RealPlayer 10 Beta Debuts with Music Store
RealNetworks has let loose what it considers to be "the best media player ever." A beta version of RealPlayer 10 sits front and center at Real.com, despite the fact that the software remains incomplete.
The beta player previews a new content guide, enables support for over 50 portable music devices, performance tweaks, an overhauled installation process, and an integrated music store. RealPlayer 10 stands to be the first major revision to RealNetwork's flagship software in nearly two years.
Visitors to the Real.com Web site who intend to download RealPlayer will be whisked along to a beta version of the software. A small warning located near the bottom of the download page informs customers that they are downloading an unfinished product.
Real says it will notify beta testers when updates are available, and provides a reference link to previous stable builds of its software.
Despite its nearly autonomic push for customers to immediately upgrade to RealPlayer 10, Real has changed its practice of hawking add-ons that critics equated to spyware. Now, the modified installer's "quick install" option will not contain any software extras or marketing links without first receiving permission from the user.
Additional program settings are said to be easier to turn off and on, but Real's Message Center still cannot be switched off by default.
Users will encounter the integrated Real Guide content pane, intended to enable users to discover audio and video clips strewn throughout news, sports, music and entertainment categories. While many clips are free, premium content can only be played within a window of 30 seconds without purchase. Real Guide can be personalized with "Quicklinks" to a user's favorite content, and searched both within the guide itself and on the Web.
All of the RealOne SuperPass premium services will also be available in RealPlayer 10.
Other services include the player's integrated music store powered by the Rhapsody digital music service. Songs are priced at $0.99 USD per track with most albums available for $9.99, and encoded at 192 Kbps via RealAudio 10 with AAC. Real has included playback for audio formats found in other major online music stores as well.
RealPlayer 10 notably includes native support for music purchased through the iTunes Music Store, a move that has drawn the ire of Apple executives. This interoperability is coupled with the software's ability to manage over 50 portable music players, including Apple's iPod.
Users have reported that iTunes meta data does not display correctly in this beta build of RealPlayer 10, but the company has said that it will resolve the issue in a future release.
Songs downloaded from outside sources will be sorted through a re-designed music jukebox in RealPlayer 10 that organizes, plays and transfers music to CDs and compatible portable devices. Other core features include: drag and drop functionality; the ability to export to devices; 30 percent faster CD burning in comparison to its RealOne predecessor; and the ability to burn Redbook Audio, MP3, or mixed-mode content to CDs.
The 30 percent increase in efficiency also extends to the RealVideo 10 codec versus 9.0. Real claims 1 Megabit per second "DVD quality video" and 5 Mb per second in high definition. RealAudio 10 utilizes the AAC codec, with enhancements for home theater and audiophiles alike.
In addition, two technologies dubbed LivePause and PerfectPlay allow live and on-demand streaming video that can be paused or fast forwarded.
Hyping the new milestone, Rob Glaser, Chairman and CEO of RealNetworks said, "RealPlayer 10 is the first product ever to directly integrate finding, organizing, buying, playing, and managing digital audio and video in a single fun, easy to use product. You gotta check it out."
Unlike many rival vendors, including Microsoft, Real remains virtually platform agnostic and develops its wares across the IT spectrum.
RealPlayer 10 will be compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux/GNU, and some UNIX distributions upon its completion. While the software is developed in-house by RealNetworks, a company spokesperson told BetaNews that the Linux based player is, "being compiled nightly with RealAudio 10 and RealVideo 10 in the Helix Community.
In September, 2003, Microsoft took a cue from RealNetworks and opened up Windows Media 9 video compression technology to the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) for review.