# Using RealPlayer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 4, 2016, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071 "2016-09-04T23:47:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/21 "2016-09-07T04:19:07Z")
_I_ don’t want videos. I stand by my objective as given in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/22 "2016-09-07T05:47:08Z")
Did you try vlc? (If vlc doesn’t play your files: give up) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/23 "2016-09-07T06:03:36Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > Why would you want to download videos when everything’s on Youtube? Can’t speak for the OP, but around half the stuff on my YouTube “liked videos” is no longer there–either the video or user account was deleted. I kinda wish I had saved that stuff locally. ---
**Author:** ![Polly\_Pointless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/858c86/32.png) [@Polly\_Pointless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polly_Pointless)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/24 "2016-09-07T06:16:38Z")
Since they are .wma files, crazy thought here, but just play them on the windows media player? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/25 "2016-09-07T16:12:43Z")
> [@Polly\_Pointless](#): > > Since they are .wma files, crazy thought here, but just play them on the windows media player? See Post #14. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/26 "2016-09-07T16:19:27Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > QuickTime sounds every bit as archaic as RealPlayer to me. Forget MySpace and AltaVista, that’s some Ask Jeeves, Geocities shit there. Well, being a Mac user, QT is quite ubiquitous in that environment. But like I said, VLC is the swiss army knife of video/music players for me. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/27 "2016-09-07T22:02:57Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > What have you used to try to play them? (And what operating system?) I have tried to play them via Windows Media…I get a message saying something about licensing. As noted elsewhere in this thread, that’s as far as I got. Windows 7. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/28 "2016-09-08T11:19:16Z")
> [@dougie\_monty](#): > > I have tried to play them via Windows Media…I get a message saying something about licensing. As noted elsewhere in this thread, that’s as far as I got. > Windows 7. How did you acquire these files? Did you pay for them? Do you still have the timesheet software? Sent from my QTAQZ3 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/29 "2016-09-08T12:34:20Z")
Apparently iMesh is defunct. Depending on the type of DRM you may not be able to play those files regardless of the player you use. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/30 "2016-09-08T12:37:12Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > How did you acquire these files? Did you pay for them? He said in the OP that he got them from iMesh, which is a now-defunct music service. Apparently, iMesh’s music files have DRM which is keeping him from being able to play them now. I don’t know anything about iMesh, but from Googling, it seems there is at least one program available (not necessarily free) that claims to be able to remove the DRM from such files. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/31 "2016-09-08T15:02:15Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > Myself as well. RealPlayer is a product that reminds me of long, defunct programs like Napster and Netscape. I’ll be damned. > > Anything QuickTime can’t read, I’ll usually resort to VLC. I normally use Media Player Classic, particularly for listening to podcasts and watching videos. There are codec packs that allow you to play almost anything. But one thing I wish it had is a short rewind, perhaps thirty seconds, for when I missed something in a podcast. The DVR provided along with my Comcast cable subscription has this. Anyone know of a good media player that has this as a feature? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/32 "2016-09-08T16:18:10Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > He said in the OP that he got them from iMesh, which is a now-defunct music service. Apparently, iMesh’s music files have DRM which is keeping him from being able to play them now. \*[_see comment below–d.m.]_ > > I don’t know anything about iMesh, but from Googling, it seems there is at least one program available (not necessarily free) that claims to be able to remove the DRM from such files. \*That’s where I stand. I don’t know what DRM is or how to bypass it in order to play those songs. No idea what program overcomes this difficulty. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/33 "2016-09-08T21:08:00Z")
I know that Dougie got the files from iMesh. What I’m asking is - did he pay for the files or did he download illegally uploaded files using iMesh. At various points in time, it was possible to do both. So dougie\_monty - did you legally acquire these files? Have you tried reinstalling the iMesh software? ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2016, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/34 "2016-09-08T21:44:45Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > I know that Dougie got the files from iMesh. > > What I’m asking is - did he pay for the files or did he download illegally uploaded files using iMesh. At various points in time, it was possible to do both. > > So dougie\_monty - did you legally acquire these files? > > Have you tried reinstalling the iMesh software? I downloaded the music all legal and proper. When there was a charge for it, I paid it. I’m still sore about that–that I’m out that money and can’t play the music. :mad: I’d like to take it out of RIAA’s hide. How do I reinstall iMesh’s software? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071/35 "2016-09-09T05:07:47Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I normally use Media Player Classic, particularly for listening to podcasts and watching videos. There are codec packs that allow you to play almost anything. > > But one thing I wish it had is a short rewind, perhaps thirty seconds, for when I missed something in a podcast. The DVR provided along with my Comcast cable subscription has this. Anyone know of a good media player that has this as a feature? [MediaPlayerLite](http://www.mediaplayerlite.net/) is, for my money, the greatest video player ever made. It’s completely free, but the installation has those bloatware offers you can remove by unchecking them. (That “advertising” is how it’s free.) As long as you uncheck all the crap, all is well. The inclusion of the bloatware in the installation means that antivirus software flags it as malicious. It took me a while to figure out that’s what was going on. Just be sure to uncheck the bloatware. It has a small footprint – 32mb all told, both installation and memory while running – plays just about anything, and is endlessly configurable with keyboard shortcuts. I set up easy to remember hotkeys (for me at least) for a bunch of commands. Some of my most used: Volume Up/Down Volume Boost On/Off (Add +300% volume, independent of actual volume) Brightness Contrast Reset brightness and contrast to normal with a single keystroke Zoom Picture Larger/Smaller Move Picture Left/Right/Up/Down Rotate Picture Clockwise/Counterclockwise Skip Ahead 6 seconds Skip Back 6 seconds Pause Frame Advance Increase/Decrease Speed: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x, 4x, 8x (all include audio) Picture Size toggles: 50%, 100%, 200%, Full Screen Image Capture with a single keystroke, automatically saved to configurable folder Lots more goodies, but that’s most of what I use. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/using-realplayer/765071.md?page=1)