RealJukebox Plus Manual

RealJukebox Plus Manual

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. Companies, names, and data used in examples herein are fictitious unless otherwise noted. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of RealNetworks, Inc.

©1999 RealNetworks, Inc.

RealJukebox™ Copyright



1998-1999 RealNetworks™, Inc.

Music CD-related data is provided through the Internet from the Escient® CDDB™ Music CD Database.

Copyright © 1998 Escient Corporation. All rights reserved.

Escient is a registered trademark of Escient Corporation. CDDB™, the Escient CDDB Logo, and the CDDB

Server Access Sound are trademarks of Escient Corporation.

MPEG Layer-3 audio compression technology licensed by Fraunhofer IIS and THOMSON multimedia. http://www.iis.fhg.de/amm/

RealAudio, RealVideo, RealNetworks and RealPlayer are registered trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc.

The Real logo, RealServer, RealPlayer Plus, RealText, RealPix, RealAudio Encoder, RealVideo Encoder,

RealEncoder, RealPublisher, RealProducer, RealProducer Plus, RealProducer Pro, SureStream, RealBroadcast

Network, and RealSystem are trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc.

Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows NT, and Internet Explorer are registered trademarks and ActiveX is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

Netscape and Netscape Navigator are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation.

Pentium is a registered trademark and MMX and the Intel Optimizer Logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation.

Other product and corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies. They are used for explanation only, with no intent to infringe.

RealNetworks, Inc.

2601 Elliott Avenue

Seattle, WA 98121 USA

http://www.real.com

CONTENTS

WELCOME TO REALJUKEBOX PLUS!

1

What is RealJukebox Plus? ..................................................... 1

How to Use This Manual ....................................................... 2

1

GETTING STARTED

5

Installation ........................................................................... 5

Quick Start ........................................................................... 6

Keyboard Shortcuts............................................................... 7

2

RECORD/PLAY A CD

9

Recording CDs.....................................................................10

Playback While Recording ................................................11

Playing CDs .........................................................................11

Record/Play CD Features ......................................................12

Get CD Info .........................................................................14

Graphic Equalizer.................................................................14

3

MUSIC LIBRARY

17

Music Library Screen Features ...............................................18

Master Library......................................................................20

Groups: Organize Your Music Library ................................21

Playing Music Library Tracks .................................................23

Save Tracks As... ..................................................................23

Track Properties ...................................................................25

Playlists ...............................................................................26

Create a Playlist ...............................................................26

Playlist Folders .................................................................27

Play a Playlist ...................................................................28

Edit Playlists ....................................................................28

Deleting Tracks and Playlists .................................................30

Importing Music Files and Playlists........................................31

Portable Music Players..........................................................32

Music Library Quick Menus ..................................................35

iii

Contents

RealJukebox Plus Manual

4

GET MUSIC

37

Get Music Updates ..............................................................38

5

REALJUKEBOX MODES

39

Skin Mode ...........................................................................39

Changing Skins ................................................................40

Deleting Skins ..................................................................40

“Get Skins”......................................................................41

Skin Mode Features..........................................................41

StartCenter ..........................................................................43

6

REALJUKEBOX MENUS

47

The File Menu ......................................................................47

The Edit Menu .....................................................................48

The View Menu ....................................................................49

The Controls Menu ..............................................................49

The Options Menu...............................................................50

The Sites Menu ....................................................................51

The Help Menu ....................................................................51

7

PREFERENCES

53

General ...............................................................................53

Recording Options...............................................................54

Encoding Options ................................................................56

CD Drive Options ................................................................58

File Storage..........................................................................58

Naming ...............................................................................59

Internet Settings...................................................................59

Music Library.......................................................................60

Portable Music Players .........................................................61

Installing Your Portable Player ..........................................61

Configuring Your Portable Player ......................................61

Update................................................................................62

A

DISK SPACE MANAGEMENT

B

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

65

67

C

TROUBLESHOOTING

73

Contact RealNetworks .....................................................78

GLOSSARY

79

iv

Chapter 0:

WELCOME TO REALJUKEBOX PLUS!

Congratulations! You’re the proud owner of RealJukebox Plus, the industry’s premier digital music system. With RealJukebox Plus, your music is at your fingertips at home, at work, or on the go!

What is RealJukebox Plus?

RealJukebox Plus is the complete digital music system. With full CD quality recording capability, RealJukebox Plus is the most powerful and intuitive way to acquire, manage, and play your digital Music Library. It's just what you've always wanted!

