Talk:RealPlayer/Archive 1

Neutrality Of Article
I think that the article now seems to be more neutral than before. Still, anybody who may have an idea on making the article completely neutral is welcome to step forward and help.

-Peace Out!- Tool-apc (talk) 00:24, 28 June 2008 (UTC)

Spyware
I've heard from reliable sources that RealPlayer contains spyware which reports information about each video/whatever you view back to RealNetworks. Can anyone find a link to a page
 * RealNetworks has shown a pattern of completely and totally ignoring privacy concerns by spying on their users, changing registry entries, serving up advertising, transmitting CD playlists, and more. Unscrupulous RealNetwork employees sometimes come on here and remove this information but people have a right to be informed about how RealNetworks consistently and continually and constantly violates user privacy with some of the most underhanded and infamous marketing tactics in the industry. --Valwen 22:37, 25 June 2006 (UTC)


 * Back in the late nineties (probably '98), I used Realplayer, and I noticed data being sent, but I didn't have anything called RealJukebox installed. Also, RealNetworks' use of spyware in other software is not just rumors.  Gronky 18:56, 22 September 2005 (UTC)


 * RealNetworks purchased the company NetZip; NetZip's DownloadDemon software did communicate with servers during downloads. The program was renamed RealDownload but was abandoned; it is not relevant to RealPlayer. Grobbins 04:41, 8 October 2005 (UTC)


 * I haven't time to search for references, but I had a feeling that spyware of some kind was one of the "features" objected to when the BBC started streaming radio content in RealAudio format. But maybe it was just the "nagware", where RealPlayer insists on running in the background and popping up to tell you about new upgrades and offers from Real, that people didn't like. What I do know is that as a result of the criticisms, they managed to negotiate a special distribution deal with RealNetworks to offer a cut-down "BBC Player" for direct download. - IMSoP 12:20, 23 September 2005 (UTC)

Just think about it - if there was any spyware, why no anti-spyware catches it?!? I use realplayer 10 and I've tried million anti-spyware rograms. None of them threated RealPlayer as "Spyware"

As of today, RealPlayer Version 10 does utilize an executable named TkBellExe. This is a "scheduler" that periodically checks to see if an update to the Player is available. Of course this requires communicating with Real, but whether it's "spyware" per se or not probably depends on one's definition. rphunt 12:35, 24 January 2006 (UTC)

Everytime i run RealPlayer or I visit RealNetworks webpage, Ad-Aware detects a tracking cooki in real.com. Isn't this spyware?(click Sign your name:)

In the narrowest sense, yes. They're different cookies. See the Realplayer privacy preferences. You can turn off the browser cookie in the browser's privacy preferences tab. --Lexein 07:06, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Is there a bug-free RealVideo solution for the Mac OS?
I am using Real Alternative on my Windows laptop. Is there a bug-free solution for the Mac OS? -- Toytoy 13:46, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
 * Probably this isnt the best place to ask. VLC Plays them I think its multiplatform for Mac As well as Linux. Mike Beckham 13:50, 31 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Seems like VLC does not support RealVideo. And I think Helix Project does not support Mac OS. -- Toytoy 14:21, 31 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I see I could of sworn I use it, oh well not a Mac user right now so I dont know. Try posting on a tech help forum like my favourite Leoville Townsquare in the tech section. Mike Beckham 15:50, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

NPOV
This whole article reads like a warning about Real Player. I hate it as much as everyone else but the article needs more technical information at the very least, at the moment the entire article comes across as negative. (Real PR Department) —Preceding unsigned comment added by User:Pbeesley1989 (talk • contribs)


 * It all contains factual information and sources. I have not seen anything NPOV about it. If you have something to add, then add it. However the current information is backed up with sources and factual. - Mike Beckham 20:24, 20 July 2006 (UTC)


