Editing RealPlayer (section)

==History==
The first version of RealPlayer was introduced on April 3, 1995 as "RealAudio Player" and was one of the first media players capable of [[streaming media]] over the [[Internet]]. Then, version 4.01 of RealPlayer was included as a selectable Internet tool in [[Windows 98]]'s installation package.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://users.telenet.be/mydotcom/howto/scripts/sysadmin/answerfile_w98.htm |title=msbatch.inf - Unattended and Customized Installation of Windows 98 |access-date=February 3, 2010 |archive-date=November 5, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105045616/http://users.telenet.be/mydotcom/howto/scripts/sysadmin/answerfile_w98.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Subsequent versions of the software were titled "RealPlayer G2" (version 6) and "RealOne Player" (version 9), while free "Basic" versions as well as paid "Plus" versions, the latter with additional features, have also been offered. For the Windows OS, the RealPlayer version 9 [[wikt:subsume|subsumed]] the features of the separate program, [[RealJukebox]].

On December 4, 2001,<ref>{{cite web |title=RealNetworks Launches RealOne |publisher=Streaming Media |url=https://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=64464 |access-date=April 17, 2025}}</ref> the result of the merger between RealPlayer and RealJukebox led to the creation of a new brand, RealOne Player.<ref>{{cite web |title=RealOne Player |publisher=PCMag UK |url=https://uk.pcmag.com/first-looks/31004/realone-player |access-date=April 17, 2025}}</ref> The new name led to RealOne supporting more than 50 video formats.<ref>{{cite web |title=RealNetworks RealOne Player Plus review: RealNetworks RealOne Player Plus |publisher=CNET |url=https://www.cnet.com/reviews/realnetworks-realone-player-plus-review/ |access-date=April 17, 2025}}</ref> A second version was released in September 2002.<ref>{{cite web |title=RealNetworks releases RealOne update |publisher=ZDNet |url=https://www.zdnet.com/article/realnetworks-releases-realone-update/ |access-date=April 17, 2025}}</ref>

In July 2008, the RealPlayer Music Store was replaced with the Rhapsody MP3 Store.<ref>{{cite web |title=RealPlayer Music Store has closed |publisher=customer.real.com |url=https://customer.real.com/hc/en-us/articles/204039903-RealPlayer-Music-Store-has-closed |access-date=February 20, 2025}}</ref>

RealPlayer 11 was released for [[Microsoft Windows]] in November 2007 and for [[Mac OS X]] in May 2008. RealPlayer 15 was released on November 18, 2011. This version allowed users to transfer video, music, and photos between their computers and mobile devices, share links of videos and photos on sites such as [[Facebook]] and [[MySpace]], and download videos from popular sites such as [[YouTube]] and [[Metacafe]]. 

RealPlayer was initially accessed by many users as a [[Plug-in (computing)|plugin]] to watch streaming video or listen to streaming audio (for example, most of the [[BBC]]'s websites formerly employed the plugin);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/help/faq/download_and_install_realplayer.shtml |title=How do I download and install RealPlayer? |publisher=bbc.co.uk |access-date=June 14, 2010 |archive-date=June 26, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100626060106/http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/help/faq/download_and_install_realplayer.shtml |url-status=dead }}</ref> but in the early 21st century, [[Adobe Flash]] and subsequently [[HTML video]] became preferred options for this purpose.