RealPlayer continues reign

Cyberbiz Brief

By MARC GRASER

RealPlayer continues to beat out rivals Windows Media Player and Quicktime when it comes to what technology Netizens use when viewing or listening to streaming video or audio over the Web, according to a new study by Media Metrix. Last November, 28% of all U.S. home computer users used RealPlayer, while 22% used Windows Media Player and 4% Quicktime. However, the study said that while media players are now installed on 99% of U.S. home PCs, less than 50% of those are used. "As a result of aggressive bundling campaigns, media players and streaming media players are now installed on nearly every home PC in the United States, but growth of consumers' usage of them is flattening," said Steve Coffey, exec veep, Media Metrix. "To close the gap between what people can do and what they actually do, the industry must continue to develop content and better delivery systems that encourage users to take advantage of the digital and audio capabilities they have." Media Metrix has a representative sample of more than 100,000 people under measurement and covers more than 85% of Internet usage worldwide.