RealPlayer 15.0.0.198

Getting closer to two decades on the market, it seems that RealPlayer is here to stay. In fact I thought of a clever comparison to prove to you for how long the RealNetworks developed media player has been around. Compare it to the animal world, and RealPlayer is a crocodile. The crocodile is basically a living fossil, reminding us of what it must have been like when dinosaurs roamed the earth. But unlike the dinosaurs which got big and fat and eventually died off, the crocodile is still around. RealPlayer is like that – it was first launched back in 1996 and it continues to be a properly good media player to this day.

To sum up the functionality that makes RealPlayer a success in the media player world, we would like to go for something like this: it is a standalone software application that can be used to play a large selection of audio and video files( things like MP3, MPEG-4, QuickTime, Windows Media, RealAudio and RealVideo) as well as seamlessly download media from numerous webpages. Find a video that you like, and with just one click you can download it onto your computer; then you can use RealPlayer to view it whenever it is convenient for you.

There are two versions of RealPlayer that you can download. Fist there’s the free version that comes with the option to play media files, download videos from the YouTube and numerous other sites, surround sound, RealAudio lossless format, visualizations, and iTunes support. Then there’s RealPlayer Plus, the paid version of the RealNetworks developed media player. As you would expect, by shelling out a few dollars you get a functionality boost – and by that I mean features that the free version does not have.

On top of the features provided by the free RealPlayer version, RealPlayer plus comes with a 10-band graphic equalizer that will help you fine tune the way audio tracks sound. For the nostalgic user out there that has a large collection of vinyl and tape recordings, RealPlayer plus comes with a feature that converts them to digital files. And in keeping with this audio theme we’ve got going on here, RealPlayer plus also comes with a crossfade feature.

I’ve saved this one for last as it is my favorite RealPlayer Plus feature: burn and rip CDs and DVDs. The burning part means that you can use the media player to burn data onto a physical disk. The ripping part means that you can use it to pull tracks off physical media (as in rip your favorite tune from a CD).

There is one annoyance: you download the software (the free version), proceed to installing it, and when everything’s done you notice that you have Google Chrome installed on your machine. This is because you clicked Next”, without bothering to look at the information displayed on the monitor and you did not notice that RealPlayer offers to install Google’s Chrome web browser for you. I will admit that Chrome is one of the fastest browsers out there, but it is annoying that RealPlayer comes bundled with it. If you do not want Chrome to be installed on your machine, make sure to opt out.

Pros
Plays a wide variety of media formats
Plenty of useful features
Easy to use
It can burn data
Download videos from YouTube and other sites
Runs smoother than in the past

Cons
Comes bundled with Google Chrome
Some functionality is reserved for the paid version

RealPlayer has been reviewed by George Norman on 21 Sep 2009. Based on the user interface, features and complexity, Findmysoft has rated RealPlayer 5 out of 5 stars, naming it Essential