Last month at the D conference, Real Networks announced the next version of RealPlayer, which features one-click downloading and saving of online video. This week last100 editor Steve O’Hear got his hands on RealPlayer 11 and thoroughly tested it.
Steve reported that RealPlayer 11 has a cleaner installation process, a UI similar to iTunes, and indeed many other features in common with iTunes – including its ‘jukebox’ functionality (importing and organizing music and video) and burning media to CD/DVD from within the application. But the biggest new feature, noted Steve, is the ability to download videos from the web:
With RealPlayer 11 installed, when you visit a website with embedded video (Real, Flash, QuickTime or Windows Media), a floating tab appears giving you the option to download the file or ‘record’ it in the case of a live stream. Once you click ‘download this video’ a copy is then placed into your RealPlayer library. I tested the feature on YouTube and found that videos downloaded quickly and without a glitch. Next up I tried to save a ‘Real video’ stream from the BBC but was greeted with the following message: ‘This clip is not downloadable from this site.’ That’s because RealPlayer honours any online video protected by DRM, preventing a user from saving it to their hardrive.
Read the full review on last100. Steve liked what he tested, so it seems that Real Networks has borrowed well from iTunes and is ensuring it remains a viable alternative to the market leading Apple.
Have any Read/WriteWeb readers tested out Real Player 11? How do you rate it?