 * I agree with the original post. The article contains a disproportionate number of criticisms, many of which are standard practices in software. The bullet point about RealPlayer slowing down the processor with a background process is absurd. ITunes has a similar background service in Windows and it's not mentioned anywhere in that article. Many other programs also add background services, so I don't see why this article has to air that criticism. Also, receiving marketing email from a software vendor is not unusual. The wording on some of the criticisms section is biased. "Annoying" alets. "Bombarded" with "endless" emails. Some of the criticisms also mock the names of features by putting them in quotation marks. The article also claims to know what people prefer without citing any sources. The first criticism states that Real did not make it clear that a free version existed "for some users' taste." I think that the trivia section is out of place in this article and the contents of it should be removed. (Real PR Department) --67.168.0.155 04:21, 26 July 2006 (UTC)


 * Okay, that's all funny. At some point the article was spammed with Real PR, and the article has been straining under the load since then.  I've slashed the most egregious blather in the Features and Formats sections.  Be gratefulthe whole thing hasn't been deleted, and locked. --Lexein 06:36, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

Merging Realsched.exe
I don't think that Realsched.exe merits its own article given that it's such a narrow topic. However, I think it'd be pretty useful in the RealPlayer article. --Wafulz 15:57, 3 September 2006 (UTC)
 * Hi. Because of multiple spam attacs by Urod, that RealPlayer slows down the computerand that it's bloated or something,I have created a special article about the scheduler. If you want to move the article here, it will be also good. --Flash --date? --Lexein 16:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)
 * The brief neutral mention of Realsched.exe in this article here is good, but how about a heading of User Servicable Parts, or some such? --Lexein 16:15, 9 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I support the inclusion of Realsched.exe resource usage, and notes on removal. --Lexein 12:36, 12 March 2007 (UTC)

Wrong Critisms

 * I've noticed that an user called Urod tries to lame the software. He has put some POV like "Worst product at PCWorld" at the top and a LOT of link to blogs full with spam. Also - realsched.exe will cause a system overflow and buttons "see also: MPlayer (has nothing to do with real) and Real Alternative (illegal). I think this user shall be blocked from editing this article. --Flash
 * Real Alternative is legal; even if it would be illegal, it is ok to write article about it; I wrote that PCWorld called it the second worst product of all times, which is true. --Urod 02:49, 4 September 2006 (UTC)
 * You know what? Create your own wikipedia and spread spam there. I recommend you the Yahoo Geocities. As about the PCWorld link, it is already in the article, don't put it on the top. Real Alternative is NOT legal, and these links you give about the spyware are from 2000. And what the heck is this "buffer overflow" about RealSched.exe??? Just stop editing this article.!!! --Flash
 * First, sign with date. Second, you already had been banned once.  Third, I am going to complain about you to administrators.  I tired from your insults. --Urod 03:02, 10 October 2006 (UTC)
 * You don't own this article. You yourself cannot decide to ban an editor from an article. Only the ArbCom has the authority to do so. Hbdragon88 04:05, 10 October 2006 (UTC)

RealDownload Criticism Removed
I removed this criticism because it has nothing to do with RealPlayer. RealDownload is outdated, this link is really inneeded. Joanna
 * What is RealDownload, then, and where should it go? There's no RealDownload article on Wikipedia. Hbdragon88 03:31, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

Actual criticism?
Some of the itms in the newly-renamed Controversy section sound like personal pet peeves. I'd really like to get a source on some of these criticisms. Hbdragon88 19:05, 19 October 2006 (UTC)
 * Should the controversy on not being able to install RealPlayer 10.5 on machine running a x64-based OS be added? I've did some googling, and found many claimed that early 10.5 builds would install. Yeah, I know it's due to my own peeve and I could otherwise just use one of my 32-bit machines, but this is the only machine I have that has a surround sound kit. And I'm not willing to put up with the poorer performance that comes with downgrading to 32-bit. Not very happy that I can't use the PalmOS edition on my Sony Clié (which some claim would otherwise work fine) either. RAM 16:51, 12 November 2006 (UTC)
 * Pet peeves maybe, by why is there a "citation needed" after the paragraph about the sound? Anyone with Real Player running on a Windows operating system can easily adjust the volume on Real Player and see for themselves that it adjusts the volume for the entire computer. BamPowThoom 19:48, 27 January 2007 (UTC)
 * 1. Correction: "it adjusts the volume for the entire computer" should be "it adjusts the volume for all Wave sound sources" (like system sounds like low battery alarms, VOIP apps, screen readers, Avast! virus update alerts, but not analog-mixed sources like CD,TV,modem speaker).
 * 2. I think citations are always necessary for encyclopedic entries. I found some tech support forum citations, and am still seeking magazine or journal ones.
 * 3. Question: does this mis-design exist on Mac or Linux Realplayers?
 * --Lexein 16:29, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Another problem with this player is that it has no support for internationalisation. It cannot display Unicode file names or information, instead displaying "???" characters. For example, if you play back Japanese files, you cannot read any information about them, or even the file name that was opened (and viewable in Windows Explorer). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 118.93.67.132 (talk) 05:19, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Broken link
The last external link is broken (RealPlayer Enterprise Download). —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 82.81.95.106 (talk) 10:13, 17 December 2006 (UTC).


