RealNetworks has entered the cloud storage market with their just-released RealPlayer Cloud app. The service, which offers 2GB of free storage to new users, differentiates itself from the crowd of cloud storage providers in that it’s designed to store and share video clips only.
Described by CEO Rob Glaser as the biggest product release they’ve done in a long time, the idea for RealPlayer Cloud came about after realizing they had a strong user base on the PC with no focus on the future. Their business model didn’t apply to mobile so the team started out by focusing on a few use cases before ultimately realizing what they were shooting for could be spread across multiple platforms.
RealPlayer Cloud is said to combine their existing media player technology with a cloud backend. This, according to Glaser, allows different aspects of the platform to run in the background to make sure videos are viewable across multiple platforms – a technology they call SurePlay. Users are even able to share videos with people that don’t have RealPlayer Cloud. Just send them a link and they should be able to watch your video through most any device with a modern browser.
As mentioned earlier, the service will use a freemium model with 2GB free for new users. Technically, it’s more than 2GB as the company stores multiple versions of each video in the cloud to ensure seamless playback across all devices. If you need more space, premium plans start at $4.99 per month.
