Topic summary
RealAudio
RealAudio, also spelled Real Audio, is a proprietary audio format developed by RealNetworks and first released in April 1995. It uses a variety of audio codecs, ranging from low-bitrate formats that could be used over dialupmodems, to high-fidelity formats for music. It can be used as a streaming audio format, that is played at the same time as it is downloaded.
In the past, many internet radio stations used RealAudio to stream their programming over the internet in real time. The format became less common and gave way to more popular audio formats. RealAudio was heavily used by the BBC websites until 2009, though it was discontinued due to its declining use. BBC World Service, the last of the BBC websites to use RealAudio, discontinued its use in March 2011.