The Helix community is a collaborative effort among Real, independent developers, and leading companies to extend the Helix DNA™ platform, the first open multi-format platform for digital media creation, delivery and playback. The Helix DNA platform is comprised of the following:
To meet your needs, components of the Helix DNA platform are available under either commercial or open source licenses. Additionally, RealAudio and RealVideo are available under commercial licensing terms for use with Helix.
Helix DNA is also the foundation for Real's product suite, including the free RealPlayer, RealProducer and the Helix Universal Server.
Latest News
Feb 05: New KeyLabs report indicates consumers prefer RealVideo 10 over Windows Media and MPEG-4. (press release)
Feb 03: We're migrating the Helix Community site over to a new infrastructure, based on GForge, with help from the friendly folks at Konstrux. The Helix Community website, mailing lists, and other infrastructure will be in "read-only" mode starting the morning of Friday, February 6, and continuing through the weekend of February 6-8 (Friday through Sunday). We also expect significant downtime during that time. Some services, such as IRC, will be unaffected by the rollover. (more details)
Feb 02: Real announces integration of Open Mobile Alliance DRM 2.0 specs into Helix DRM. This, coupled with the Helix DNA Client, enables mobile device manufacturers to support playback of secure content. (press release)
Jan 26: TeliaSonera selects Real's Helix Universal Mobile solutions to deliver audio and video content to mobile subscribers on GPRS and 3G networks. Helix Universal Mobile is built on top of the open Helix DNA platform (press release)
Jan 22: Helix Player just won the "Best Open Source Project" award at LinuxWorld NY! It was competing against senior projects such as KDE 3.2, Gentoo, and Sun's JXTA. We would like to thank all of you for your support and encouragement. To the devs and testers that made it come this far in this short of a time - you guys rock! Here you can find a picture of Vikram Dendi, Program Manager and a beaming Elaine Grabicki, Helix Marketing Manager with the award. (press release)
Jan 22: Live from LinuxWorld NY... Check out SYS-CON radio interview with Kevin Foreman, GM Helix, and stay tuned for archived The Linux Show!! interviews with Helix team members Vikram Dendi, Kevin Foreman, and "Helix Troublemaker" Rob Lanphier.
Jan 22: Renesas Technology (Hitachi and Mitsubishi Electric joint venture) joins Helix Community to incorporate WM9 and RealAudio 10 / RealVideo 10 in SH-Mobile. Welcome aboard! (press release)
Jan 21: We're happy to announce the 2003 Helix Community Grant Program winners for development of open source projects on Helix. They are to the following:
- UC Santa Barbara for providing robust multicast support in Helix
- Justin Karneges and Ulrich Staudinger at the Jabber Foundation for Jabber/Helix integration
- Robert Kaye at MusicBrainz for integrated metadata cleanup in the Helix DNA Client
- Jesse Schell at Carnegie Mellon University for integrating the Panda3D game and simulation engine with Helix
- The Xiph Foundation for further research, development and support of Ogg Vorbis and Ogg Theora codecs, including Helix DNA platform integration.
More details can be found in the press release
Jan 21: Milestone 2 of the Helix Player for Linux has been released. Release includes major UI enhancements and new datatypes, including RealVideo 10, RealAudio 10, RealText, and RealPix. Plugin supports JavaScript and all controls have been implemented. Group support added to provide previous/next buttons when playing files in metafiles. (more info)
Jan 15: Today Nokia introduces the Nokia 6620 smartphone, featuring the RealOne mobile player & SMIL technology, providing users with the very best audio and video. Check out the next generation 3GPP media player technology here in the Helix community: the Helix DNA Client. (Nokia press release)
Jan 15: Time Warner Cable selects Real 10 Platform and Helix family of media software products - built on the Helix DNA platform - to support the Road Runner high-speed data service. (press release)
Jan 14: LinuxWorld Conference and Expo names the Helix Player project and Helix Universal Server as finalists for the Product Excellence Awards. Look for the Helix team at LinuxWorld in New York January 20-23, 2004. In addition to our booth and panel presentation, we are sponsoring the Linux Show!!, which will be broadcasting live from the show floor.
Jan 09: More news from CES... Learn more about the integration of Real's digital media platform and IBM's WebSphere DB2, how Rockford and PRISMIQ are bringing Rhapsody from the PC to the living room, and a cool new download promotion with Heineken beer. (All CES releases here)
Jan 08: Check out Helix community members Video Without Boundaries and CAC Media! They are embedding the Helix DNA Client in the upcoming Linux-based Lafayette MediaREADY 4000, transforming home televisions into convergent multimedia entertainment centers. (more details)
Jan 07: Real has made many exciting announcements at CES today, including the release of RealPlayer 10, based on the Helix DNA Client. This release includes greatly improved versions of RealAudio 10 and RealVideo 10. Much of this technology is available in nightly builds of the Helix Player for Linux. Other announcements include: Over 50 launch partners embracing the Real 10 platform, RollingStone.com news, launch of the Music Store, Music Store support for palmOne handheld devices, and new AAC licensing and support. (All CES releases here)
Jan 02: Happy New Year! Check out the latest Helix community newsletter. If you're not already receiving these newsletters, sign up today.
Dec 23: There are two new email aliases for discussing ports of Helix: solaris@porting.helixcommunity.org and itron@porting.helixcommunity.org. To join, become a member, and then visit this page.
Dec 17: Welcome Ericsson Mobile Platforms (EMP)! EMP is the latest company to license Helix DNA Client and join the Helix Community (press release)
Dec 17: RealNetworks is working with opensourcexperts.com to provide a directory of third-party developers who are capable of working with the Helix platform, and are available on a contract basis. More details...
Dec 16: The Symbian Player Preview Release is here! This release gives community members a chance to get a peek at the features and functionality available from the Symbian port of the Helix DNA client. See the release page for more information.
Dec 16: New programmer documentation is now available: a draft of the upcoming Helix Client and Server SDK r5 release, and a Helix DNA Client Error Reporting Overview. The Helix Client and Server SDK includes an in-depth overview of key portions of the Helix DNA Architecture, documentation on producing server-side and client-side plugins, as well as how to create media clients based on the Helix client engine. Also includes Interface, Structure, and Function lists for important portions of the architecture.
Dec 08: Vikram Dendi posted an update from the Helix Player project, which includes news about a virtual team kickoff meeting on December 9, and a Helix get-together at CES in January.
Nov 21: Come meet the Helix community team at the SoCal Linux Expo in Los Angeles this Saturday, November 22. We will be showing the latest version of the Helix Player and giving away Helix t-shirts!
Nov 15: Software updates from the past week:
Oct 22: Motorola joins the Helix community - Welcome! The Motorola team will be helping with the Linux ARM port and other projects. (press release)
Oct 17: The Helix Player project has released Milestone 1! See the release notes for download and install information, plus additional details about the project and its progress.
Oct 15: Limelight Networks leverages Helix Universal Server and Helix DNA platform for global digital media delivery. (press release)
Oct 08: America Online deepens support for RealNetworks technologies: RealNetworks expands AOL's digital music, movies and news services on AOL 9.0 Optimized and AOL for Mac OS X. (press release)
Oct 01: Palm debuts Tungsten T3 and Tungsten E handhelds, both shipping with the RealOne Mobile Player.