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RealPlayer for Windows - Setup Guide

From Benchmark

Benchmark's guide for configuring Windows-based media players

General strategies for setting up your computer for high quality audio playback

*this article was researched using RealPlayer v10. Some information in this article may not apply to different versions of this software. Email us to report any errors or discrepancies, or if you would like more information on this topic.

RealPlayer v10

1 Overview
2 Recommended Player Settings
3 Known Problems
4 Article Outline

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Overview

RealPlayer performed the poorest of all media players tested. It had deficiencies with sample-rate, word-length, and volume control.

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Recommended Player Settings

SET VOLUME AT 100%
- RealPlayer suffers from severe distortion when the volume is set less then 100%
- Read more about digital volume control, and how it affects the quality of your audio.
SET 'Playback Performance' TO 'Best quality'
- This can be found at:

Tools -> Preferences -> Hardware

SET 'Playback Quality' TO 'Best quality'
- This can be found at:

Tools -> Preferences -> Hardware -> Sound Card Compatibility -> Settings

ENABLE '16-bit sound', 'custom sample rates', AND 'Direct Sound' IF YOUR SOUND CARD IS COMPATIBLE
- This can be found at:

Tools -> Preferences -> Hardware -> Sound Card Compatibility -> Settings -> Sound Card Troubleshooting

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Known Problems

Converts all sample-rates to 44.1 kHz
- Read more about sample-rate conversion, and how it affects the quality of your audio.
Would not play 24-bit files
Poorly designed volume control
- Read more about digital volume control, and how it affects the quality of your audio.

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