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iTunes popularity to surpass RealPlayer by mid-year

post #1 of 60
2/27/07 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
Apple's iTunes is gaining new users five times faster than its closest competitor and will surpass RealPlayer in terms of popularity by mid-year, according to market research data released this week.

Website Optimization, a web performance and Internet marketing firm, said iTunes grew by 47.5 percent over the past year, while the other streaming media players mustered only single-digit growth.

Over the same time period, RealPlayer users grew by 9.1 percent, QuickTime by 8.7 percent, and Windows Media Player grew by 2.0 percent.

The firm, which extrapolated data provided by Nielsen/NetRatings in reaching its conclusions, added that iTunes should pass RealPlayer in unique users by the second quarter of 2007.

At the same time, broadband penetration in US homes has reportedly grown to 79.03 percent, up 0.62 percentage points since December. At current growth rates US broadband penetration should break 80 percent among active Internet users in March.

Meanwhile, 93.3 percent of US workers now have access to a broadband connection at their jobs, Website Optimization said, up 1.01 percentage points from the 92.29 percent share in December.



The firm's data has iTunes' user base at 27 million active users, compared to Real's 31 million and Windows Media Player's 72 million. Active QuickTime users are reported at just shy of 14 million.
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post #2 of 60
2/27/07 at 4:43pm
  • e1618978
  • will burn in the Fiery Pit of Hell.
People still use RealPlayer?
45 2a3 300b 211 845 833
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post #3 of 60
2/27/07 at 4:51pm
unfortunately some websites only offer Real files, in order to view certain videos.
such as a local news station here in nyc... www.ny1.com
if you want to view any of their videos, you NEED real player.
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post #4 of 60
2/27/07 at 4:51pm
Isn't iTunes just another front end for Quicktime? Shouldn't both be grouped under Quicktime streaming?
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post #5 of 60
2/27/07 at 4:59pm
huh, I had always assumed that iTunes was more poplar?
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Originally Posted by addabox

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Originally Posted by addabox

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post #6 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:01pm
Yeah I don't quite get it. This is about using iTunes for streaming internet media?
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post #7 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:02pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sevendusted View Post

unfortunately some websites only offer Real files, in order to view certain videos.
such as a local news station here in nyc... www.ny1.com
if you want to view any of their videos, you NEED real player.

WGN 720 is real player only for there live feed
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post #8 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by trevorlsciact View Post

huh, I had always assumed that iTunes was more poplar?

Although iTunes is very popular among Mac OS X users, on the PC side, most iTunes installations are for the iPod.

Real Player and Windows Media Player were being used for significantly longer period of time (as well as QuickTime Player, which is a horrible Windows port). That explains far smaller unique users for iTunes.
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post #9 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:15pm
Just last night, I was wondering if Amazon would ever begin to offer song samples in a format that was readily accessible to Mac users (Flip4Mac almost never works for me, VLC does occassionaly for Real format, and last night when I finally gave in and installed RealPlayer, it wouldn't even play the samples from Amazon).
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post #10 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:16pm
Hot dang, and I thought Real was washed up too...

Go iTunes! +QuickTime of course for which it is but an ingenious and well engineered front end.
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post #11 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:25pm
What about Winamp? Seemed like that used to be where everyone played the songs they got off of Napster and Kazaa...
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MacBook Pro C2D 2.4GHz and a battle-scarred PowerBook G4 1.33GHz

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post #12 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:30pm
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Originally Posted by wirc View Post

What about Winamp? Seemed like that used to be where everyone played the songs they got off of Napster and Kazaa...

I think this is just about streaming.
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post #13 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:37pm
AWWWWWW.... poor RealPlayer. It's the Netscape of the streaming media industry.
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post #14 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sevendusted View Post

unfortunately some websites only offer Real files, in order to view certain videos.
such as a local news station here in nyc... www.ny1.com
if you want to view any of their videos, you NEED real player.