 * Seems to be working now --Lexein 16:17, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

Query Professionalism of Article
This Article sounds mostly like it was copied and pasted by marketing. For example: It begins with a huge feature list including e.g. "Also a feature to Stay on top while playing is available." (!!!!?) Then it goes on to list nearly every media file extension conceived. None of these things are unique: Windows Media Player, Nero and WinAmp all have similar functions. This goes on for far too long and smacks of copy-and-pasting a spec sheet. That's not what Wiki is for.

Controversy is a small paragraph at the end.  complained it seems more pet peeves, and is unreferenced. I think its a bit thin personally: Real has come in for a lot of criticism because it hijacks all associations, keeps asserting them, pumps down adware the user wasn't aware of when they signed up for, etc. Here are some references: This guy has done a lot of research into Real and corresponded to people within the country. It sheds a lot of light on the problems, both with the player and within the company. He also claims that the rumored "BBC RealPlayer" is a myth, based on correspondence from someone within Real. (Has anyone asked the BBC?) Use Google cache if necessary:

http://jogin.com/weblog/archives/2004/02/29/real_obnoxious http://jogin.com/weblog/archives/2004/03/06/real_reply http://jogin.com/weblog/archives/2004/03/07/real_proof Toru-chan 12:57, 25 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Sorry, those weblog links all redirect to the main site now. Useless. Do you have better links? --Lexein 16:36, 9 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I fixed the links. These work.


 * I've updated Controversy with citations and reformatting, in agreement with your point about it. I think the section should not be a history of all issues, perhaps just the "best" with good citations, and some current unresolved ones.  --Lexein 16:09, 9 February 2007 (UTC)


 * I've found these archive.org substitutes for the above Jogin blog entries. The Jogin blog is dead. http://web.archive.org/web/20040304215918/www.jogin.com/weblog/archives/000504/    http://web.archive.org/web/20040812002151/jogin.com/weblog/archives/2004/03/06/real_reply   http://web.archive.org/web/20040612081802/jogin.com/weblog/archives/2004/03/07/real_proof --Lexein 22:02, 17 February 2007 (UTC)

Tech support forum citations okay?
I could not find (yet) any published references to the RealPlayer system volume control issue. So I added citations from tech support forums about it. These aren't blogs or wikis, and they tend, for large companies, to be permanent. If these do not belong here then just userfy or talkify them, or tell me to, and I will. --Lexein 16:09, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

page semi protection?
Does anyone mind if I request page protection against anonymous or newly reg. users? Wikipedia semi-protection --Lexein 07:21, 10 February 2007 (UTC)

CD-Text
The CD-Text article says that "Realplayer 10 supports Reading and Writing of CD-Text". Can anyone add that to this article, thereby confirming it ? TIA.

Jerome Potts 19:08, 15 April 2007 (UTC)

RealPlayer for Windows98SE?
I have an old windows98se laptop with no network card (i move files with USB) that I use to play sound files. Some of my sound files are in that accursed Real proprietary format. Is there a player I can get that will run in windows98se? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.243.255.130 (talk) 14:05, 21 April 2007 (UTC).
 * 1. this is not a forum for discussion of the player, just the article. 2. Real.com has an archive of older versions, http://forms.real.com/real/player/blackjack.html . 3. How in the world did I find it in 14 seconds? http://www.google.com/search?q=real+player+older+versions --Lexein 15:54, 21 April 2007 (UTC)

Version Release
The full version number for the latest release, May 2007, is 6.0.12.1714.

