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RealMedia

Digital file format

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
1 min read
Source updated January 5, 2025

RealMedia is a proprietary multimedia container format created by RealNetworks with the filename extension .rm. RealMedia is used in conjunction with RealVideo and RealAudio, while also being used for streaming content over the Internet. Typically these streams are in CBR (constant bitrate), but a container for VBR (variable bitrate) streams named RMVB (RealMedia variable bitrate) has been developed.

01Overview

A RealMedia file consists of a series of chunks that can be of several different types:

  • .RMF: RealMedia file header
  • PROP: File properties header
  • MDPR: Media properties header
  • CONT: Content description header
  • DATA: Data header
  • INDX: Index header

Supported audio formats

Supported video formats

Watch videos about RealMediaExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “RealMedia”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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Related topics

RealPlayer

RealPlayer, formerly RealAudio Player, RealOne Player and RealPlayer G2, is a cross-platform media player app, developed by RealNetworks. The media player is compatible with numerous container file formats of the multimedia realm, including MP3, MP4, QuickTime File Format, Windows Media format, and the proprietary RealAudio and RealVideo formats.

Container format

A container format or metafile is a file format that allows multiple data streams to be embedded into a single file, usually along with metadata for identifying and further detailing those streams. Notable examples of container formats include archive files (such as the ZIP format) and formats used for multimedia playback (such as Matroska, MP4, and AVI).

Comparison of video container formats

These tables compare features of multimedia container formats, most often used for storing or streaming digital video or digital audio content. To see which multimedia players support which container format, look at comparison of media players.