RealNetworks has operated the Rhapsody music service since August 3, 2003 when it acquired Listen.com.
Has RealNetworks got its feature set right and served up a musical winner?
Pros:
- A huge library of over 3 million songs.
- 25 full-length music tracks to listen to for free every month.
- Rhapsody 4.0 has a clear, simple drag and drop interface that makes navigation quick and easy.
Cons:
- Service is only available in the United States.
- The Rhapsody Software is only available for Microsoft Windows.
- The subscription music you have downloaded will cease to play if you stop your monthly payments.
Service Features
Rhapsody 25:
Anyone wanting to hitch a free ride with RealNetworks will no doubt be ecstatic to discover that their Rhapsody 25 service is free. This advert financed service gives you the chance to try part of their digital music service without having to pay a membership fee.
Unlike some services that only provide 30 second music clips, RealNetworks Rhapsody 25 provides you with the luxury of listening to 25 full-length songs. Streaming audio is used to deliver the music, and as an added bonus, there are 25 free Internet radio stations to tune into as well. The big attraction to this service is that you can utilize it indefinitely by being able to play 25 full streams every month. If you only listen to a small amount of music per month or want to get a feel for their service before committing yourself financially, then this is an ideal choice.
Rhapsody Unlimited:
If you're looking for a service that gives you the freedom to search through and play an entire digital music library then Rhapsody Unlimited will satisfy your needs. It costs $12.99 a month and gives you unrestricted access to over 3 million tracks and 80 radio stations. There are two ways in which you can use this vast library, either choose streaming audio to hear your tracks or download the music files to your computer.
As with all subscription services, you don’t actually own any of the tracks until you decide to buy. As a subscribing member you will be given the privilege of a 10% discount when purchasing a song or album. This equates to $0.89 for a song and $8.99 for an album.
Rhapsody to Go:
Rhapsody to Go is a membership plan that gives you the freedom to take your music anywhere. Subscribing gives you the flexibility to transfer music tracks to a digital audio player (DAP). The subscription fee is $14.99 per month and is exactly the same as the Rhapsody Unlimited service but with portability bolted on.
As with Rhapsody Unlimited, keep in mind that if you stop your subscription then the music on your music player will no longer work. In addition, to be able to use this service your DAP must support the Rhapsody DNA or PlaysForSure DRM standards; the iPod isn’t compatible because Apple locks down their players to only use their proprietary ‘fairplay’ DRM system.
Customer Service:
Customer service is excellent via the use of a large online help system. This is backed up further by the provision of e-mail, phone, and the particularly useful live chat.
Music Software & Formats
Rhapsody Software:
Now at version 4.0, the latest Rhapsody software organizes your music in a very user-friendly way. The new version has drag and drop navigation and integrates seamlessly with devices such as the SanDisk Sansa e200R. The integrated jukebox has all the basic features you would expect such as a 10 band equalizer, playlist editor, random and loop play plus the ability to rip and burn CDs.
Although the Rhapsody software is very good at what it does there are no provisions for video or photo display. Many people have video and photo collections that they want to organize and showcase all in one place. This is only a minor gripe but it’s a shortfall that RealNetworks should address to appeal to the masses.
File Formats:
Rhapsody has its own DRM system just like the iTunes Store does to protect its music files. The DRM system that is used is known as Helix. The file format that is used with this encryption technology is RAX (AAC encapsulated in Helix). You can alternatively download WMA files if you prefer; these are protected with Microsoft’s WMDRM system.
Audio Bitstream Rates:
- Subscription downloads play at 160Kbps
- Purchased downloads play at 192Kbps
- WMA streaming audio plays at 128Kbps
The good news for Apple’s Pod-people is that music that you purchase from Rhapsody can be transcoded for use on the iPod. Unfortunately subscription tracks are not playable on the iPod, only PlayForSure compatible devices.
Conclusion
Is it right for you?
There is no denying that Rhapsody is a top class service which delivers music in style. The software has a clean, user-friendly interface that makes it a breeze to navigate and choose your music without any fuss. From a beginner's point of view, this is good news as the whole experience doesn't require a steep learning curve.
Now the downsides. There are two issues with the software, the first concerns the supported operating systems; at present only Microsoft Windows is catered for, this leaves MAC and Linux users out in the cold. A non-Windows user has to use the web based Rhapsody.com service which only supports streaming audio. The second issue is multimedia support: the software has no video or photo capabilities. Even with these minor shortfalls, RealNetworks have got a killer service that will appeal not only to existing users but newcomers too.
