RealNetworks’ tug-of-war with Microsoft
for digital media delivery dominance hit a new gear Wednesday
with the launch of the Helix Player project — an open source media player
for the Linux, Unix and Solaris platforms.
The Seattle-based RealNetworks said its proprietary RealAudio and
RealVideo binaries would be added to the Helix Player to allow Linux
users — for the first time — to enjoy digital media playback with full
SMIL 2.0 support.
The Helix Player will be built at the company’s Helix Community program
and will be a collaborative effort. It will be powered by the Helix DNA
Client and will offer the same functionalities as the RealOne Player now
available for the Windows and Mac platforms.
RealNetworks said the first usable release of the Helix Player is
scheduled for next quarter.
Last July, when RealNetworks made the calculated gamble to release
parts of its source code to the developer community, open source advocates
clamored
for the inclusion of the proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo codecs, arguing
that the strategy would fall short if RealNetworks didn’t fully embrace the
open-source community.
While those codecs remain proprietary, the addition of the binaries for
the Helix Media Player is getting the thumbs-up from developers and
RealNetworks’ VP of the Helix Products and Solutions division, Nagesh
Pabbisetty, said it was further evidence of the company’s commitment to the
Linux Platform.
The latest move to create a media player for open source platforms comes
as membership in the Helix Community reached 20,000, including both open
source and commercial developers, RealNetworks said.
Initial versions of the player will be built for Linux and Solaris
following freedesktop.org standards and using the GTK+ toolkit. RealNetworks
said the modular architecture of the Helix Player will ensure the code can
be ported to any operating system or embedded device.
Separately, RealNetworks announced the availability of the Helix Community Grant
Program open to independent developers, academic and research
institutions, non-profits and commercial enterprises. The program will
provide funding for digital media innovation efforts in the open source
arena.
Successful grant applicants will receive funding for digital media
research or projects from a pool of $75,000. The company said each
successful proposal will be assigned a technical adviser familiar with the
Helix platform, to assist in navigating the code and removing technical
obstacles.