RealAudio (http://www.realaudio.com) is a suite of programs to produce, serve, and play audio files over the network. The playback is instantaneous - no file downloading to local disk is involved.
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Software: custom player (free software) is needed to use Real Audio. Encoder is available for a nominal fee or as a part of server package
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Architecture: an independent compressed audio server (ppn:/) delivers the audio. An audio link on a Web page only provides a URL of the audio server and audio file. The audio player is capable of locating, pooling, and interactively playing audio files from any server on the net even without an http browser.
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RealAudio files require only 10 kbit/s to play and can be accessed using POTS. Compression technology is proprietary. Audio quality corresponds to AM radio. Encoder converts all popular audio file standards.
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dozens of Web sites use RealAudio, including large broadcasters.
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