RealPlayer 11

Publisher's description of RealPlayer

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RealPlayer 11 gives you the ability to download videos from thousands of Web sites with just one click, and now you can even burn them to CD. Watch them whenever and wherever you want. Download Internet videos with one click, build your own video playlists, or burn your favorite videos to CD or DVD with RealPlayer. RealPlayer plays every major media format.

Note: This version of the RealPlayer is recommended for US users only.

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Editor's review of RealPlayer

One of the dinosaurs of media playback, RealPlayer has been on the scene since 1995. Sometimes it feels like it hasn't been updated since then, no matter what the version number says. Still, RealPlayer 11 beta introduces a major new function and takes care of some frustrating bugs, making it respectable once again.

The player runs smoother than ever, which to some might not be saying much, but if you haven't used it in years, the differences are dramatic. Now the free version of the player has the ability to download videos from the Internet, including Flash-based videos like those on YouTube. Once installed, mousing over an embedded video will provide a pop-up that not only lets you download the vid, but also change its name, the save-to directory, and other options.

The update sees a major face-lift, as well, removing much of the clutter from the downloadable music store. Though not groundbreaking, the RealPlayer music store gets a thumbs up for being easy to use and offering a flexible DRM policy. The new jukebox features let you make playlists, rip CDs, burn custom mixes, and listen to hundreds of online radio stations. The program still suffers from an intrusive installation, but file-type hijacking and upgrade harassment are mostly gone.

The positive steps begun with Version 10 continue, and users of earlier versions should upgrade.

User reviews of RealPlayer

• Average user rating: out of 1876 votes
• Your rating: Write your own review

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  RealPlayer

  Can't even beat Windows Media Player

  by: JoyceNgo on 31-Dec-2007 08:47:12 AM

  Pros: It plays certain files that other player normally don't support. It looks somewhat nice.

  Cons: I didn't like this product because it consumes a lot of resources. I had RealPlayer years ago, and gave it a try again, and nothing has changed much except for the interface. Crashes still occur, strange user interface, high resource usage, and urber annoyance. It even says it there:

  "Note: This version of the RealPlayer is recommended for US users only."

  Which is also another reason why RealPlayer isn't as useful. Because 98% of the world can't even use it!

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (5 of 9 users said yes)

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  RealPlayer

  The RealPlayer once was great

  by: lethal57 on 27-Apr-2008 02:51:44 AM

  Pros: Design and stated abilities are great

  Cons: Yet to prove what it states...predominantly due to installation bugs which have affected each upgrade (bar one) in the last 5 versions. You would think they would make this a priority (as many have made them aware).

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (2 of 2 users said yes)

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  RealPlayer

  Very buggy bloat ware which has been reported to stopbadware org

  by: onlyme300 on 29-Mar-2008 06:33:02 AM

  Pros: Realplayer has a buffer, so on live streams you can scroll back, but has become over bloated, see comment's below.

  Cons: Don't install this if you don't like problems. Real player has been reported to stopbadware org for several violations, the main problem is you can't un install all the program!!! Visit stopbadware org to see there report.

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  RealPlayer

  Useful, but buggy.

  by: thljcl on 15-Dec-2007 06:14:43 AM

  Pros: Player a lot of types of files. let me download flash video online.

  Cons: crash very often. consumes a lot of memory. suddenly went out of control.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (2 of 3 users said yes)

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  RealPlayer

  - Can't beat Good Ol' Windows Media Player -

  by: sbt.as.chr on 12-Dec-2007 10:50:28 PM

  Pros: Works Good...looks good.

  Cons: I don't think it measures up to Windows Media Player. I've tried shifting to Real several times; but I come back to WM Player every time.

  Was this review helpful? Yes | No (2 of 3 users said yes)

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