Reprinted from a RealNetworks press release:
SEATTLE, August 20, 2002 RealNetworks, Inc., the global leader in Internet media delivery, today released the world’s first universal media player. The new RealOne Player revolutionizes the way consumers can view and listen to the best in news, sports, radio and entertainment on the Internet by offering playback of every major digital media format, including RealAudio, RealVideo, MP3, Windows Media and QuickTime MPEG-4, and over 50 other formats. In addition, the new RealOne Player includes fast and easy CD burning, DVD playback support, and substantially enhanced radio services. With today’s release, consumers now only need one media player to play and experience digital media on their PCs.
Today’s announcement truly changes the rules of digital media for both consumers and the industry. With only one player, consumers can now get all the media they want just click and it plays, said Rob Glaser, founder and CEO, RealNetworks, Inc.
Since the earliest days of online video and audio, consumers have longed for a universal media player. Offering a compelling environment for multi-format media playback, RealOne has significantly advanced Web media functionality, paving the road for next generation streaming media services, Ben Reneker, Kagan World.
Leading-edge CD Burning, DVD Playback, Best Radio Experience Are Among More Than 100 Enhancements
The new version of RealOne Player delivers new features in both the premium RealOne Player Plus as well as the free RealOne Player to offer consumers the most compelling media experience. With new burning technology and a redesigned interface, creating CDs in RealOne Player is as easy as 1-2-3-Burn choose the songs, put in the CD and burn-at speeds up to 52x real-time. Additionally, consumers can burn CDs in MP3 format with automatically-generated playlists; normalize audio between tracks; create CD mixes with cross-fade effects and print jewel case covers.
Offering DVD playback support for the first time, RealOne Player gives consumers a full-screen theater mode for viewing and new contextual DVD controls for the ultimate in easy navigation. Options include the ability to mouse through the traditional DVD controls such as menu, chapter, title and language options, and an on-screen digital DVD remote.
TurboPlay, RealNetworks’ breakthrough technology introduced earlier this year to enable near-instant playback of digital media, is now included in the free RealOne Player and supports playback of live content.
Enhanced Radio Experience and RealOne RadioPass
Substantial innovations in radio services offer consumers the best radio experience online. Available later this week, RealOne RadioPass is a new subscription offering that elevates Internet radio to a whole new level. The ‘Now Playing’ feature shows what songs are playing on 50 ad-free pre-programmed radio stations accessible by genre, enabling consumers to find their favorite song without changing the station. Additionally, RealOne RadioPass offers subscribers instant access to talk radio schedules with easy links allowing consumers to catch their favorite syndicated talk show when it is convenient for them, not simply when it is on in their local market. And, with the new universal access to stations formatted in Windows Media and QuickTime MPEG-4, consumers are now able to search among more than 3,200 Internet radio stations for their favorite music or genre using a single player. RealOne RadioPass also offers higher fidelity, near CD-quality 64 kbps radio feeds as well as additional premium radio stations- like KPIG which has now returned to the Internet airwaves, having gone silent due to CARP issues.
Pricing and Availability
RealOne Player v. 2.0, which now includes TurboPlay, Theater Mode, DVD playback, and full-speed CD-burning, is available today for free download at www.real.com.