Honestly, I'd rather they use Real than WMP.
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post #15 of 60
2/27/07 at 5:58pm
I'd rather chew my own arm off than use Real.

Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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Proud AAPL stock owner.

 

GOA

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post #16 of 60
2/27/07 at 6:11pm
Every user of iTunes has to have QuickTime installed, so its kind odd... We need some methodology for these stats or they're kinda pointless.
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post #17 of 60
2/27/07 at 6:23pm
personally i've always found real player to be a compact and effective streaming app
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post #18 of 60
2/27/07 at 6:24pm
from the article...
"QuickTime users total just shy of 14 million."

There are over 20 million users of OS X and each one has QuickTime. As "eAi" points out above, every Winblows user who has iTunes installed also has QuickTime installed.

Just 14 million?
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post #19 of 60
2/27/07 at 7:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post

I'd rather chew my own arm off than use Real.

I wish real would just curl up and DIEEEEE ALREADY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! aARHRHGHSGDHGHSGHG
<smashes some stuff>
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post #20 of 60
2/27/07 at 7:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by eAi View Post

Every user of iTunes has to have QuickTime installed, so its kind odd... We need some methodology for these stats or they're kinda pointless.

Yeah. It's weird. Stats methodology for iTunes is alright but the QuickTime bit needs to be spec'ed out as "QuickTime but without iTunes".
By the way, Flash Video if inserted in the graph would kick all those other players/codec's ass to Mars and back.

But it's looking solid. Very naiiice. In order of usage: FlashVideo > WindowsMedia > iTunes+Quicktime > WHOGIVESAFLYINGFRACK ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE
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post #21 of 60
2/27/07 at 8:05pm
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Originally Posted by jonnyboy View Post

personally i've always found real player to be a compact and effective streaming app

True but their business practices and heavy-handed snake oil salesmanship leave a bad taste in my mouth.
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post #22 of 60
2/27/07 at 8:39pm
Quote:
The firm, which extrapolated data provided by Nielsen/NetRatings in reaching its conclusions, added that iTunes should pass RealPlayer in unique users by the second quarter of 2007.

AppleInsider posted the same story almost exactly a year ago citing the same sources. \

Quote:
According to recent data from Nielsen NetRatings and Apple, unique users of Apple's iTunes player passed QuickTime in mid-2005, and at its current growth rate should pass RealPlayer by mid-2006.
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post #23 of 60
2/27/07 at 9:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by AISI View Post

AppleInsider posted the same story almost exactly a year ago citing the same sources. \

Well, looks like they were right. If you eyeball that handy graph, it looks like iTunes would have passed Real in 2006 if its growth had remained at the same rate as 2005. However, its rate of growth slipped a notch (and real got a slight uptick), postponing the inevitable for maybe a year.

Note, in your quote they did say "at its current growth rate." Past perfomance does not guarentee future results and all that...
Progress is a comfortable disease
--e.e.c.
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Progress is a comfortable disease
--e.e.c.
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post #24 of 60
2/27/07 at 9:41pm
Don't hate me, but I love RealPlayer. It has many useful features that iTunes doesn't.
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post #25 of 60
2/27/07 at 10:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Galley View Post

Don't hate me, but I love RealPlayer.

I don't particularly love it, but I don't see what's wrong either. Can someone explain why such hate in this thread? It is because it is just another non-Apple application for viewing its own file format? Something else?
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post #26 of 60
2/27/07 at 10:58pm
at least on the Major League Baseball site. I never had problems all the years they used Real to stream radio broadcasts of games. Last year they switched to WMA, and I had nothing but trouble. Without changing any settings from one game to the next, it was hit and miss as far as actually being able to listen to a ball game was concerned.

Dave
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post #27 of 60
2/27/07 at 11:49pm
I remember real player being very intrusive, with constant ads to upgrade (for money), and it was a pain to use. I hated it, and didn't have it on my computer for years. But last year I downloaded the new version, and I have to say it's not like it use to be, and it works well. There are a lot of preferences to change, though, to turn off notifications, cookies, and other intrusive stuff, but the good news is that once you turn it all off, it still works and doesn't bother you.

