*************************************************************** RealAudio Player 2.0 (Windows) from Progressive Networks http://www.RealAudio.com *************************************************************** Release Notes For the latest information see http://www.RealAudio.com This document describes Progressive Networks' RealAudio Player. Our web site is http://www.RealAudio.com. Please check it for the latest information. For technical information and answers to frequently asked questions, see http://www.realaudio.com/help.html. The software and documentation is provided to you in accordance with your license agreement. On-line help is available for the RealAudio player in a Windows help file called RAPLAYER.HLP ------------------------------------------------------------------- Installation There are two different RealAudio Players available for Windows: * RealAudio Player for Windows 3.1 and Windows 3.11 The installer for this player is called RA16_20.exe This is a 16 bit Windows application. * RealAudio Player for Windows 95 and Windows NT The installer for this player is called RA32_20.exe This is a 32 bit Windows application. It requires a 32 bit winsock. To install, execute the installer under Windows. If you want to control where and how RealAudio is installed, use Custom Setup. The default installation location is C:\RAPLAYER\RAPLAYER.EXE The RealAudio Player for Windows 95 and Windows NT consists of the following files: In C:\RAPLAYER (or the directory specified under Custom Setup): RAPLAYER.EXE, RAPLAYER.HLP, README.TXT, START.RAM, COMPLETE.RA, THANKYOU.RA In Windows System directory: RA32.DLL, RA3228_8.DLL, RAGUI32.DLL If you installed the RealAudio Plug-In, then in the plugins directory of your browser: NPRA32.DLL The RealAudio Player for Windows 3.1 and 3.11 consists of the following files: In C:\RAPLAYER (or the directory specified under Custom Setup): RAPLAYER.EXE, RAPLAYER.HLP, README.TXT, START.RAM, COMPLETE.RA, THANKYOU.RA In Windows System directory: RA16.DLL, RACT28_8.DLL, RAGUI16.DLL If you installed the RealAudio Plug-In, then in the plugins directory of your browser: NPRA16.DLL -------------------------------------------------------------------- System Requirements To play RealAudio files, your system must meet the following requirements: * 486/33 SX or better PC running Microsoft Windows 3.1x, Windows NT or Windows 95 * 8 megabytes RAM. * 2 megabytes free disk space. * A sound card with a Windows Sound driver. (The RealAudio Player is not compatible with the PC Speaker program or other software programs which simulate a sound card.) * An Internet Connection. Either a direct connection or a 14.4 Kbps or better modem with a SLIP or PPP connection to an Internet Service Provider. * RealAudio for Windows 95 or Windows NT requires a 32 bit winsock. RealAudio now offers 28.8 content. To listen to RealAudio 28.8, you need: * 486/66 DX or better running Microsoft Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, or Windows NT. * An Internet Connection. Either a direct connection or a 28.8 Kbps or better modem with a SLIP or PPP connection to an Internet Service Provider. ------------------------------------------------------------------- New Features * RealAudio 28.8 - RealAudio 28.8 is a new algorithm that provides enhanced sound quality to all people who have a 28.8 Kbps modem or better connection to the Internet. This near-FM (monophonic) sound quality greatly enhances the clarity of music and voice delivered in real-time over the Internet. RealAudio 28.8 is now available for Windows 3.1 users who have 486/66 computers and 28.8 Kbps modems. * Plug-in - The new RealAudio Plug-in allows content creators to seemlessly integrate RealAudio directly into their Web page layouts. RealAudio for Windows 3.1 now supports the RealAudio Plug-in. * Firewall Proxy Support - RealAudio supports the RealAudio Proxy allowing safe access to RealAudio content through firewalls. See our Firewall information page at http://www.realaudio.com/firewall.html for more details. * TCP-only Audio Delivery - RealAudio supports receiving audio via TCP-only. If your site blocks UDP delivery, please select the TCP-only option from the Network Preferences, available under the option menu. Do not use TCP-only mode when you are using a dial-up connection. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Reporting Feedback We are very interested in your experiences with our products. Please use the multipurpose reporting form located at http://www.realaudio.com/problem.html to report problems, if you have comments or to offer suggestions. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Sound Quality Audio is transmitted to the RealAudio player in RealAudio format. The player then by default produces 16-bit 8 Kilohertz sound. If you hear garbled audio then you can change the kind of sound the RealAudio player produces. To change the kind of sound produced, please pull down the "View" menu and choose "Preferences". Select "Advanced" and you will see toggle boxes for "use 8-bit" and "use 11 kHz": * 16-bit 8 Kilohertz (default) * 8-bit 8 Kilohertz (select use 8-bit) * 16-bit 11 Kilohertz (select use 11 kHz) * 8-bit 11 Kilohertz (select use 8-bit and use 11 kHz) If you receive poor quality audio, please see our FAQ entry on audio quality by going to http://www.realaudio.com/help.html and selecting FAQ. From there, select the "Audio Quality" entry. Please note that to receive RealAudio 28.8 you should have at least a 19.2 Kbps connection to your Internet Service Provider. In a 19.2 Kbps connection you may hear slight gaps in the audio. Dial-up users should be sure to keep the network connection preference as UDP (the default). In TCP mode, no audio packets are lost, but their arrival may be late enough to cause gapping in the audio. TCP mode is useful when you are directly connected (via a local area network) to the internet. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Known Problems * Having large applications open may prevent the RealAudio installer from executing. If this happens, please close all other applications and then install. * Starting or quitting large applications while playing RealAudio can cause some brief disruption of the playback. * Playback on some 486/25 SX computers does not work properly. * The user interface during playback of 28.8 content on slower systems may have slow response time. Performance of other applications may suffer during playback. To improve system performance select the General tab from the View|Preferences menu and adjust the Best Audio Quality/Lowest CPU Usage slider. * The 16 bit RealAudio Player does not work correctly under Windows NT. If you use Windows NT, please use the 32 bit RealAudio Player and a 32 bit winsock. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Browser Upgrade After you upgrade your browser, you may lose the configuration information for the RealAudio player. The easiest way to re-configure your browser is to re-install the player. Alternatively, you can manually configure your browser: * Viewer name: c:\RAPLAYER\RAPLAYER.EXE * Mime Type: audio * Mime Subtype: x-pn-realaudio * File Extensions: .ra, .ram * Homepage URL: http://www.realaudio.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 1995, 1996 Progressive Networks, Inc.