Real is really changing their ways, going for faster and more open codecs, and moving away from forcing me to sign my life away to install a media player, is that something we want to discourage?
The jury is still out on what the new player and registration scheme is like. But as far as I'm concerned, if Real can learn from their mistakes and bad PR to turn around and do the right thing, they should be proud of what they're doing, the editors of Slashdot should be proud of having made a positive difference, and we should be applauding them, not denigrating them.
So let's wait to see their new stripes before we go hunting them.
Re:Alternate point of view (Score:5, Informative)
Real Player went as far to collect your name/dob from web fields.
R. Player gave full stats about your sustem to real.com websites.
Real Downloader gave full download stats to real.com (including filename , size, MD5, time).
And those are just a few I can think of.
Point is a company can be ethical and make money. They CHOSE NOT to be ethical. So I CHOOSE NOT to utilise anything that relates to their service... Player, OR codec.
Re:Alternate point of view (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Alternate point of view (Score:5, Interesting)
what does a software company who has lost your trust in the past have to do to regain it?
for example, i am curious to see how well the intuit tax software does this season due to last year's debacle [slashdot.org]. what would they have to do [slashdot.org] to get you to switch back?
in this case, how far would real have to go to make people interested again?
Re:Alternate point of view (Score:5, Interesting)
Secondly they need to start distributing either a codec-only version of their software or include something entirely benign (like Media Player Classic) if they must include a player. This needs to be their PRIMARY distribution -- not something buried deep in the bowels of their site.
Third, their software needs to:
1. Assume that users ONLY want to play Real files with the included benign player and associate ONLY those extensions with said player.
2. Have no "registration" features what-so-fucking-ever.
3. Never, ever phone home.
4. Never, ever ask users if they want to upgrade or buy anything. This wouldn't be a problem with most software, but Real Networks has shown that they can't behave responsibly so I have zero tolerance for them now.
5. Always assume that the user does NOT want ANY part of it in memory unless they have manually started the program.
6. Always unload all components from memory when the user closes it. Yes, this means staying the hell out of the system tray.
7. Not include anything that could even remotely be considered advertising. For Real Networks, AOL or anything else. Again, not something that would be a big deal with most software but most software doesn't behave like RealPlayer has in the past.
All I'm asking for is a little respect -- something that MOST software gives me. Real needs to remember that their software is a guest on my hardware. They need to start ensuring that it behaves like a guest and not a fucking home invader.
are these guys from the same planet we are? (Score:2, Funny)
"We think the legal online distribution of movies is going to be a big business sooner than a lot of people think," said Real's senior vice president of marketing Dan Sheehan. "With today's bandwidth via broadband, that can be a reality."
Other things Real's senior vice president of marketing Dan Sheehan thinks are going to be HUGE in the coming years:
fresh drinking water in every home - "With today's underground pipe system, that can be a reality."
horseless carriage or "automobile" - "With today's i
OSX player still version 9 beta (Score:3, Informative)
You should put the license agreement somewhere obvious on the site so people can inspect it before downloading. And maybe don't have links to version 10 until version 10 is really there?
Glad you're reading slashdot. I'd take careful notes on the comments in here to learn why most slashdotters can't abide Real, and make whatever changes you can make.
whining (Score:4, Insightful)
The most annoying thing is that it requires you to sign up for an account on real.com with an e-mail address and password. What's the point of this? It's a hassle, the first time you set it up.
Another minor annoyance is that the application quits when you close the window, and you can't have more than one window open simultaneously, but that's forgivable.
Speaking of Helix - server log parsing (Score:2)
Yeah I could write my own but it'll take me a thousand years with the size of my to-do list ATM so looking for an easy way out.
Can It Save Streams? (Score:2)
If it can't save the streams, it's basically worthless...
Hope Real reads this... (Score:2)
Most people have given up on Real and won't be going back. And with good reason. Real not only got passed in the streaming media format wars, they got lapped like four times.
