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Excellent
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"EPIC FAIL for version 16 of the Real Suite"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
Very few - it's hideous to install and use. There is support by phone, which I guess is a pro, but never when you seem to need it (i.e. only office hours Mon to Fri).
Cons
- Even for an experienced user, it is horrific to install. You feel like you are chasing your own tail half the time. Not sure why you can't log in and press a single button
- Half the features no longer work. Remember the days when it would download and convert video at the touch of a button? Well those days are long gone
- It can't accept that it is a 'cool tool that should be used, not seen' - so it wants to force its way into your world in a rather annoying way
- Even though I had already bought it, it still managed to convince me that I needed another copy... very poorSummary
BEST AVOIDED.
If ANYONE came up with a tool that made it easy to grab stuff off YouTube, then they would take market share off Real immediately -
"good not great"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
Does a great job,WHEN it works
Cons
I have had 2 reinstall it 4 or 5 times in the 60+ days I've used it,due 2 downloader, no longer active.
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"Refuse to install this anymore..."
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
No Pros to think of.
Cons
Application wants to take over your computer, auto-updater that you can't disable (uncheck but it still runs in the background), startups/processes you can't disable, the authors have turned their media player into malware/ransomware, almost seems like a virus. Real, get back to the basics and quit trying to own everyone's computers. If you try to run an older, less intrusive version, Real nags you to death to upgrade.
Summary
I used to install RealPlayer on my own computers and all my customer's computers but the way it's being crafted these days I won't give RealPlayer any space on my hard drive. Not only that, I haven't run into any real media files for quite awhile so why should I install this crapware on anyone's computers, let alone my own?
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"Used to love this 3 years ago"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
This was so easy to use, when I was using IE browser. Then I switched to google, and it stopped working easily. Gone was the small rectangle that dropped down, asking if I wanted to download videos. I had to open realplayer up, and open a new browser window, within the realplayer. It worked about 1/2 the time for videos, and very well for youtube.
Cons
Opening up the realplayer, and then opening a new browswer window within the player, in order to download anything. Then I had to copy the URL, and sometimes it worked, sometimes it did not.
Summary
I just uninstalled this, because I use the google browser, and have no intention of using IE, which stops working when downloading much of anything except youtube vids.
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"Has a few outstanding features..."
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
I like to use Realplayer for downloading Web Videos. It works better than PWNYoutube or other video downloaders for most purposes because the video isn't converted when you download it, ensuring a high quality download. It's also good for playing MP3 files or AVI files, because it almost always plays them correctly no matter what their codec is. It also comes with a Converter which works okay but you need to pay for a lot of the features when you could use a free alternative such as SUPER or FormatFactory. Visualizations for music are nice.
Cons
It take FOREVER to start up. It's also a little bit hard to navigate because, unlike version 10, you can't right-click. Speaking of version 10, I personally thought the lime-green and white theme looked a lot better and I wish there was a way to restore it. I doubt RealNetworks actually has backed up a copy of the theme but if they have please provide an option to change it.
Summary
RealPlayer, like any software, has it's downsides, but the good overpowers the bad here. I think RealPlayer is a great software, but I wouldn't bother with upgrading since most of the stuff that requires to upgrade can be done for free with an alternative program. If you add the option to change back the skin in the full version... maybe.
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"Not as good as Real Player 15"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
No redeaming value whatsoever.
Cons
Does not dowload MP4s from YouTube. Downloading is slower even with the accelerator and conversions are extremely slow. Real Play 15 was much better. Wish I hadn't converted
Summary
Real play 15 is better. Don't download this.
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"Another Product Deteriorated Beyond Usefullness"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
The download feature from within FireFox is nice, but not essential considering the other issues.
Cons
This products has become 'ShoveWare', SoftWare which 'Shoves' the unwanted. The first and most egregious violation is the behaviour of 'recordingmanager.exe' program which prevents the ejection of USB devices. The second issue is the preferences for the 'Library | File Locations' preference, apparently Hard Coded as it will allow an edit, but always reverted to the defaults. The fact that the folks at Real do not have any avenue for offering feedback on product defects says it all, they do not care what the end user thinks or wants.
