RealNetworks supports piracy with RealPlayer 11
By Triston McIntyre
Though I have personally never been a big fan of RealPlayer, I am always a fan of getting back at "the man," and that is what RealPlayer aims to do with its upcoming release; the next version of RealPlayer will allow users to download and burn unprotected content to DVD; three cheers for RealNetworks!
It must be hard, waking up every day, realizing that your media player will never quite live up to the fame of Microsoft or Apple’s brainchildren; how can you remain competitive with so many free players circulating the net, many of them just as qualified as your own?
Give them something they don’t have, obviously. That which is being given is a legally shady feature that will allow users to burn all that content they are "buying" on the internet onto DVDs for playback outside a computer.
Here’s the catch: if you want to burn to DVD’s, you’ll have to shell out $29.95. If you are happy with burning to CDs, feel free to download the standard player. There’s always a catch, isn’t there?
The VP of RealPlayer, Jeff Chasen, claims the product is completely legal, and is an attempt to allow users more control over their illegally obtained and/or torrented, Limewired video content, according to Information Week.
On the flip side, many streaming retailers are afraid users will not continue purchasing content if it can be streamed and recorded directly. Though their fears are justified, perhaps it is time to consider an alternative business model.
After all, it seems clear most media is being forced in the uber-popular no-DRM direction. If you can’t run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.
Real’s largest problem will be getting people to add the player to the generally long list of players most people already have installed. Though iTunes is generally the media player of choice, it has a few shortcomings, so perhaps RealPlayer will be the next best thing (assuming people are willing to spend $29.95 to burn content they only download to avoid paying for anyway.) Sigh, the world we live in is so corrupt with piracy, how can any media company survive? <code></code>
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on Friday, June 1st, 2007 at 2:01 pm
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Read more entries by Triston McIntyre.
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June 3rd, 2007
Hi. I have few things to ask you. Firstly I have been hearing all this info about the new Real and that it can stream and download online videos and stream videos. But there is no mention of “playback” of certain file formats like mp3, wmv, wma, ogg or even mpeg, mpg, avi and so forth. All I keep hearing is streaming content. I think streaming is cool but I want to play media most of all and have a cool looking interface to do it with. I don’t want it to be just online but offline as well. I know you can’t spill the beans about a release date but do you think the new RealPlayer could be out by June 21, 2006 the earliest? Also, will the beta version for the next player be stable or will it crash? Do you people even know the name of the new software and if so, is it a cool name? You know…like Windows Vista or Safari? Things like that. Will there be skins for this program and if so are they 3D skins like some of the Windows Media Player skins created by some of these skins sites for Windows that are made by skins factory? Finally, I would like to know if the final version will be released soon after the beta and if there will be plug-ins for it as well.
Thank and please respond soon. I am awaiting your answer.
June 3rd, 2007
Hi. I have few things to ask you. Firstly I have been hearing all this info about the new Real and that it can stream and download online videos and stream videos. But there is no mention of “playback” of certain file formats like mp3, wmv, wma, ogg or even mpeg, mpg, avi and so forth. All I keep hearing is streaming content. I think streaming is cool but I want to play media most of all and have a cool looking interface to do it with. I don’t want it to be just online but offline as well. I know you can’t spill the beans about a release date but do you think the new RealPlayer could be out by June 21, 2006 the earliest? Also, will the beta version for the next player be stable or will it crash? Do you people even know the name of the new software and if so, is it a cool name? You know…like Windows Vista or Safari? Things like that. Will there be skins for this program and if so are they 3D skins like some of the Windows Media Player skins created by some of these skins sites for Windows that are made by skins factory? Finally, I would like to know if the final version will be released soon after the beta and if there will be plug-ins for it as well.
Thank and please respond soon as I value your answer.
June 4th, 2007
Triston,
The new RealPlayer respects DRM and copy protection technologies. If content providers use these technologies to protect their content, the RealPlayer does not allow the user to download the video. Sites like ABC.com and NBC.com use copy protection technology and the RealPlayer prevents users from downloading their content. So how are we supporting piracy?
RealPlayer Product Team
July 7th, 2007
piracy
Illegal act of violence, detention, or plunder committed for private ends by the crew of a private ship (usually) against another ship on the high seas. Air piracy (i.e., the hijacking of an aircraft) is a more recent phenomenon. Piracy has occurred in all stages of history: the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans engaged in it, as did the Vikings, Moors, and other Europeans. It also occurred among Asian peoples. During the wars between England and Spain in the late 16th century, treasure-laden Spanish galleons proceeding from Mexico into the Caribbean were a natural target for pirates. In the 16th – 18th centuries pirates from North Africa’s Barbary Coast threatened commerce in the Mediterranean. The increased size of merchant vessels, improved naval patrolling, and recognition by governments of piracy as an international offense led to its decline in the late 19th century. In the late 20th century incidents of piracy occurred with increasing frequency in the seas of East and Southeast Asia. See also Blackbeard; Francis Drake; Jean Laffite; Henry Morgan.