RealPlayer 8 uses varying configurations depending upon the firewall setup. Our firewall pages have instructions on how to configure RealPlayer 8 to work with a firewall. The RealPlayer 8 Location bar works similarly to the Address or Location bar in a web browser. However, you can only enter addresses for RealMedia files in the RealPlayer Location bar.
Packet loss occurs when information is unable to successfully travel from one server to another.
Previous RealPlayers have interpreted lost information as rebuffering, hissing, crackles, and skips. When RealPlayer 8 connects to a RealServer serving the variable bandwidth content, the server detects your Internet connection speed and sends the best stream possible for that connection. As the quality of your Internet connection changes due to packet loss, RealServer switches to a lower bandwidth stream. This causes a difference in the audio quality, but eliminates the rebuffering, hissing, crackles, and skips. When the quality of your Internet connection improves, RealServer switches back to the higher bandwidth stream.