RealPlayer 14 is here, arriving over a decade and a half since the original and building upon its long heritage to provide a competitive media player experience which is available in both a free to use basic package and an upgradable, paid-for suite.
The problem with media players is that they are something of a dying breed. The emergence of online video and audio streaming coupled with player platforms like iTunes, which integrate stores, has left standalone players out in the cold. While this might make creating an updated RealPlayer sound like a daunting task, this shift in user trends has caused a blossoming of online functionality, with the 14th edition arriving packed to the gunnels with net-based content capabilities.
The success of RealPlayer is partly due to the simplicity of its operation. You can download videos from the internet in a single click and then encode them into a format that is compatible with your smartphone or portable media player in a matter of moments. Media playback is not its only concern, as it also supports some light video editing tools which will let you create your own shortened, trimmed clips, before you share them online or transfer them to a device.
Social networking has become a necessary aspect of most services and RealPlayer 14 is no different. Integration of Facebook and Twitter will be welcome, as will the ability to access and upload to YouTube to make sharing media that much easier. For those who have specific requirements the option to separate the audio and video tracks of a file and then save them separately, will be another added bonus.
If you want to use RealPlayer 14 in conjunction with your portable media player or mobile phone then you will more than likely find that your particular model is in the list of compatible devices which is continually expanding to make the software as inclusive as possible. Synchronisation is simple thanks to the inclusion of any detected devices amongst the media library and it is not limited to putting songs and videos onto your tech, but also transferring media onto your PC, which is particularly convenient, saving you the hassle of firing up a separate piece of software for each.
All of the features mentioned above come with the free version of RealPlayer 14. Those who choose to invest in the full, paid-for licence will access several extra features such as the ability to burn DVDs of your media or encode H.264 files. It is likely that most people who download this media player will not bother paying for the full version, since sharing files and media is now carried out almost exclusively online.
RealPlayer 14 is compatible with Windows XP through to Windows 7 and it provides a compelling alternative to the standard media player. It could be a tough sell if you are already used to your existing software, but if you want something a little different that is packed with plenty of useful tools, then it could be worth a download.