RealPlayer 16.0.1.18

RealPlayer Editor's Review

Ever since the dawn of time (that's 1995), RealPlayer was a real presence to the web, and one of the few players who lasted this long. So they must do something right, because even if the web evolved so much this product managed to keep up and be one of the top mediaplayers to date. 

RealPlayer slowly evolved from a basic web player to a complete media experience aggregator, not only supporting video and audio files, but also browsing through pictures, CD/DVD playback, rip and burn, downloading media from the internet and transferring whatever you need to your mobile device. 

Developers have worked especially hard in this latest version to add the support for most popular devices, so you can easily convert and transfer media files to whatever mobile device you may have. From PlayStation 3, PSP, iPhone or Android devices, sending movies or music to the device of your choice is just one click away. No extra config necessary. 

RealPlayer's web portal offers interesting news and links to music and clips so you will soon find yourself browsing through web content and spending time there without even knowing. 

Although the player is free, a pro version is available for those who want DVD writing and H264 conversion support amongst other paid advantages. It's fair and square but I really found the "free" experience cluttered and annoying at times due to excessive amounts of ads, present everywhere within the program.

Pluses: A really powerful player with rich features and a strong external device support. 

Drawbacks / flaws: Free but with ads and lack of several (minor) features. Or pro, but... with money. 

In conclusion: RealPlayer is one of the most recognized media players on the market and if you are considering something to "play" stuff with, you should give it a shot.