The upgraded RealPlayer with Windows compatibility will be available for distribution later this year, and Linux desktop users will be able to play streaming media in all popular forms of audio and video in a single player, the companies say. The latest RealPlayer for Linux will include Windows Media support with the already existing MP3, Ogg, RealAudio and RealVideo, they add.

RealNetworks' Helix Banshee music player is currently available as part of the SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 from Novell. Helix Banshee aims to combine the best elements of the Helix DNA client universal media framework and the GNOME Banshee open source music player to deliver playback capabilities for most audio formats.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop is a giant step forward in out-of-the-box multimedia capabilities for Linux desktops, says Jeff Ayars, vice-president of product engineering at RealNetworks. We are proud to have the Helix DNA Client form the foundation of both the Helix Banshee music player and the RealPlayer for Linux.

Helix Banshee and RealPlayer for Linux, as well as other  streaming media players on Linux desktops and more than 80m mobile phones, are built on top of the Helix DNA Client universal media framework, he adds. RealNetworks and Novell are working together to speed up the progress of ISV streaming media application development on Linux through this single media framework available on multiple operating systems and hardware platforms, he continues. Helix DNA Client is available today using the GPL and RPSL OSI-approved open source licences as well as the RCSL commercial source licence, Ayars concludes.