Listening to RTÉ Radio Online

RTÉ Radio is available to listen to online using Windows Media Player or Real Player.

When you launch the Media Player on the RTÉ Radio site(www.rte.ie/radio), there is an option to listen with either Windows Media Player or Real Player.

If you are using Windows, Windows Media Player is already preinstalled on your computer.

If you wish to use Real Player to listen to the live stream you will need a piece of software called the Real Player.

At the moment, programmes can only be listened back to using Real Player.

Real Audio and Real Video Streams
The free version of the RealOne Player is quite sufficient to play audio and video. If you don't already have this software, you can download it from the RealNetworks site (www.real.com/freeplayer/?rppr=rnwk), there are several mirror sites hosting the software, so be sure to pick the one nearest you.

Once you have downloaded the player, click on the file to set up the software on your computer. The setup should only take a minute or two.

The RealOne Player is available for PC and Macintosh. Along with the software, your computer will need to have certain minimum specifications in order to play the audio & video successfully.

If you are using the net at work, you may be on a corporate network or behind a firewall. In this case you should contact your system administrator to check whether RealAudio streaming is permitted by your system.

For a more comprehensive RealAudio troubleshooting guide, see the Real Networks help page.

SMIL Files
RTE Radio uses the .SMIL format for live streaming and playback. SMIL is supported by the RealOne media player, among others.

To get RealOne to automatically play .SMIL files: open the player go to Tools --> Preferences. A window should open up with a menu system on the left hand side. Select Content --> Media Types and a list of file types will appear. Press the 'Select All' button and then OK.

After this, RealOne Player will be your default player for .SMIL files.