RealPlayer SP is the evolution of the long-running RealPlayer software, which has become a multi-limbed beast of a program: It's a media manager and player, along with a packaged web browser, a subscription and a la carte music store (Rhapsody), a gaming store (Real Arcade), an audio recorder, and now a streaming video ripper/converter with ties-in to social networking sites. It is at the moment Windows only, though we're assured a Mac version is forthcoming. The beta comes in two versions: One is free, and the other costs $40 and includes H.264 conversion, DVD playback and DVD burning.

The SP stands for Social/Portable, so you can get a hint of where they're going with all this. In addition to RealPlayer itself, the software integrates a button to rip video into your browser (Firefox, Chrome, and IE are supported, Opera is not, no word yet on Safari). This new addition includes a converter to pretty much every portable video format you could imagine, from BlackBerry to Symbian to iPod to Zune.

Where RealPlayer SP is convenient is in this video conversion, especially if you've got a more niche phone or PMP (and I certainly do). Normally, conversion to Zune-supported video is kind of a pain in the ass, but RealPlayer SP handles it easily and well. For newer devices like the Palm Pre and BlackBerry Bold, RealPlayer SP can pass the converted video right through to the player, while it's able to go through iTunes to get video onto an iPhone or iPod touch. Older or less common devices, like my BlackBerry Curve 83xx and my Zune, are still supported, but you'll have to copy the new video files over manually.

The problem with this new iteration of RealPlayer isn't the new features, it's the underlying RealPlayer media software. iTunes, Zune, MediaMonkey and WinAmp are all better and more full-featured media jukeboxes, and unfortunately, Real's new focus on streaming video is new to that category of software but certainly not new to any of us. Hell, Firefox has had extensions that can do the exact same thing for years, with admittedly weaker codec support.

I also wasn't thrilled with the conversion speed or efficiency. Real claims a 1x conversion time, meaning 1 minute of video will take 1 minute to convert, which is actually quite pokey. A 3.2MB music video took 3.5 minutes to convert, and I ended up with a 6.6MB file. Sure, it's not a big deal for such a tiny video, but it feels like it should have been far snappier.

RealPlayer SP is also tied in to various social networking sites, but it's pretty half-assed: For Twitter, it just provides a link to the page of the video you downloaded, along with some prime advertisement for Real that kind of makes you sound like a jackass. The default tweet is "just downloaded so-and-so video with RealPlayer!" followed by a link to the RealPlayer download site. So get ready to follow every single one of those Twitter posts with "Clarification: I do not work for Real."

Really, the new features in RealPlayer SP aren't bad at all. It's a good idea to integrate streaming video ripping into a media jukebox, and RealPlayer SP does about as good job at it as we could ask. But the overall package needs some work: RealPlayer SP is way too bloated to work as just a video ripper/converter, and as a media jukebox it's outdated and cumbersome. Real has a good idea here, but RealPlayer needs more than some flashy add-ons. We'd love it if Real would put out the SP features in a simple applet, and leave off the browsers and media managers that we don't give a damn about.

So who should actually use RealPlayer SP? If you're a BlackBerry or Zune owner who uses Windows, loves YouTube and is confused by the multitude of third-party video converters, RealPlayer SP would be an excellent choice for getting video clips on your phone. [Real]

The stakes for RealNetworks aren't terribly high either, as sales of RealDVD might have been slow because of, oh, I don't know, the mountains of free software that does a better and more complete job. Within the day, Real filed a countersuit which could possibly set a new precedent for the interpretation of the Hollywood's DVD license. Even in a best-case scenario, the most legal headway that could probably be made would be to permit neutered software like RealDVD, which would still leave any useful method of DVD backup well outside of the law. [NYT]

For $50, or $30 for a limited time, RealDVD allows you to rip standard DVDs in perfect quality to your hard drive (no Blu-ray), complete with bonus features, menus and such. The process takes anywhere from 10 to 40 minutes and requires 4-8GB of space. The catch is that these video files can only play in Real's player and cannot be converted for use by your other devices, like iPods or phones.

RealNetworks' solution is that you can buy four additional licenses for $20 apiece to view your content on other PCs. And it's not a very good one.

Then again, it's important to note that this is the DVD copying solution that the industry has allowed. And even with the strict limitations in place, it's surprising that you don't need to have the actual DVD in the drive to play the ripped files. [RealDVD]

It won't work on DRM'd enabled content. But so many sites use Flash players as their sole download deterrent, or video streams that can't be saved as more than a bookmark otherwise. The UI on the player pops up over a Flash or movie stream window, allowing you to click to download. What's cool is that it preserves meta-data, like name, rating, description, and where you got it from. Sharing videos with friends at that point sends the source URL instead of the actual video file. Right now, it can't transcode, but it will burn DVDs if you pay for the registered version. Thankfully, the freeware still rips.

