.ram files! Aiiiieeeeeee!

April 7, 2006 8:42 PM

Can sometime tell me if there is a plugin for Winamp or perhaps a standalone program that can play .ram files? I would really rather not install Real Audio, I think you can guess why. Any guidance would be most appreciated!
posted by ChaoticIndustry to Computers & Internet (11 answers total)

there's real alternative. which is just a plugin type thing that sits on top of media player classic, but the download come with.
posted by juv3nal at 8:45 PM on April 7, 2006

Media Player Classic here.
posted by limeonaire at 9:12 PM on April 7, 2006

I think you can guess why

Because it sucks?
posted by scarabic at 10:09 PM on April 7, 2006

ditto real alternative.
posted by radioamy at 11:33 PM on April 7, 2006

there is also a quicktime alternative, fyi. may as well get them both while you're at it.
posted by Brando_T. at 6:25 AM on April 8, 2006

A small gotcha with Real Alternative (at least with version 1.44, which is what's running here): if your .ram file contains an rtsp:// link to the .rm file with the actual content in it, all is well. If it contains instead a pnm:// link to the .rm file, Media Player Classic will refuse to let you seek within the stream.

I don't know whether the official Real Player also behaves this way, because I absolutely refuse to run it.

The workaround is to edit the .ram file with Notepad and change the pnm:// at the start of the link to rtsp://, then reopen the .ram file with Media Player Classic.

I've never yet seen a PNM server that won't also serve RTSP.
posted by flabdablet at 6:51 AM on April 8, 2006

I haven't tested this myself, but free-codecs.com also has what looks like the Winamp plugin you're after.
posted by flabdablet at 6:57 AM on April 8, 2006

i think you can guess why

because you've bought into the ridiculous urban myth that installing real player will damage your PC?
posted by ascullion at 7:01 AM on April 8, 2006

RealMedia software is invasive—it "phones home" using identifiable personal information, and embeds itself in your file structure such that it's difficult to find all the little pieces, much less get rid of it entirely. It also puts a number of processes in startup, which are easy for experienced users to remove, but which are a serious annoyance and source of startup slowdowns for the uninitiated.

Sure, other software does similar things—but that doesn't mean I'd want any of it on my computer. I think ChaoticIndustry is perfectly justified in wanting to find alternatives to RealPlayer.
posted by limeonaire at 8:09 AM on April 8, 2006

because you've bought into the ridiculous urban myth that installing real player will damage your PC?

I'm used to having my presumptions challenged on Metafilter; indeed, it's one of the reasons I come here. Sometimes, I'll see a link on the blue and foolishly think "now here's something that all of us, from whatever divergent backgrounds, can agree on," only to--of course!--be proven wrong. Not everyone thinks the Haley Joel Osment on Walker clip is fall-down funny; a lot of people think wretched homemade They Might Be Giants videos are great fun.

In a way, Metafilter is inspiring...no matter what the subject is, there will always be a passionate refutation to your own beliefs lurking in the thread.

Having said that, I never ever in my entire life thought I'd see someone on here actually defend RealPlayer. Jesus Christ.
posted by Ian A.T. at 11:08 AM on April 8, 2006

Ian A.T. and limeonaire, while true about some past versions of Real products, it's been on the order of years since Real was 'that bad'.
posted by nomisxid at 12:27 PM on April 10, 2006