I gave up on Real years and years ago. Nowadays, if a site requires me to have Real-anything to view their content, I go to another site instead. RealOne was the last straw. Hell, Real 7 was bad enough not to use it, Real 8 made it worse, and RealOne clenched it.
You
hazah for real! (Score:5, Interesting)
so hazah to the guys at real networks...well done you, I hope you get to read this post
Re:hazah for real! (Score:5, Funny)
Geez, Stop holding grudges (Score:2, Insightful)
RM9 was actually a pretty damn decent codec and was pretty good at doing video at reasonably small file sizes. Quicktime is really bad at resizing its size (try downloading a trailer from Apple's website on "large" and then cli
Realplayer on Linux . . . (Score:5, Insightful)
Anyway, it doesn't seem to make sense ranting and bashing Realplayer when you have partially already decided to be treated like a mindless consumer by your choice in operating systems.
Before you flame me, tell me that all adware or nasty take-control-ware would disappear from Windows if Realplayer were to suddenly disappear.
Face it, it is like spam. For every one of you who got sick of it and just figured a way to uninstall it, 10 other windows users just gave up and decided to live with it.
Maybe if you want software companies to behave differently, you should come to terms with what REALLY is most important about the software you use.
'cause it seems more and more that Microsoft is the only company these days that can make money off of software the good ol' fasion way.
My story I am sure is hardly unique. (Score:5, Interesting)
I used RealPlayer when I first got my PC WAAAAY back in the day. I was unimpressed with the average video quality, and I was unimpressed with the clunky interface in the player. As a result, it didn't last out the week on my PC. I never reinstalled it for years afterward, as I never saw a need to.
Last year, someone gave me a CD with a bunch of movies in .RM format on it, and me and my roommate at the time watched them together. I was forced to watch them with RealOne, as I didn't know about RealAlternative at the time. The movies would freeze at times, the player was a miserable experience. I would be doing whatever on my PC, and an ad would pop up advertising something I didn't want (at least you had the balls to admit that it was RealOne displaying the ad. Kudos for that.) The player was clunky, and although better than previous versions, my roommate was well used to me swearing at RealOne every time it froze, crashed, or even just hit the end of the current movie.
The point I am trying to make here is that I have had nothing but bad experiences with RealPlayer. With RealAlternative, I can watch .RM files in Windows Media player without issue, and WMP is one of the few Microsoft products that I have to give kudos to. There just aren't many out there that are any better.
The sad fact of the matter is that I do not feel like I SHOULD give RealPlayer 10 a chance. I don't like the .RM format, and I dislike the player. All the previous versions were horrible, and WMP does the job fine for me.
WOW, not the news, the reactions. (Score:5, Interesting)
Now I have a dislike for apps like RealOne as much as the next person BUT all the media players do the same thing. WMP and Quicktime all make programs that don't follow interface standards try to make it so that for viewing movies you need different players. (imagine needing different browsers for different sites or different image viewers for different codecs)
Real is accused of phoning home but so did WMP when you played DVD's. WMP has the same bloat.
So considering they are all equally bad why is real getting all the flak? I think that MS does have the winning strategie. People put up with bloat just as long as it comes pre-installed. Quicktime and Real you have to jump through hoops to add to a windows machine (linux to for that matter) and this puts people in a bad mood even before the program is launched. If then even the tiniest mistake like taking over existing extensions is made people will be pissed off wich is reinforced everytime they are forced to launch your program.
Moral, perhaps release a codec only install that simply allows every player to play your movies. Make your money on the creator side and let the player be as unobstrusive as possible. Of course this carries the risk that your name will disappear. Then decision makers will simply presume that MS is the only codec maker and that everyone runs windows, oh wait. They already do that.
Never mind.
Wow... (Score:5, Funny)
That's the euphemism of the decade.
HelixPlayer (Score:3, Informative)
It's FREE!
If you don't want to run RealPlayer run HELIXPLAYER.
It's Open Source and runs on Linux!
Please read the EULA (Score:5, Informative)
(you can't install it on more than 2 machines?)
(you can't call the plugins via, say, mplayer?)
(DRM, yummy!)
WTF?