The most recent version before this was 6.0.12.1578.

There is some discussion on here - http://real.lithium.com/real/board/message?board.id=realplayer&message.id=15150

--rjcuk 11:33, 13 May 2007 (UTC)

RealPlayer 10.6
Actually, Real Player has released v10.6, targeted to China.

http://cn.real.com

check this out.

Stand-alone or portable version?
It would be helpful if the article stated clearly whether no-install stand-alone/portable versions exist, official or not. Without this, when a person goes to use a library computer, if Real Player has not been already installed, media available only in Real cannot be accessed. It seem like there must be a way around this?-69.87.204.120 20:59, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Additional File format
I notice the .rax FF is not in the list; mp3.com states it is the "Real" version of the tunes they pimp, as seen at (click "View tracks" then "Download"). _> MonstaPro:Talk:Contrib. 09:50, 30 August 2007 (UTC)

why is the flv player mentioned?
Hi,

is there any reason, that the flv-player gets mentioned in the first paragraph?? Unlike FLV player, which can only play FLV files uninterupted from start to finish.?

85.177.137.153 20:03, 5 September 2007 (UTC)

RealNetworks Scheduler & Adverts
I believe the section:

"It is intended to provide users with information about critical RealPlayer updates, and as such is only functional when a computer is connected to the Internet."

May conflict with the Intrusive advertisements section: I believe that it's the RealNetworks Scheduler that also causes advertisments for various services and products, as opposed to, say java VM, which includes an update client that does just notify of updates. Can anyone clarify this: if it's not the case, than there certainly is room for confusion in the current version.

Also, the section:

"The file can be disabled with Windows software tools and moderate computer skills."

For a computer novice, that does want to stop it, is more frustrating than no information, as it implys "they" know the answer, and aren't telling. Would recommend either knocking that part on the head, or include a cite or external link to more information. 81.149.182.210 19:10, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

market share
any info on what market share real player dominates? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.153.9.253 (talk) 19:48, 13 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I have reverted the change by user Peepeedia to the market share paragraph as it was not supported by the reference given, which only featured WMP, RealPlayer, iTunes and Quicktime data Benvenuto (talk) 05:15, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Obscuring download link to free player
Should the fact that Real used to make the link to download the free version of RealPlayer hard-to-find (small and possibly moved often) in favor of the paid versions be added to the article (or to RealNetworks)? Jason McHuff (talk) 01:37, 15 January 2008 (UTC)
 * I think thats a valid point. A mention of the hard to find Real Legacy Player archive might not be inappropriate either Benvenuto (talk) 05:29, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Inclusion with other software
I've been doing some testing with the older versions of Internet Explorer from http://www.oldversion.com, and I've seen that an early form of RealPlayer (at least the RealAudio/RealSound player of it) is bundled right from Internet Explorer 1.0. I know RealPlayer G2 was bundled with Netscape 4.80. Perhaps this should be mentioned with IE and in RealPlayer's history section? i have the relative versions available below:

Aparently after Version 3 of IE, RealPlayer was no longer bundled with the browser.

RingtailedFox • Talk • Contribs 04:39, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

"The BBC offers an advertising-free version for users of its website." Unless you mean plug-in that is installed to browser's folder and gives chance to listen station using browser(not after installing RealPlayer version 11.0.1, messes up when using Opera), this statement is false.(Downloaded BBC-version and it does has ads.)Yakuzakyuu (talk) 17:03, 11 March 2008 (UTC)

I know for certain that RealPlayer 4.0 was bundled with Internet Explorer 4, Windows 95 OSR2.5 and maybe the first release of Windows 98. For IE4 you need to do a full installation to get it though, it's in the IE4 installation directory as R32MSIE4.EXE. After this, Microsoft released a codec in Windows Media Player 6.1 which had support for RealVideo 4.0 but not for the G2 formats. That was the last of the Microsoft bundling. Karsini (talk) 03:16, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Deleted fact template for disabling of realsched.exe
While instructions may be a good idea, they aren't required. Plus, it's got nothing to do with citing sources. If you *really* want instructions, simply Google it. Or, if you're using Windows, just use the msconfig utility, provided you know what you're doing, to disable realsched.exe at startup. HoCkEy PUCK (talk) 18:38, 24 March 2008 (UTC)

