Real Media codec

[jhellein]

Is "Real" a four-letter word at NewTek? My reseller warned me against installing "Real" on my Toaster system but I think he meant "Real One" which tries to take over anything on a PC that it can. Also, I have seen no reference to "Real" on the Newtek website or in the manuals.

My customer currently uses only "Real" for streaming over the web. Before VT, I used "Real Producer" as a stand-alone program and fed it my AV files. Now, I am hoping I can download a "Real" codec without compromising my VT3 configuration.

My other option is to send AV files to the former, now collecting dust, NLE (Matrox 2500) that has the "Real Producer" software. However, I find that starting with uncompressed footage is best for compressing and so I am hoping to do it all in the VT box rather than come up with a solution to get multi-gigabyte files out over the (100 mbps) network.

In summary, two questions:

1. Should I NOT install a "Real" codec (or "Real Producer" if just the codec is not available) on my VT3 box?

2. If it is OK to install, does anyone know if I can just install the codec and handle the conversions from within VT like all the other codecs; or, will I need to use a stand-alone program like "Producer?"

Thanks in advance for any help.

[Paul Lara]

Real Producer will work. NewTek just doesn't mention it since it's a for-pay codec, where Windows Media Encoder is free.

In any case, since the VT hardware is coded as a 'Video for Windows device', it will be available within Real as a source option.

Yeah, Real One is a piece of work, isn't it?
Anytime I see some streams that require Real, I just move on without a second thought.

I hope your client realizes that many people feel that way after having Real One hijack your entire Operating system (and the kitchen blender to boot).

[jhellein]

There is actually a free version of Real Producer that works. I realize I am helping Real in their quest of PC domination when I encode to Real and am working to share end-user sentiments (such as your comments) with the customer in an effort to move them to the Windows Media platform.

In the meantime, thanks for the help.