Is there any multimedia software that Linux users love to hate more than RealPlayer? RealPlayer’s bad interface, proprietary and poor-sounding codecs, and overall poor support for Linux have irked many a Penguinista.
Is there any multimedia software that Linux users love to hate more than RealPlayer? RealPlayer’s bad interface, proprietary and poor-sounding codecs, and overall poor support for Linux have irked many a Penguinista.
But in an effort to appease and appeal to the growing horde of Linux users, Real open sourced its server software in 2002, followed by its client software, RealPlayer. Today, after several years of work by developers, Real’s open source code — provided under the umbrella of Real’s Helix DNA platform — has actually turned into a nice piece of software, and is now available for adventuresome users to play with. Be aware, though, that the software is still in beta. The code isn’t supposed to “go gold” until later this summer, so you may experience problems. You know the drill: download early and often, and file bugs to help make it better.
Figure One: Godzilla? Mozilla? No, just RealVideo
To download the software, go to https://player.helixcommunity.org/2004/unix. Confusingly, once you get there, you’ll find you can download either Helix Player or RealPlayer. What’s the difference? Helix Player is all open source: its license is open source and it plays open source formats, such as OGG. RealPlayer, on the other hand, adds non-open source components to Helix Player, such as RealAudio, RealVideo, and…
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