I still wish real media would go away, though - I'd much rather Quicktime was everywhere.
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post #28 of 60
2/28/07 at 12:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PB View Post

I don't particularly love it, but I don't see what's wrong either. Can someone explain why such hate in this thread? It is because it is just another non-Apple application for viewing its own file format? Something else?

I'd rather be gang-raped in the ass by angry monkeys than use Real Player again. What could anyone like about the way that company operates? I was reminded, just the other day, how much I hate them when I came to a site where there was some video (I think) that wanted to use Real Player. I decided that I would install the damned thing (it's been a couple of years since the last time I had RP on my computer).

The first thing I was greeted with when attempting to install was a registration page: why the fuck does Real need me to set up an account with them (email address -- realplayersucks@fuckyou.ca -- name, postal code, etc) to install their software? Then once it was installed I had to go mucking around in the Windows Configuration Utility to remove RP from the automatic start-up programs -- a gripe I also have with QuickTime, actually (no I don't want to load your damned program into memory every time I start-up on the off-chance that I'll need to play some media that is only viewable with RP!). Then I had to go through the list of registered file-types to reset the default applications by filetype (for god's sake, I want to open mp3s with iTunes, not RP!). On top of which, when I plugged my iPod into my computer, RP even high-jacked that and asked if I'd like to synch using RP (NO!).

I swear, if I ever meet a Real employee, I'll eviscerated them with a spoon. I didn't even watch the video I was after because it didn't work, and I proceeded to un-install RP with much cursing and glee, and promising myself that I will never, ever, EVER install Real Player on my system again!

Does that answer your question?

EDIT: I just remembered a quote by Frank Herbert which sums up my feelings on Real

"Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. You have done violence to him, consumed his energy." [from Dune]
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post #29 of 60
2/28/07 at 12:32am
Another question: why is a story about iTunes and Real Player in the Current Hardware section of the forums?
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post #30 of 60
2/28/07 at 12:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton View Post

I'd rather be gang-raped in the ass by angry monkeys than use Real Player again. What could anyone like about the way that company operates? I was reminded, just the other day, how much I hate them when I came to a site where there was some video (I think) that wanted to use Real Player. I decided that I would install the damned thing (it's been a couple of years since the last time I had RP on my computer).

The first thing I was greeted with when attempting to install was a registration page: why the fuck does Real need me to set up an account with them (email address -- realplayersucks@fuckyou.ca -- name, postal code, etc) to install their software? Then once it was installed I had to go mucking around in the Windows Configuration Utility to remove RP from the automatic start-up programs -- a gripe I also have with QuickTime, actually (no I don't want to load your damned program into memory every time I start-up on the off-chance that I'll need to play some media that is only viewable with RP!). Then I had to go through the list of registered file-types to reset the default applications by filetype (for god's sake, I want to open mp3s with iTunes, not RP!). On top of which, when I plugged my iPod into my computer, RP even high-jacked that and asked if I'd like to synch using RP (NO!).

I swear, if I ever meet a Real employee, I'll eviscerated them with a spoon. I didn't even watch the video I was after because it didn't work, and I proceeded to un-install RP with much cursing and glee, and promising myself that I will never, ever, EVER install Real Player on my system again!

Does that answer your question?



Yes and no. If I understand correctly all this frustration is about using RP under Windows. The Mac version, from what I can remember, is much more friendly. Not sure about Linux, but I have a friend who uses it daily (Linux version) and loves it.
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post #31 of 60
2/28/07 at 12:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton View Post

Another question: why is a story about iTunes and Real Player in the Current Hardware section of the forums?