.IVR
There is no mention of the .IVR format ("internet video recording"). This is a somewhat mysterious format. --Tilman (talk) 10:09, 5 July 2008 (UTC)

Channels On Cameron Inglis's RealPlayer
BBC ONE

BBC TWO

ITV

Channel 4

Channel 5

Sky One

UK Gold

UK Gold 2

Living TV

Granada Plus

Challenge TV

Challenge?

Paramount Comedy Channel

Sci-fi Channel

Granada Men & Motors

Shop!

Nick Jr. (UK)

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.151.162.104 (talk) 22:56, 5 August 2008 (UTC)

Bot report : Found duplicate references !
In the last revision I edited, I found duplicate named references, i.e. references sharing the same name, but not having the same content. Please check them, as I am not able to fix them automatically :) DumZiBoT (talk) 14:56, 9 August 2008 (UTC)
 * "vp3" :
 * RealPlayer to support VP5
 * VP3 for RealPlayer

RealPlayer and Windows startup
The article currently states: ''RealPlayer changes the startup settings in Windows so that the application starts up every time the system is booted, even though the application is only needed when playing realmedia content. If the user changes the startup settings to the original settings, i.e. before RealPlayer was installed, RealPlayer changes them again the next time the application is run. This adds to concerns over spyware and the fact that the program is using system resources unnecessarily and therefore slowing down particularly older computers. The software doesn't offer the user any option to prevent this behaviour.''

I am using RealPlayer 11 and the main program does not autorun at startup. The only part that does autorun is Tkbell.exe but it is not considered to be a risk. The citation about RealPlayer autostarting at comes from 2004 and now looks old and suspect. This section may need revision as it looks inaccurate or misleading. -- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 10:42, 16 September 2008 (UTC)


 * This section has been rewritten because it was giving inaccurate and out of date information. One website that gets it right is here. It is not necessary to edit the registry to remove realsched.exe, as changing the Message Center options is enough to prevent the process from autostarting. -- ♦Ian Ma c  M♦  (talk to me) 08:05, 17 September 2008 (UTC)

Criticism section
Here are some comments on the Criticism section of the article:
 * CD ripping: RealAudio files cannot be played on the vast majority of MP3 players or car radios, which limits their usefulness in many situations. However, RealPlayer can also rip CDs to MP3, WMA, AAC and WAV. It is easy to navigate to Tools/Preferences/CD to select the desired ripping format, so criticism of RealPlayer in this area seems to be unnecessary.


 * Adware and privacy issues: Past versions of RealPlayer had a poor reputation in this area, but RealPlayer 11 (the current version) goes some way towards addressing this issue . It is not difficult to turn off the unpopular Message Center in RealPlayer 11.


 * Volume control problem: This was a known issue with older versions of RealPlayer, but does not seem to affect the current version (Does anyone have a WP:V citation for this?). It is also worth noting that Volume Logic is no longer available and that Sanyo 3D Surround  is a commercial add-on for RealPlayer costing $14.99.

On a more general note, any criticism of RealPlayer should concentrate on version 11, since there is little point in dwelling on the faults of older versions which people are no longer downloading or using. -- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 18:45, 17 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The section has been edited to make it more up to date and hopefully a bit more WP:NPOV. -- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 19:15, 21 September 2008 (UTC)


 * The tags have been removed, as in its current form the article seems to have reasonable WP:NPOV. The main issue at the moment is WP:NOTMANUAL, as parts of the article read like a list of RealPlayer's features. Some restructuring of the article would be useful. -- ♦Ian Ma c  M♦  (talk to me) 20:33, 25 September 2008 (UTC)


