Audio & Video Media Player Glossary

A compression file format for audio with better quality than MP3.

A bit is a single numeric value, either '1' or '0', that encodes a single unit of digital information. A bit is represented with a lowercase "b".

Recording data onto optical media discs, e.g. CD-R, DVD-R, Blu-Ray.

A Byte is made up of 8 bits, and is the measurement unit used to describe the storage capacity of digital systems. A byte is represented with an uppercase "B".
1 Kilobyte (KB) = 1,024 bytes
1 Megabyte (MB) = 1,024 Kilobytes
1 Gigabyte (GB) = 1,024 Megabytes
1 Terabyte (TB) = 1,024 Gigabytes

The word codec is a combination of any of the following:

• 'Compressor/Decompressor',
• 'Coder/Decoder',
• 'Compression/Decompression algorithm'

A codec is a computer program that both shrinks (encode) multimedia files, and then decode it for viewing or editing. Codecs are used to shrink files and help speed up internet downloads. There are hundreds of codecs being used on the Internet. Some of the most popular codecs are MP3, WMA, RealVideo, RealAudio, DivX and XviD.

Digital rights management (DRM) refers to access control technologies of digital media or devices. It is used by copyright holders and publishers to limit free distribution and unauthorized duplication.

RealPlayer Plus can convert files in supported formats, such as AAC (.m4a), RealAudio 10 (.ra), Wave (.wav), MP3 (.mp3), and some WMA (.wma) files.
RealPlayer cannot convert files in a secure format, such as music downloaded from a subscription service such as Rhapsody (secure .WMA files), and Music Store tracks (.RAX files).

The process of converting digital media into another format.

An equalizer lets you customize the sound by altering the volume of different music frequencies.

See Byte.

A compression method that allows the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data.

A compression method that does not allow the exact original data to be reconstructed from the compressed data, but is close enough to be useful. It is most commonly used to compress audio, video, and still image files.

Media player is a generic term typically used to describe computer software for playing back multimedia files. Most software media players support many media formats, including both audio and video files.

RadioPass is Real's radio subscription service that can turn your PC into the epicenter of Internet radio with access to over 70 ad-free digital music stations and 3,200 broadcast stations worldwide. If you're a SuperPass member, it's included with your subscription.

This is the most popular streaming audio technology for the Internet from RealNetworks. First introduced in 1995, a browser equipped with the RealPlayer media player or third-party RealAudio plug-in enables news, sports and other programs transmitted from RealAudio servers (RealServers) to be heard on the user's computer. Encoders and plug-ins can be downloaded from RealNetworks' Web site. Server software is available for many platforms.

Real Broadband Essentials, included with your Real SuperPass subscription, gives you everything you need to stay secure online and more, e.g.:

• McAfee VirusScan anti-virus and anti-spyware/adware
• Firewall (McAfee Personal Firewall)
• Parental Control / Internet Filtering (ContentWatch)
• PC Utility Software Suite (System Mechanic)
• Home networking (Network Magic)
• Pop-up blocker (Google Toolbar)
• Photo and video backup (Real PhotoVideo)
• RealPlayer Plus media player
• Speed Test (Visualware)
• Ad-free radio (Real Radio)

RealMedia is a Real's streaming media technology for the Internet. Using the Realtime Streaming Protocol (RTSP), it is designed to handle any type of media, e.g. audio, video, text, MIDI, animation, and presentations. The RealMedia Architecture (RMA) can synchronize multiple streams simultaneously: e.g. sending images intermixed with audio.

RealVideo is a proprietary streaming video technology developed by RealNetworks. It was first released in 1997. RealVideo is supported on many platforms, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Solaris, and several mobile phones. A browser equipped with a RealOne media player (RealPlayer) or third-party RealVideo plug-in enables video broadcasts from RealVideo servers (RealServers) to be viewed on screen.

Real SuperPass is RealNetworks premium subscription service offering access to subscription-only content, including news, sports, movies; music, and entertainment. You can watch, listen, and enjoy it all with the Web's best media player, the advanced RealPlayer Plus, which is included with Real SuperPass.

Randomly play tracks from a playlist.

Streaming Media is delivered as a stream of data (bytes), and played directly as it is received (simultaneously). This allows you to view live events in real time and viewing large media files without long delays and with minimal data loss.