New One-Click Downloading Lets
Consumers Enjoy Videos from
Thousands of Web Sites Wherever and
Whenever They Want
CARLSBAD, Calif., D: All Things
Digital Conference – May 31, 2007,
11:30 a.m. Pacific Time –
Leading digital
entertainment services company
RealNetworks® today unveiled the new
RealPlayer®, the first media player
to make it one-click simple to
download online videos from
thousands of Web sites. The new
RealPlayer makes it easy for
consumers to watch videos whenever
and wherever they want, burn them to
DVD and CD, and share video links
with friends. Most major formats
are supported, including Real,
Windows Media, Flash, and Quicktime.
The new RealPlayer will be available
for free beginning next month at
RealPlayer.com.
“The new RealPlayer gives consumers
more control of Internet video than
was ever possible before,” said Rob
Glaser, chairman and CEO of Real.
“By floating a “download this video”
button next to video seen on
thousands of Web sites, RealPlayer
makes it one-click simple. The new
RealPlayer is a major step towards
realizing our vision of bringing
great digital entertainment to more
people on more screens around the
world.”
In 1995 RealNetworks gave the
Internet a voice with the first-ever
Internet broadcast via the release
of the RealAudio® player, an
innovation that garnered Real a
coveted Emmy Award® by
The National Academy of Television
Arts & Sciences. Since then, the
RealPlayer has become one of the
most downloaded software
applications on the Internet, with
an average of more than 1.5 million
copies downloaded daily.
Fast Facts about the New RealPlayer:
n
Consumers can use the innovative,
single-click process to quickly
download and save videos for later
enjoyment.
n
Consumers can download multiple
videos simultaneously with
RealPlayer, allowing people to save
time and easily multitask. Users can
also start downloading in the middle
of watching a video, and the entire
video will be captured.
n
Consumers don’t need to worry about
video format compatibility issues –
the new RealPlayer supports videos
created in the most popular formats,
including Flash, Windows Media,
Quicktime, and Real.
n
Consumers can easily burn videos to
CD (or to DVD, using RealPlayer
Plus). The Video CD format used by
RealPlayer can be played in most DVD
players.
n
Consumers can send links of their
favorite videos to their friends
with a convenient “Share with a
Friend” feature. The link that
arrives in their friends’ email will
direct them to the online source of
the video content their friend
downloaded.
n
RealPlayer supports both downloading
and recording for popular streaming
format (Windows Media, Real, and
Quicktime)
n
RealPlayer will only download/record
video that is not protected by DRM
(Digital Rights Management) systems.
n
RealPlayer features an improved look
and feel, a streamlined installation
process and faster video playback.
n
RealPlayer will first be released
for Windows, and will work with both
Microsoft Internet Explorer and
Mozilla Firefox. Real plans a
version for the Mac to be released
later in the year.
“RealPlayer feeds the appetite
consumers have for interesting Web
video while maintaining a connection
with the content source,” said Lisa
Hungness, general
manager, New Media for National
Geographic Magazine Online that
hosts video content, including
WildCams—Web cams that stream live
video of animals in the wild,
connecting people to animals and
environments around the world at
www.nationalgeographic.com/wildcam.
“Our WildCam fans love to download
and share our video. Thousands of
our clips are posted across the Web.
This will be a great new trend in
online video viewing for consumers
and content owners alike because
consumers can share links back to
the videos’ origin where similar
experiences may be found and
enjoyed.”
”Time-shifting of recorded or
downloaded content is a natural next
step in the progression of the
online video distribution and
consumption,” said Michael McGuire,
vice president, Gartner, Inc.. “For
online video fans, the ability to
capture, store and forward content
is going to be transformative.”
A beta of the new RealPlayer will be
available for the public in June
2007 via a free download from
www.realplayer.com. Consumers
and media are invited to visit the
www.realplayer.com site to
participate in the RealPlayer blog,
register for product information and
updates, and share ideas about how
the new RealPlayer’s capabilities
could change the face of online
video.
Future versions of RealPlayer, which
are now in development, will enable
users to transfer online video
content to their personal media
devices for on-the-go viewing.
MULTIMEDIA ELEMENTS
*RealPlayer video
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TAGS:
RealPlayer, RealNetworks, online
video, online video recording, video
recording, download video,
downloading video, user generated
content, Web video, time-shifting
video, DVD burning, Tivo, digital
video recorder, DVR
ABOUT REALNETWORKS
RealNetworks, Inc. is providing ways
for consumers to be entertained on
any screen (PC, home entertainment
system, portable device or mobile
phone) anywhere. Its digital
entertainment services include
RealPlayer, the acclaimed Rhapsody
music service, one of the largest
Casual Games destinations RealArcade,
and a variety of mobile
entertainment services offered to
consumers by leading wireless
carriers around the world.
RealNetworks' corporate information
is located at
www.realnetworks.com/company.
RealNetworks, RealPlayer, and
RealAudio are registered trademarks
of RealNetworks, Inc.
