I’m starting to see more instances of RMVB format files in places where DivX and XviD long dominated the download distribution space. Particularly among Anime and Chinese language movie sites, RMVB is replacing DivX as a low-bitrate small file size alternative to DivX, because it looks better and because the file sizes are smaller. Considering all the negative publicity Real continues to get from U.S. and European downloaders, it comes as a surprise to see RealMedia Variable Bitrate files growing rapidly in popularity. It could be a result of RealNetworks open source Helix DNA project, which provides the underlying code and codecs behind their player, server and encoding software to a community of developers who are free to make improvements. A Chinese developer going by the name of Rick created Easy RealMedia Producer an app based on the Helix code that’s becoming quite popular with people who want to distribute files in this format. What’s a little confusing is Real’s own player doesn’t automatically recognize RMVB as a valid format, you need to change some file associations to either assign RealPlayer or Real Alternative to playback an RMVB file the first time you download one. Of course, what I’m seeing more frequently is the question of, ‘how do I convert RMVB files?‘ I answer that question and show you more details in my latest free tutorial.
[tags]divx,xvid,rmvb,realmedia,helix dna[/tags]