Drunken automation tools? Don't worry, someone will move it where it belongs.
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post #32 of 60
2/28/07 at 1:34am
Real Player is popular? More popular than itunes? Wow I didn't know that, I didn't even know they were still a big contender since like 2002. I always hated real player when I was win user and hear that people choose to use it boggles my mind.
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post #33 of 60
2/28/07 at 2:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton View Post

I'd rather be gang-raped in the ass by angry monkeys than use Real Player again....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton View Post

...(email address -- realplayersucks@fuckyou.ca -- name, postal code, etc)

Quote:
Originally Posted by Denton View Post

"Between depriving a man of one hour from his life and depriving him of his life there exists only a difference of degree. You have done violence to him, consumed his energy." [from Dune]

THIS HAS GOT TO BE the best post in Ai for Feb 2007. Well done. You've collected all our hate and expressed it in words almost too beautiful to behold.
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post #34 of 60
2/28/07 at 2:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by PB View Post

... The Mac version, from what I can remember, is much more friendly.....

It's pretty sucky too. Installed it on my parents' iBook G4 933mhz 10.3.9 -- for nasa.gov videos, etc...
Crashes sometimes, streaming is nothing to write home about, etc. It needs to die.
Sorry REAL employees, I know a job's a job, but really, you're HURTING people. Please stop.
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post #35 of 60
2/28/07 at 2:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by nvidia2008 View Post

It's pretty sucky too. Installed it on my parents' iBook G4 933mhz 10.3.9 -- for nasa.gov videos, etc...
Crashes sometimes, streaming is nothing to write home about, etc. It needs to die.
Sorry REAL employees, I know a job's a job, but really, you're HURTING people. Please stop.

Well, crashes etc. is one thing, but the "aggressiveness" that Denton described previously is an altogether different game.
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post #36 of 60
2/28/07 at 2:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pittsburgh View Post

at least on the Major League Baseball site. I never had problems all the years they used Real to stream radio broadcasts of games. Last year they switched to WMA, and I had nothing but trouble. Without changing any settings from one game to the next, it was hit and miss as far as actually being able to listen to a ball game was concerned.

Dave

Welcome, Dave.

So you had that trouble too? I ended up canceling my MLB subscription all together last year because I could not get the video. I got a part of one game, and it froze never to return. I dont suppose (with a name like Pittsburgh) you would sympathise with my plight, but I live half a county (15 miles) from the Phillies broadcast area. Can't see a game if they are not playing the Yankees or Mets...
Progress is a comfortable disease
--e.e.c.
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post #37 of 60
2/28/07 at 5:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbravo556 View Post

Isn't iTunes just another front end for Quicktime? Shouldn't both be grouped under Quicktime streaming?

That was my exact same reaction on reading this.

p.s. Nice to read an entire thread without the usual Trolls inserting how much better Winblows Media Center is! :lol
Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
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Been using Apples since 1978 and Macs since 1984
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post #38 of 60
2/28/07 at 5:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bageljoey View Post

Welcome, Dave.

I dont suppose (with a name like Pittsburgh) you would sympathise with my plight, but I live half a county (15 miles) from the Phillies broadcast area. Can't see a game if they are not playing the Yankees or Mets...

Oh but I do - simply on the level of a baseball fan who has long (15 years) been outside of the local broadcast area. Shoot, the Phillies may even make an appearance or two on national tv. Can't remember the last time the Bucs have (given their 14 year streak of losing seasons, it isn't surprising).

I'm going to give it one more shot this season, falling back on a Windows laptop if need be.
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post #39 of 60
2/28/07 at 6:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pittsburgh View Post

...... falling back on a Windows laptop if need be....

*kshshshsshksarghghg* *hunts for crucifix, garlic, stake, etc....*
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post #40 of 60
2/28/07 at 6:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cubert View Post

from the article...
"QuickTime users total just shy of 14 million."

There are over 20 million users of OS X and each one has QuickTime. As "eAi" points out above, every Winblows user who has iTunes installed also has QuickTime installed.

Just 14 million?

There is a difference between Users and people who just have it. However, these numbers do look strange....

Sebastian
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Þ & þ are called "Thorn" & þey represent þe sound you've associated "th" wiþ since þe 13þ or 14þ century. I'm bringing it back.
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