What is RealAudio?

Feb 9
09:06

2015

Eda Dorcey

Eda Dorcey

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The RealAudio format is a propriety audio format developed by RealNetworks, Inc. Macgo RealAudio Player is a great RealAudio player and now available for free downloading.

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The RealAudio format was originally developed by RealNetworks,What is RealAudio? Articles Inc. and is a propriety audio format -- the first public version was released in 1995. Although the RealAudio format isn't as popular as it once was, it's still a very flexible audio scheme that can be used for a variety of applications.

                                           

What is it capable of?

Streaming:Internet radio stations can use the RealAudio format to deliver broadcasts in real-time (streaming music). There are quite a few audio codecs that can be used to compress audio making it a flexible system.

Files Encoded at Variable Bitrates:The RealAudio format makes it possible to encode audio data in a variety of bitrates for downloading. The advantage of this is that you can encode audio to suite the application in question. For instance, if delivery is needed on a low bandwidth connection (like the old dial-up modem days) then a low bitrate can be used to create files small enough to download easily.

Supported Codecs for Compressing Audio:

LC-AAC (MPEG-4)HE-AAC (MPEG-4)AC3 (Dolby)ATRAC3 (Sony)RealAudio Lossless FormatG2/Cook CodecG.728 LD-CELPSipro Lab Telecom ACELP-NETIS-54 VSELP

Supported Software:

Macgo Mac Blu-ray Player: Play RealAudio format on your Mac.Macgo Windows Blu-ray Player: Play RealAudio on Windows platforms.Macgo Free Mac Media Player: Play RealAudio for Mac OS X.RealPlayerWindows Media Player (via a plugin)MPlayerVLC Media PlayerKMPlayerReal Alternative

References:

More about RealAudio on WikipediaComparison of audio formats