RealMedia is the collective name for the streamable file formats RealAudio and RealVideo developed by the software producer Real Networks. RealMedia files end with .ra for audio, .rv, .rm, and .rmvb for video, and .ram and .rpm as meta data formats, which means files that are linked to the actual multimedia file.
The RealMedia audio standards quickly spread and established themselves on the Internet, not least due to the popularity of RealPlayer. RealMedia formats are applicable for most of the usual Internet protocols, which makes them particularly popular among online radio stations.
But RealPlayer is being increasingly replaced by Winamp and Windows Media Player, which also offer improved streaming technology.
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