Note: you can't disable it: only change the frequency
No thank you.. I'll pass!
Review of Helix (Score:3, Informative)
I downloaded and installed the rpm with no problem.
Clicking Applications->Sound and Video shows an icon in the expected place (a lot of programs dont bother to put icons in the gnome/kde menu).
Clicking the icon brings up the Helix Player almost instantly. I must admit, it doesnt *look* like Real Player, which is definitely a Good Thing(tm).
The interface is clean.
Help->Contents doesnt work, neither does Help->Search or Help->Accelerators. (But who actually asks for help in linux eh?
Im kinda doubting that there is any spyware in the program, since the source code is available. But if someone else could shed some light on this, it'd of course be helpful.
So, jokes aside Helix Player works and works as i'd expect a music player to work. A *HUGE* improvement from the old Real bloatplayer.
past sins (Score:3, Informative)
I work for RealNetworks, and I am the first to admit RealPlayer is not my favorite media player. For video, Media Player Classic (MPC) is, and yes, I use MPC to play my RV9-EHQ aka RV10 content.
Previous RealPlayers have been pretty impolite to put it mildly, and along with so many other computer users, I have been ticked off by its behaviour in many ways. It has been possible to make it well mannered, but it has included being forced to delete certain files to prevent that annoying Message Center. However, it has not been spyware in a long time, even though one old player did send back some usage information. That's long gone, but it's hard to be forgiven for that mistake.
Considering how past players have created such a bad reputation, this post is probably futile, but anyway... Thanks to those few positive posts though, especially for the Linux and OS X players. It is nice to see someone taking the time to give it a another chance.
This RealPlayer 10 is better than before, it is fast, small, and does not run +10MB services in the background, like one well known example, name withheld. However, this post is not really about performance, even though a lot could be said about improvements in this area. More importantly in this discussion, it is also better in terms of its behaviour, albeit less better than me, many of my co-workers, and all of you, had hoped for.
Here's what you need to do when installing:
So to summarize, a few clicks are needed to opt-out, you have to "sign in" the first time. Yes, somewhat annoying, but that's about it. It could have been better, but compared to many other examples, it's not that terrible. Since it has been so very bad in the past though, it clearly should have changed more to make a shining example, but since it is RealNetworks' main vehicle for generating revenue, there is a lot of nervousness about changing things too quickly.
Download the free RealPlayer 10 Beta here, with no re-direction or sales tricks:
http://www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=slashdot [real.com]
And you can find me the forum below with more information about all the gory technical details about what's new with the Real 10 Platform, including RV 10, and RA 10 (AAC!):
http://forum.doom9.org/showthread.php?s=&threadid= 68245 [doom9.org]
Re:So when... (Score:2, Interesting)
Try this [realdoll.com] instead?
Re:I don't care (Score:5, Insightful)
Thanks but no thanks. I'll stick to iTunes. You say you guys at Real read Slashdot? Put your money where your mouth is.
Re:I don't care (Score:2, Informative)
Um, have you looked at all the crap iTunes puts to load at startup?
Re:I don't care (Score:2)
Like what?
Re:I don't care (Score:5, Informative)
Re:I don't care (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:I don't care (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:I don't care (Score:2, Insightful)
On the other hand, they said they're reading Slashdot. If comments like the parent are what they've been seeing, maybe they just decided to ignore public opinion, since so much of it seems to be pointless criticism.
Streaming? (Score:2, Insightful)
When it comes to their player...I'll have to agree with you. RealOne has been a major disappointment. I hope they can raise th
Re:Real lame (Score:3, Insightful)
Mod Parent "Informative" (Score:2, Flamebait)
The Real company is the most vile company around, bar none.
Re:Uses iTunes/Quicktime (Score:2)
Re:New codecs (Score:2, Informative)
Re:RealPlayer is terrible (Score:2, Informative)
Re:FREE DOWNLOAD? NOT LIKELY!!!! (Score:3, Funny)
Well shit, you missed out on the best part. On the next page it asks for your social security number, ATM PIN, and mothers maiden name.