Will it nag you to upgrade in old school Real fashion? I don't know. But the beta is live now, and it's worth checking out. [UPDATE: June...live in June, not now.]– Brian Lam

RealNetworks Introduces Breakthrough New RealPlayer

New One-Click Downloading Lets Consumers Enjoy Videos from Thousands of Web Sites Wherever and Whenever They Want

CARLSBAD, Calif., D: All Things Digital Conference - May 31, 2007, 11:30 a.m. Pacific Time - Leading digital entertainment services company RealNetworks® today unveiled the new RealPlayer®, the first media player to make it one-click simple to download online videos from thousands of Web sites. The new RealPlayer makes it easy for consumers to watch videos whenever and wherever they want, burn them to DVD and CD, and share video links with friends. Most major formats are supported, including Real, Windows Media, Flash, and Quicktime. The new RealPlayer will be available for free beginning next month at RealPlayer.com.

"The new RealPlayer gives consumers more control of Internet video than was ever possible before," said Rob Glaser, chairman and CEO of Real. "By floating a "download this video" button next to video seen on thousands of Web sites, RealPlayer makes it one-click simple. The new RealPlayer is a major step towards realizing our vision of bringing great digital entertainment to more people on more screens around the world."

In 1995 RealNetworks gave the Internet a voice with the first-ever Internet broadcast via the release of the RealAudio® player, an innovation that garnered Real a coveted Emmy Award® by The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Since then, the RealPlayer has become one of the most downloaded software applications on the Internet, with an average of more than 1.5 million copies downloaded daily.

Fast Facts about the New RealPlayer:
n Consumers can use the innovative, single-click process to quickly download and save videos for later enjoyment.
n Consumers can download multiple videos simultaneously with RealPlayer, allowing people to save time and easily multitask. Users can also start downloading in the middle of watching a video, and the entire video will be captured.
n Consumers don't need to worry about video format compatibility issues - the new RealPlayer supports videos created in the most popular formats, including Flash, Windows Media, Quicktime, and Real.
n Consumers can easily burn videos to CD (or to DVD, using RealPlayer Plus). The Video CD format used by RealPlayer can be played in most DVD players.
n Consumers can send links of their favorite videos to their friends with a convenient "Share with a Friend" feature. The link that arrives in their friends' email will direct them to the online source of the video content their friend downloaded.
n RealPlayer supports both downloading and recording for popular streaming format (Windows Media, Real, and Quicktime)
n RealPlayer will only download/record video that is not protected by DRM (Digital Rights Management) systems.
n RealPlayer features an improved look and feel, a streamlined installation process and faster video playback.
n RealPlayer will first be released for Windows, and will work with both Microsoft Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Real plans a version for the Mac to be released later in the year.

"RealPlayer feeds the appetite consumers have for interesting Web video while maintaining a connection with the content source," said Lisa Hungness, general manager, New Media for National Geographic Magazine Online that hosts video content, including WildCams—Web cams that stream live video of animals in the wild, connecting people to animals and environments around the world at www.nationalgeographic.com/wildcam. "Our WildCam fans love to download and share our video. Thousands of our clips are posted across the Web. This will be a great new trend in online video viewing for consumers and content owners alike because consumers can share links back to the videos' origin where similar experiences may be found and enjoyed."

"Time-shifting of recorded or downloaded content is a natural next step in the progression of the online video distribution and consumption," said Michael McGuire, vice president, Gartner, Inc.. "For online video fans, the ability to capture, store and forward content is going to be transformative."

A beta of the new RealPlayer will be available for the public in June 2007 via a free download from www.realplayer.com. Consumers and media are invited to visit the www.realplayer.com site to participate in the RealPlayer blog, register for product information and updates, and share ideas about how the new RealPlayer's capabilities could change the face of online video.

Future versions of RealPlayer, which are now in development, will enable users to transfer online video content to their personal media devices for on-the-go viewing.

When we saw the E6 passing through the FCC in October, we thought it might have iTunes on board, but now it sounds like Motorola's getting out of the way of something. What could that be? Oh, yeah, perhaps the iTunes contract has expired just in time for Apple's upcoming iPhone. Looks like cannon fodder for the looming Apple juggernaut.

Nevertheless, we're liking the way this E6 has a 3.5mm headphone jack instead of that oddball size of the Motorola Q's phone jack which won't let you use regular earbuds. Also along for the ride are a 2-megapixel camera and a relatively large 2.4-inch display. It also has an FM radio and an SD card slot for up to two gigs of storage.

Overall, it's similar to its predecessor, with the advantage of running Linux underneath but still making us wonder why it exists at all. No price was announced, but it'd better be cheap or it will again be DOA. – Charlie White

Motorola unveils iTunes-less ROKR [Reg Hardware]