RealAudio (.ra)
Also known as: RealAudio, .ra file, .rm RealMedia, RealPlayer audio
RealAudio (.ra, also .rm) is an early streaming audio format from RealNetworks, designed in the 1990s to play sound over slow dial-up connections. It is largely obsolete today and most current players need a converter or RealPlayer to open it.
- Streaming audio format from RealNetworks (1990s)
- Largely obsolete; needs RealPlayer or a converter
- Replaced by MP3, AAC, and modern streaming
Why RealAudio existed
RealAudio was built for streaming over low-bandwidth internet, when downloading a full song was impractical. It used heavy, proprietary compression so audio could start playing before the file finished arriving — a novelty in the dial-up era.
The format was tied to RealNetworks software (RealPlayer, RealMedia). As broadband and open formats like MP3 and AAC took over, RealAudio faded out and is now rare.
Opening or replacing .ra files
Most modern media players do not support RealAudio out of the box. Tools like VLC and FFmpeg can play or convert many .ra files, and converting to MP3 makes them universally playable and easier to manage.
If you have an old archive of .ra recordings, converting to a current format is the safest way to keep them usable long-term.