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RealNetworks Blends Jukebox, Player

Beta version of Real Entertainment Center includes updated RealJukebox 2 and RealPlayer 8.

By Cameron Crouch, PCWorld   

On Monday, RealNetworks releases a beta of the Real Entertainment Center, which updates both of RealNetworks' consumer products in a single download. Available in both free and $49.99 Plus versions, Real Entertainment Center includes RealPlayer 8, RealJukebox 2, and RealDownload 4. But unlike Windows Media Player 7, you can still get RealPlayer 8 and RealJukebox 2 separately. They're free, or cost $29.99 each in Plus versions.

"We're taking a suite approach with appropriate amounts of integration," says Rob Grady, product manager of RealNetworks' consumer group. "You have the choice to build a rack-mount digital entertainment center in pieces or at once."

Because you must download RealNetworks' products, Real Entertainment Center offers RealDownload 4. It lets you pause and resume downloads and even queue up downloads for later, Grady says.

RealPlayer 8 adds media services from Real.com, including a radio tuner, an artist guide, a music guide, media search, media guide, message service, Take 5 news service, and media channels.

"We're taking the tuner and guide and moving it down to the desktop," Grady says.

The radio tuner offers one-click access to more than 2500 stations listed by genre. You can access the same tuner in RealJukebox.

RealPlayer 8 also adds contextual video search. For example, you can find just the Santana interview from the Grammy awards clip, Grady says.

The Take 5 news service has added a daily baseball update and a download selection.

Dancing Visuals, Neater Navigation

RealJukebox 2 lets you store and encode your digital music collection. The free version records CDs at 96 kbps while the Plus version supports 320 kbps, or CD-quality encoding.

To the skins, or graphical interfaces that let you personalize your RealJukebox, RealJukebox 2 adds a productivity skin. It hides the bulk of the player interface, leaving only the playback controls in the corner of your screen. Like Winamp and Windows Media Player 7, RealJukebox 2 adds visualizations, which are graphics that move to the beat of the music.

RealJukebox supports all the major codecs and digital rights management systems including MP3, Liquid Audio, Mjuice, Real Audio, A2B, and Windows Media, Grady adds. The company plans to support Sony and Universal systems.

Finding where you stored the latest Britney Spears song in your jukebox isn't easy. Beyond its flexible look, RealJukebox 2 is now easier to navigate, Grady says. A browser-like navigation toolbar shows the path you took to get to a file.

Experienced users will be able to view and edit the metadata--such as artist information, lyrics, and album art--pulled from Real.com. "We provide minimal track information with the initial lookup, but you can add a lot more data," Grady says.