Launchcast Now Supports RealPlayer

Launch Media (www.launch.com), has announced that its Launchcast service can now be streamed with RealPlayer, along with the Windows Media version it previously offered. Launchcast is a music service that enables members to design their own audio stations through a rating system.

The announcement is part of a larger cross-promotional agreement between Launch and RealNetworks, under which RealNetworks will feature Launch.com on the Real.com Guide music page. In addition, the Launch channel will become a default setting on the RealPlayer.

According to David Goldberg, CEO of Launch, the delay in making Launchcast available for RealPlayer was due to some technical difficulties with its embedded player. Launch had been encoding all its music files in both the Real and Windows formats since the official launch of Launchcast in February 2000. However, they had to re-encode their library of music files encoded previous to that date.

Launch also announced that Launchcast is now available for Macintosh users using RealPlayer. The Mac version does not include a Windows Media option due to technical incompatibilities; however, Goldberg hopes to offer the Windows Media format in the future.