real audio (RA)

RealAudio is a compressed Internet audio file format from Real Networks that can be used to transmit real-time audio and Internet radio over the Internet. The transmission takes place without the complete audio file being downloaded by the user beforehand.

RealAudio thus enables streaming audio, with playback of audio sequences starting immediately after the file is called up. The data rate is relatively low, which is achieved by reducing the quality. RealAudio is transmitted via the User Datagram Protocol( UDP), and the loss of data packets does not affect the quality of the streaming media. The compression is between 16:1 and 24:1. RealAudio offers copy protection, it is transmitted using a special program that can be included in all popular web browsers. The file extension for RealAudio files is *.ra or *.ram.