 * Volume control issue that keeps being removed: I made a valid and reproducable point about the volume control issue in the latest version yet it keeps being removed. I request that whoever is removing my edits respond here, otherwise we'll have a daily battle of adding/removing my additions. 11 December 2008 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.115.66.232 (talk)
 * Thanks for raising this on the talk page. The issue here is WP:NOTHOWTO. For example, the tech forum page of Winamp is here and contains a wide range of problems that people have encountered while using the software.  This type of issue is usually beyond the scope of a Wikipedia article, unless it has proved to be notable enough to be mentioned.  The main criticisms of RealPlayer in the mainstream media have been the adware and spyware issues. There have been some volume control issues, but they are probably not notable enough to be raised as a direct criticism of the software. The broader issue here is that "Criticism" sections may be tagged as lacking neutral point of view, so it is important to keep the criticisms to ones that have been discussed widely in independent sources rather than tech forums. -- ♦Ian Ma c  M♦  (talk to me) 18:15, 11 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Plus, in my opinion, the most basic problem is this: you did not provide any sources to back up your claim, in fact what you said in the edit summary was "This is a known problem and as far as "citation", simply Google this." This clearly shows you either don't know how Wikipedia works (but I already showed you links to elementary Wikipedia rules) or you intentionally ignore it. So, again, I ask you to read the Five pillars of Wikipedia, namely the neutral point of view, verifiability (you must cite reliable sources, everything in Wikipedia must be verifiable from independent trustworthy sources), no original research ("try it yourself" is clearly original research, and therefore unacceptable as a proof in Wikipedia), dispute resolution and edit war (if you break the three-revert rule, the administrators may block you from editing). The core Wikipedia rules are compulsory and non-negotiable.&mdash;J. M. (talk) 05:05, 12 December 2008 (UTC)

11.0.05 has been released
http://real.lithium.com/real/board/message?board.id=realplayer&thread.id=26329

Also does anyone want to help with the page I created called RealDVD? JasonHockeyGuy (talk) 19:34, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

malware?
Was wondering if anyone knew why RealPlayer was in malware section? I mean the section itself says at the top: Malware ("malicious software") is software developed for the purpose of doing harm.

While RealPlayer can be a nuisance and did in the past contain some things mentioned in the page (hijacking of file associations and the message centre), I don't think it can be classified as malware. It's an audio program which tries to cover some of it's costs by promoting stuff.

Feel free to correct me, I was just wondering. If anything I thought it was a little extreme, maybe somebody who doesn't like it put it in there and is doing an evil laugh every week it stays in that section.

--Greggykins (talk) 04:38, 16 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I removed the "malware" category. The article looks at some of the criticisms of RealPlayer, but it is unfair to imply that it is a malicious piece of software. -- ♦Ian Ma c  M♦  (talk to me) 10:25, 16 November 2008 (UTC)


 * Okay thanks very much. Wasn't sure myself if there was a legitimate reason for it. Couldn't find one in the article but didn't want to be too presumptuous. --Greggykins (talk) 17:49, 16 November 2008 (UTC)

RealPlayer web browser capabilities
I think it should be mentioned that RealPlayer can function just like any normal web browser, because I am logged in using RealPlayer as I type this. --Crackthewhip775 (talk) 01:40, 25 November 2008 (UTC)


 * The Features section contains:

This is enough to get by on, as the article tends to read like a list of RealPlayer's features in parts. -- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 08:19, 25 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Media Browser based on Internet Explorer which allows web browsing while playing media.

Updated picture and news is needed for this article
Since I am a dummy at editing, I thought that the RealPlayer SP section might need some updating / reworking / relocating.

