Tech: Free RealPlayer?

Subject: Free Real Player?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 11:18 PM

Maybe I'm bieng stupid here but I don't seem to be able to find a free Real Player any more and I could use one. Have they stopped the free one or does it still exist?

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Pene Azul
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 11:24 PM

They still have it, Jon. This or this might take you to the page. If not, click on the Real One Player link near the top of the front page, then look for the small "Our Free Player" link.

Jeff

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: NicoleC
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 11:26 PM

i just did that the other day. It's still there, they just keep making it harder and harder to find. do all the way down to the bottom of the page and look for very tiny type that says "Download Free Player"

Or go to (do we use HTML for the web links?) Real Player and pick the "Download Player Only" option

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Mark Clark
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 11:31 PM

Jon, I think you can get it at c|net's download.com site.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 06 Feb 02 - 11:32 PM

Wow, what service!

Jeffs link got me there and download is in progress (about 30 mins to go on my connection).

Thanks all,

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Barbara Shaw
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 11:43 AM

Real Player does some Real Sneaky things once you use it. It starts up automatically from then on, unless you go into your system config utility and turn it off, and the Start Center installs itself on my desktop. What's going on with these things? Anyone know?

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 11:48 AM

I think I'm going to uninstall it, and reinstall the older version, which does the things I want to do just as well, and doesn't keep on trying to take over the computer.

Very often it seems that useful programs get too big for their boots. It would be handy to have a checklist of which are the best versions of various programs, before the upgrades started going downhill.

Basically RealAudio is a brilliant program though. Just needs keeping in its place.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 12:49 PM

I have damm all but trouble from I downloaded the free Real Player, it came up each time I am on the the Net, so I said stuff you. Anymore con artists on the Net?.Ard Mhacha.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 01:18 PM

But it's very handy to be able to play RealAudio files, and to be able to put them up on the net using RealProducer - of which a free version is still available it seems from http://proforma.real.com/mario/tools/rpproducer.html

The earlier versions of RealPlayer or Real Audio don't have these problems (which aren't that enormous, but...), and I should think it'd be easy enough to run one down. I've got one on a CDROM - but if anyone can find a site with a download, please post it here, because I use a lot of RealAudio files on a site with various songs, and I'd like to be able to include a link to a less intrusive version of the program needed to play them.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 01:21 PM

Real audio sucks... The concept that anybody would ever PAY for that junk blows me away...

Especially when there are so many cracks and hacks so easily available on line, and there are so many other programs that will play RA files...

I find they are inherently crappy, RA files... I guess they work o.k. for 'streaming' but other than that, why anyone would use sound and video THAT bad for anything...

Come to think of it... they aren't even really all that good at 'streaming' either...

Try Jet Audio... it's a great multi media program...

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 01:44 PM

Very helpful Clinton But you could maybe be a little more helpful?

Video, I'm not the least interested in; streaming for music I find very useful, and RA files work fine for my limited purposes. If there's a better way to deal with them, sharte your expertise, stick in a useful link.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 01:47 PM

Ya want free stuff McGrath? PM me, and I'll put you on to some good hack, crack, and warez sites...

But I'm not posting it here eh!

LOL!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 01:52 PM

Free stuff like the earlier RealAudio is fine by me. Not interested in anything that isn't out in the open, and there is lots of that.

Subject: RE: BS: Free Real Player?
From: Mark Clark
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 01:57 PM

Yeah, the Real stuff is more and more just spyware. If somone doesn't beat me to it—please beat me to it—I try to put together some tips on using it without sumitting to their digital brutality. I often pay money for software (I bought MusicMatch) but the Real folks aren't going to get any money from me.

      - Mark

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: GUEST,McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 02:18 PM

Just uninstalled the new RealOne Player, and put back the RealPlayer 8 Basic free one, from a magazine disc, and it seems to know its place and works fine.

"Striving to better oft we mar what's well."

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 02:38 PM

Real Player, in various versions, is known to cause some difficulties with some machine configurations. It is especially unfriendly if you're working through a network connection.

The Micro$oft Knowledge Base does have several articles about specific problems you may encounter, but a number of articles about earlier versions have apparently been taken offline - I'm not able to find specific ones that I looked at recently.

I've been unable to get any of the free versions to work on my machine, but my S.O. had no problems on her (nominally identical) old machine or on her new and vastly superior one.

IF you have WinXP, and the corresponding IE version, Micro$oft includes a link via the Micro$oft download site to download RealPlayer - so apparently they've made some kind of peace pact.

John

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: Bill D
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 06:49 PM

ummm...if anyone has a need to convert RealAudio files to MP3 and/or .wav files....*smile*...(like in order to easily set up a 'playlist' on your computer or to rip to make CDs...I have some interesting information. I also know a NEAT aduio file player that will make a playlist of any combination of audio files...INCLUDING RealAudio, though Real blocks it from knowing the total length of the file and requires a default setting or manual click.

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 07:16 PM

I take it that RealOne, the current free version of RealPlayer, isn't acceptable to many of us. I have a download link on the FAQ, and I guess it's the best I can come up with. If you read the fine print, you'll see a link to "previous versions," and you can select to download RealPlayer 8 Basic. I can't make guarantees and I'm not going to download to test it, but I THINK this is the same RealPlayer 8 Basic that has served us well, without prodding us overly hard to buy tings we don't want.
-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 08:06 PM

I think this site http://www.real.com/player/8/index.html still gets the free RealPlayer 8 Basic - which is the less intrusive version.

I've installed Jet Audio, as recommended by Clinton - looks flashy enough, with bells and whistles, but it doesn't seem as easy to work with for streaming files than Real Audio. I suspect it can do everything, but it nees a bit of study, and that's not too good if you're trying to get someone to download a program in order to hear a sound file.

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 08:12 PM

Question to Joe, Jeff or clones: I notice this thread has been "re-prefixed". Certainly no objection on my part - it makes sense... but the question is: Is "TECH:" now a preffered prefix for threads of this type?

Jon

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: GUEST
Date: 07 Feb 02 - 08:35 PM

Who knows Jon?

To my mind TECH is a useful prefix, far more so than OBIT which managed to very quickly find itself in the drop down list, and has since been used about 3 times...

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: mack/misophist
Date: 08 Feb 02 - 01:20 AM

Everything mentioned above sounds good to me. Real Player isn't always the best thing to use, however. Sometimes Windows Media is faster. I use both. Just keep the file associations native and go into msconfig to force them to behave.

Subject: RE: TECH: Free Real Player?
From: Steve in Idaho
Date: 08 Feb 02 - 02:57 PM

Here's a link to an earlier thread on this subject - Sounds like we've evolved from this?

Steve