RealPlayer: Master Music Manager
Version 10.5 takes the initiative -- organizing digital media files, answering trivia questions, and, in general, operating like a charm
The Bad It's hard to complain about something that works this well and is available for free
The Bottom Line A good all-around choice, tightly integrated into the Rhapsody music service
The latest version of the venerable RealPlayer started scoring points with me as soon as I installed it. It immediately made itself at home on my computer and started cleaning up, much like that beloved relative who drops by for a visit and begins washing the dishes and putting them away without so much as asking where they belong.
RealPlayer 10.5 searched through hundreds of files on my hard drive, pulling aside all my music and media files and organizing them nicely in my new RealPlayer library. And it was smart enough to ignore many of my shorter sound clips, to avoid cluttering the library with too many ring tones and other musical detritus.
HARMONY WITH MP3s. The media player from RealNetworks (RNWK
) shows how the company has kept up with the times. The player has become more robust, yet cleaner and simpler. And the self-described universal player handles any kind of music or media, including files downloaded with software from such rivals as Microsoft (MSFT
) and Apple (AAPL
). It claims, credibly, to be the only media player you will ever need.
The RealPlayer is well thought-out. All the basic buttons and menus for playing, copying, and transferring music are well within sight as soon as you boot up the player. You don't need to go hunting for any of them. The uncluttered environment has broad appeal. You can imagine it at home on a teenager's desktop or integrated into a corporate network.
The system makes it easy to transfer songs to handheld devices. It's compatible with more than 100 MP3 players, including the iPod. I used the mobile version of RealPlayer to listen to songs on a palmOne (PLMO
) device loaded with a memory card, and it worked just fine.
FORMAT-FRIENDLY. RealPlayer adds several worthwhile features of its own. The music guide provides background on thousands of bands and artists. Can't remember whether And Your Bird Can Sing was on the Beatles' Revolver or Rubber Soul? The music guide will tell you and list all the tracks on just about any CD you can think of. (By the way, the song was on Revolver.)
And RealPlayer is also tightly linked to its sister online music store, Rhapsody. Real doesn't link to as many partners as Windows Media does, but the Rhapsody service has more than 1 million songs on file and stands up well on its own. It prominently features a link to Rolling Stone magazine, which will please at least some users. And the site has links to Real's network of Internet radio stations, too.
RealPlayer records high-quality digital files. Users can encode music in MP3 format, Windows Media, or the AAC format favored by Apple. And they can adjust the quality of the recording from 32 kilobits per second to 320 kilobits per second. The higher-quality recordings take up more space, so users will have to figure out what works best for them.
As a general rule, most people consider 192 kilobits per second good enough. That's the standard setting for music streamed over Real's music store, and it suited me fine.
WORKS JUST FINE. The RealPlayer isn't likely to inspire a cult-following of avid users. People probably won't spend lots of time customizing it or raving about its special features. It hasn't associated itself with cutting-edge musical genres, so it won't piggyback on their underground popularity.
But everything about RealPlayer works just fine, meeting or exceeding expectations across the board. If you're looking for a digital music player, this is about as good a choice as you can make.
Reader Reviews
Rosenbush is a senior writer for BusinessWeek Online
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