Its been discovered that RealPlayer SP is out of beta: http://realnetworksblog.com/?p=870

Also a picture of the new player seems to be in order, anyone have one of these? JasonHockeyGuy (talk) 03:07, 24 August 2009 (UTC)

Any relevance?
I've always known RealPlayer for its excessive amount of buffering. Is this any relevance to the criticism section or is this solely a "personal opinion?" I've seen many other complaints about this as well as this "real life vandalism" http://i36.tinypic.com/5ot661.jpg 72.219.148.166 (talk) 09:24, 11 October 2009 (UTC)


 * There would be a need to provide sourcing to establish notability. Tech forum problems are largely beyond the scope of the article, and most of the sourced criticism of RealPlayer has been the adware/spyware issue.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 10:59, 11 October 2009 (UTC)

Expand article
I think this article needs more info on the differences between basic and plus versions of the Realplayer. e.g. differences between RealPlayer 11 basic and Realplayer 11 plus, but also the differences betweeen Realplayer 10 plus and Realplayer 11 plus, etc.. --82.23.64.143 (talk) 09:51, 9 November 2009 (UTC)

whats with the redirect
i type " realplayer SP " and end-up here, i just wanted to f9d out wtf SP means, if any1 knows please share it with every1 else —Preceding unsigned comment added by Salh474 (talk • contribs) 18:29, 19 December 2009 (UTC)

History - reduction in popularity
Surely the real reason for its drop in popularity is that now almost all streaming video and audio on the internet is played via a Flash based interface? Halsteadk (talk) 01:27, 13 March 2010 (UTC)

spyware
has anyone else noticed that realplayer places tracking cookies on your pc everytime you open it?? Sparkler99 (talk) 14:05, 4 August 2010 (UTC)

Latest versions not supporting Chinese letters?
I just got the latest version of Relpalyer, but when I try to use it to display some Chinese music, the Chinese letters are replaced by question marks. Can anyone help me with this?? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hyhfct (talk • contribs) 20:19, 4 September 2010 (UTC)


 * I've had the same problem with RealPlayer not displaying files with Russian (Cyrillic alphabet) letters, the letters come out as ???? ????? question marks. This seems to be an issue for RealPlayer, but most people in the English speaking world would rarely come across this problem. Also, there does not seem to be reliable sourcing on this, so it would not be suitable for the article.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 21:25, 4 September 2010 (UTC)

mms://
Why does mms:// automatically become a link when you put it in brackets? i.e. (mms://) Digifiend (talk) 09:13, 27 June 2011 (UTC)

Real Alternative
Real Alternative is basically a version of Media Player Classic with Real codecs installed, similar to K-Lite Codec Pack. The legal action is a puzzle, as Real Alternative 2.0.2 is widely available on the web, and K-Lite Codec Pack also has Real codecs installed. The irony here is that the .ra and .rmvb etc formats are rare nowadays. There is some notability here, but there is a need for NPOV. The edits to RealNetworks describing the action as SLAPP is POV, so there is a need for a cleanup.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 09:32, 31 August 2011 (UTC)

silly question: how is "Real" pronounced ?
seriously though : is it pronounced "real", the word meaning "not false" or "re-AL", like the first part of "realign" ? 86.25.122.226 (talk) 06:41, 29 January 2012 (UTC)


 * In this YouTube video, Real's Vice President, Jeff Chasen, says "real" as in "not false".-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 07:14, 29 January 2012 (UTC)

Mac
Hasn't RealPlayer dropped Mac support? If so, this should be mentioned. Chris the Paleontologist (talk • contribs) 21:57, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

Lack of citations?
The article appears to have a sufficient amount of references, so I instead focused upon general copyediting. The article really needs a style review (I commenced with one of the bullet lists to remove bolding that shouldn't be there) and I think that the article also has too many repeated Wiki links, some of which I got to. Apologies if I am mistaken about the bolding. --Soulparadox 20:54, 28 April 2012 (UTC)

current stable release
the article says "The latest current stable release is version RealPlayer SP 1.0." But the template says it is (for windows) 15.0.6.. There is no differentiation between Real Player SP and the "main" version of Real Player. Cainamarques (talk) 04:07, 28 August 2012 (UTC)

Removed that line -- an undated release is incomplete cite from Revision as of 20:08, 28 April 2012 Markbassett (talk) 18:13, 7 September 2012 (UTC)

File:RealPlayer.png and use of non-free album art
Hi all, I noticed that File:RealPlayer.png is using non-free album art from mr. scruff. I don't believe this is necessary to depict the RealPlayer interface, which puts it at risk of violating WP:NFC (see WP:NFCC, points 3 and 8). It'd be great if someone could replace it with an image using freely-licensed album art from commons:Category:Album covers (and of course also link that file in the file description). When this is done let me know and I can use revision deletion on the older version of the image. Thanks! Dcoetzee 17:46, 7 September 2013 (UTC)


