RealPlayer 10 for Linux, Now includes license and codec for MP3..

slashdot.org ^ | 2005-01-24 | Timothy (Slashdot mod)

[N3WBI3]

kforeman (aka Kevin Foreman, GM of Helix RealNetworks, Inc.) writes "As part of the free RealPlayer 10 for Linux, Real has paid Thomson for a legal MP3 playback license and then includes it at no cost as part of the newly released RealPlayer 10. As I speak to people, many are under the false impression that MP3 playback patent and royalty rights are free, since there are open source implementations of MP3 playback available. Not true. Nonetheless, we are glad to do our part of making the Linux desktop a first class citizen by legally providing MP3 playback to users via our new RealPlayer."

n3wbi3:
Just to note RealPlayer was built on the open source project 'helix', and has plugins for mozilla (and I am assuming firefox).

[N3WBI3]

for profit company using opensource to build their app ping..

[beaversmom]

ping

[general_re]

What a nice gift. Nevertheless, I bet, without even looking, that about half the posts on that /. thread will be from hardcore Real-haters saying how awful Real is because they haven't opened up their own codecs. Sheesh.

[TommyDale]

Some of my absolute worst experiences with Windows has been due to the Real Player programs. Now they want to ruin Linux?

[antiRepublicrat]

I bet, without even looking, that about half the posts on that /. thread will be from hardcore Real-haters saying how awful Real is because they haven't opened up their own codecs. Sheesh.

Real is just awful because, well, it's just awful. On Windows WMP is better for video, while iTunes is great for music. The first thing I do when I get an RM or RA file is convert it.

[goldstategop]

RealPlayer has always been available for download in a Linux format. Are they going open-source now? I wouldn't be surprised by the announcement.

Denny Crane: "I look to two things: First to God and then to Fox News."

[general_re]

I don't care for them much either, but they appear to be at least attempting to rehabilitate their reputation lately, first with Helix and now this.

[Howlin]

ROFLMAO...........I damn near died last night when he said that!

And I loved it the other week when he jumped up in court and screamed "That's Bush bashing!"

[FreedomCalls]

I thought Fraunhofer owned the MP3 CODEC license rights. Who's this "Thomson"?

[N3WBI3]

Yea, I have seen a bit of that, but on the whole people are pretty happy about it. I think its fine if real does not want to open up their specs (as do most Linux users). I have never been fond of real playerbecause its a gateway for all kinds of crap but I will have to check it out on my Linux box when I get home..

[N3WBI3]

The big thing is they are supporting the MP3 license issue. Their player has not in the past includd the codec for MP3..

[isthisnickcool]

RealPlayer sucks. It won't work on CP/M. So I won't be using it until they port it over so I can run it on my Intertec SuperBrain II.

[Slainte]

Thomson acts as the MP3 licensing representative, they manage an entire patent protfolio related to MP3 including patents from Fraunhofer, Coding Technologies and themselves.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Thanks for the info. Now what about streaming audio and ASX Files under Linux?

Short for ASF Streaming Redirector file, a Windows Media container file. ASX is an XML redirector file for ASF. ASX files are metafiles, i.e., they provide information about ASF media files, including descriptions of multimedia content. When a browser links to an ASX file, the ASX file in turn links to an ASF file on a server.

[N3WBI3]

I seriously doubt MS allows their codec's to be used under Linux..

[discostu]

That's not why I think Real is awful, I think they're awful for how they're stupid app infiltrates a system putting hooks to itself all over the place and then constantly nags you for updates and junk. Any program that puts itself in two places on the start menu, and the quick launch bar, and infiltrates the system tray, and throws on a desktop icon just irritates the hell out of me. Realplayer is more pervasive than any MS product, which is really not the model to follow.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Hmmm:

Advogato: Microsoft patents ASF media file format, stops reverse engineering

Advogato: Microsoft patents ASF media file format, stops reverse engineering
Jun 7, 2000, 02 :17 UTC (32 Talkback[s]) (7663 reads)
(Other stories by atai)

"Microsoft patents the ASF media file format and stops the author of VirtualDub, a GPLed video capture and processing program for Windows, from supporting ASF since he reverse-engineered the ASF file spec. The consequences are numerous: Third parties cannot develop their own tools to decode ASF or convert ASF to other formats, and if ASF becomes the dominate media format on the Internet (due to Microsoft's proprietary but high-quality MPEG4 codec and strong marketing), Microsoft gains de facto technical control over the creation and distribution of digital media. And if patenting file formats becomes a common practice, it can have a chilling effect on free software development since the reading/writing of data in popular formats (say, Microsoft Word files or MPEG4 video) would be prohibited, unless one uses designated drivers."

"...We're not talking about a codec problem here. Microsoft claims patent protection on the file format. Remember these implications the next time you consider ASF for your content:"

"A broken ASF file not accepted by the Microsoft parser would be lost; the patent would prevent anyone from writing a byte-level tool to recover the ASF file. A third-party Linux player wouldn't be legal, since there would be no way to legally extract the file data, even if third-party video and audio decoders were available. Attempting to transcode a compressed ASF to another format would be impossible with any Microsoft-licensed tools, even if you have the permission of the copyright owner, or even if you are the copyright owner, because the Windows Media Format SDK license requires programs to actively block this action. For instance, Microsoft compelled Nullsoft to disable DSP plugin support in WinAmp with Windows Media Audio content because the DSP interface could be used to transcode, even though DSP plugins normally just process the audio."

Complete Story

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[general_re]

Yeah, I don't have a problem with that - what bugs me are the whiners who b*tch that Real isn't giving away the store. Hopefully, Helix is a sign that the company's re-evaluating their business model to be a little more consumer-friendly, though.

I hate situations like this, because I don't know if I should root for the hippy freeloaders or for the slimy corporation ;)

[B Knotts]

Great. But I use Ogg Vorbis, which is free and open.