Summary
I am in the process of eliminating Real products from all the systems I support. If I wanted someone to tell me how to use my technology, I would buy from Apple.
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"Only Works Correctly about half the time!"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
When it actually works, it's pretty good, but it's also too rare!
Real Player too often freezes up, crashes or slows to a crawl while downloading. It is a very buggy finicky program that fills my event viewer with errors too often on both Windows XP and Windows 7.
I just got an offer to buy the program for $ 29.99, the lowest I had ever been offered before. I would never pay the usual
$49.99 price! I tried to order it from the interface on their program. An hour later I was till trying to get through a gauntlet of errors! First it tells me my email address is invalid (which I have been using for over a decade).Cons
Then the program would not accept my address and or credit card information. My wife ended up calling the bank to verify there was nothing wrong and the transaction should have gone through. They gave her Real Player's phone number to call and find out why their program was
not accepting correct information! After about another half an hour, with my wife repeating all our information to a rep on the (from India, of course) phone numerous times we just gave up in frustration.Summary
My wife speaks perfect English and was a public
school teacher for over twenty five years so why this person could not understand her is beyond me!
To add insult to injury Real Player had the nerve to put a $2 charge on our card when all we got from them, on their site and on the phone was aggravation and incompetence!
I wrote them weeks ago about many of the errors and problems I was having with the program without the courtesy of a response.
If this is the kind of experience I can expect from their support staff then why would I pay for a bad program and bad customer
service!
I hope our really bad experiences with Real Player, the program and the company, will help someone else avoid a lot of
frustration. Unbelievably each version seems to get worse! I only use the program for the web downloader and sometimes the
media player so that's where most of my experiences come from. That's my story! -
"Different version/same problem"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
None!!! There is nothing good about this program.
Cons
This is a hideous program. I had version 15...it was awful. This one (v. 16) is just as bad. There is (I believe) planned incompatibility. I have performed a clean uninstall and clean re-install 3 times in 24 hours. The downloader portion works for a while and then it stops. The fact that I checked the compatibility of RP16 with Windows 8 was most illuminating. According to the compatibility program, this program is not compatible. It adds up to one of 3 alternatives. 1) I don't know how to download programs (all of a sudden), 2) This is planned by Real Networks to force people to pay for RP or 3) Someone on their end made a mistake and hasn't gotten around to fixing it. This problem happened in both v.15 and v.16. It is too coincidental for me to believe anything but the second alternative. I sent them an email with my concerns and they haven't responded.
Summary
I would stay away from this program. Not only does it work in a very fickle fashion, but I had to use a program to force all of the components out of my computer.
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"RealPlayer Version 16 is a solid, true, classic"
Version: RealPlayer 16.0.1.18
Pros
Downloading is simple and easy, the player works, and, despite some comments to the contrary, it is still free
Cons
A bit dated, lacks modern features other paid programs include
Summary
Some reviewers have complained that you must buy RealPlayer Plus, that is not really true. If you download a video from YouTube or anywhere else, and then click on the file you are likely to get a message that the file cannot be read by QuickTime, etc - so you are lead to think that you need RealPlayer Plus. Simply open the free RealPlayer and you will find the downloaded file listed, which can then be played in RealPlayer. The download is simple and the replay is very, very good. No stuttering, no buffering, simply an easy way to watch a video.
RealPlayer is a simple program that has been fine tuned over many years, and that works most of the time. I am running Windows 8 - 64 bit and RealPlayer works as well as it did in Windows XP. That is a very comforting plus for RealPlayer.
If you want to download videos to save and watch later, RealPlayer is one of the easiest ways to do it. If you want to stream videos or convert formats, RealPlayer is an average program - there are better ways to do that kind of task.
For day to day use RealPlayer remains one of the best free options.
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