 * The image now shows one of the visualisations that RealPlayer can produce in time to the music. Hopefully this is OK.-- ♦Ian Ma c M♦  (talk to me) 09:17, 8 September 2013 (UTC)

Spyware Realplayer in Taiwanese version
I don't know either Chinese or Taiwanese language. I downloaded Realplayer in English version and founded spyware on it. Also it hard to uninstall from computer. I founded the url with "TW", it is a Taiwanese version. we can't real what the commands says. Even though if I tried to copy and past in the Google translate, couldn't copy the text. What kind of malicious work on it! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 219.77.134.254 (talk) 15:27, 5 January 2014 (UTC)

Poorly-sourced contentious material
I noticed that editors like user:Joshua Issac and user:Aaron of Mpls have trimmed some criticisms in the article that had poor or no sourcing, or where the source did not support the statement, but there continues to be large amounts of poorly-sourced contentious material (mostly in the Controversies section). In compliance with WP:COI, I will not edit them myself, but I've called out some areas worth taking a look at below:


 * The second half of the Controversies section starting at "In 2008 stopbadware.org..." uses a lot of primary sources, blogs, etc. The very last paragraph is referenced to a forum post. The paragraph above that is cited to two blogs The third paragraph from the bottom is completely unsourced. StopBadware.org looks like a primary source, but I don't know enough about it.
 * The Real Alternative section appears to be a massive plug for a competing technology. All the sources are from download.com, personal blogs and extremely low-quality sources.

A few other smaller items that may need more looking into: CorporateM (Talk) 17:53, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
 * End of the history section: "but in the 21st century, Adobe Flash has become the preferred option for this purpose (demonstrated by the comparable success of the BBC iPlayer)."
 * Second paragraph of the Realplayer for Windows section: "missing most consumer features and most plug-in support"
 * RealPlayer for Mac OS: This is not contentious, but it does say that as of 2010 the latest version for Mac is SP 1.0, when Realplayer for Cloud is probably the most recent for mac.
 * First paragaph of Controversies: The paragraph seems to include a lot of information not supported by the sources or about RealJukebox, which has its own page. My suggestion would probably be to move the information about Richard M. Smith to the RealJukeBox page, then use this source regarding the criticisms of its 1990s version.
 * The Accessing Restrictions section is unsourced
 * Added additional cite to Washington Post in Controversies section. Removed download links to FileHippo. Added "cite needed" on one remark. Anything else? John Nagle (talk) 19:07, 2 October 2014 (UTC)


 * The very last sentence of the Controversies section is cited to a forum post. CorporateM (Talk) 20:19, 2 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Deleted weakly cited volume control problem. Added well-cited US-CERT security exploit advisories 2010-2014. John Nagle (talk) 20:54, 2 October 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure that's really a good use of primary sources (security problems/patches are ubiquitous enough to swamp any software page if we chose to), but also just going to the next sentence up is material cited to Help2Go and Audit My PC - which look obviously not reliable to me. CorporateM (Talk) 20:57, 2 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I've removed some. Drmies, others. I think we need some section on the security problems or the various complaints about RP, because let's face it: real player sucked pretty hard. :) I'll try and find some decent sourcing on it, but I think our target for this article should be to cover that suckage in an appropriate, encyclopedic manner. Protonk (talk) 22:51, 3 October 2014 (UTC)


 * I don't think I've had any personal experiences with it, but certainly no complaints here regarding any material with decent-quality sources. The current Reception-type section is 100% negative, which seems aligned with your comments, though I'm sure - like the rest of the article - it is incomplete and could use expansion. It is not within my charter sort of speak to facilitate general expansion - just to address anything really bogus. My advice to them was that most of their articles looked "good enough" not to warrant ignoring "very strongly discouraged" but I did want to fix a bunch of small things about infoboxes, logos and some of the junk sources on this page. CorporateM (Talk) 23:15, 3 October 2014 (UTC)