Here's what RealJukebox Plus can do for you:

❏

Play more music: CD, MP3, RealAudio, Liquid Audio, A2B, Wave, and more.

❏

Automatically retrieve and store the artist, album, genre, and track names for each CD in your Music Library.

❏

Record songs from your CDs to your PC Music Library — recorded tracks sound just as good as the original, and you can listen to your CDs while you record!

❏

Manage, organize, and expand your personal music collection.

❏

Find and download thousands of songs from the Internet.

❏

Play any combination of recorded, downloaded, or imported songs from your Music Library using custom playlists.

❏

Add previously saved music files to your RealJukebox Plus Music Library.

❏

Take music with you — RealJukebox Plus features integrated support for multiple digital music players, including RCA Lyra, Creative Nomad, and

Diamond Rio.

1

Welcome to RealJukebox Plus!


❏

Link to the hottest music web sites.

Read the following section, “How to Use this Manual,” then move on to the

“Getting Started” section to get started building your music collection in

RealJukebox Plus.

How to Use This Manual

This manual has been designed to complement the online Help that comes with RealJukebox Plus, not to replace it. For your convenience, check Help first when looking for quick answers.

In many cases, RealJukebox Plus gives you multiple ways to achieve a goal: mouse-clicks, key-presses, menu items, and more. In general, the instructions in this manual present one method for achieving your goal. Feel free to explore and learn what works best for you.

Chapter 1: Getting Started contains installation instructions and a Quick

Start section to help you get up and running quickly.

Chapters 2 - 7 provide in-depth information on RealJukebox Plus features and

functionality.

Appendixes A - D contain additional information you may find helpful,

including a Troubleshooting section should you have difficulty with the product. This section also contains the information you’ll need to contact

RealNetworks in case of difficulties that cannot be resolved using online Help or this manual.

The Glossary contains definitions of terms used throughout this manual. Be sure to refer to the glossary whenever you come across a term or concept you’re not familiar with.

The following guidelines will help you to get the most out of the RealJukebox

Plus manual.

Text Conventions

Key-presses appear in

BOLD CAPS

:

Press CTRL-B.

Mouse-clicks appear in

Bold Title Case

:

Click the Play button.

2



Menu names appear in Plain Title Case. Menu commands and submenus appear in

Bold Title Case

and can be separated by ellipses (...). The instruction below tells you to open the Options menu and select Preferences, then select

General:

Activate the StartCenter in the Options menu under

Preferences...General

.

Points out features available only in RealJukebox Plus.

Instructional Formats

Numbered instructions indicate a series of steps which must be completed in sequence to achieve the desired result.

To enable playback while recording:

1. Open the Options menu and select Preferences.

2. Click the General tab.

3. Check “Start Playback with Record.” Your CDs will now play as you record them.

Bulleted instructions are stand-alone procedures; these are not dependent on one another, and may be performed in any order. Each achieves a desired result in and of itself.

•

To play the current CD, click the

Play

button.

• To record the current CD, click the

Record

button.

Mouse Clicks

Chances are, your computer mouse uses a standard configuration. If this is the case, then a “click” instruction, as in “

Click the Play button

,” indicates the left mouse button. If your mouse is configured as illustrated below, the mouse-click instructions in this manual should be self-explanatory.

Mouse Button

Left button

Right button

Standard Mouse Button Configuration

Function primary click (the button you click for most operations, such as opening a file in

Windows) secondary click (the button you use least often, such as to bring up quick-menus in

Windows)

3



If you prefer to use your left hand to run your mouse, you may have chosen a different configuration than the one above (most likely, the reverse). If this is the case, please use the following guidelines when reading this manual.

The instruction “Click” always refers to the primary mouse button:

Click OK.

The instruction “Right-click” always refers to the secondary mouse button:

Right-click any track in the track list.

4

Chapter 1:

GETTING STARTED

1

Grab your mouse and hang on! It's time to start creating your personal music collection. Follow the procedures in this section to install RealJukebox Plus, and to get a quick overview of its features and controls.

Installation

You can install RealJukebox Plus either from the RealJukebox Plus CD, or from the downloaded Setup file

.

➤ To install RealJukebox Plus from CD:

1. Insert the RealJukebox Plus CD into your CD-ROM drive. The installation wizard launches.

2. Follow the onscreen instructions. When installation is complete, the program launches and the Setup process begins.

3. Click

Change

to change the default settings; click

Next

to proceed through the setup screens.

4. Click

Finish

when you are ready to complete setup.

Note

If the installation wizard does not launch automatically or you hit

Cancel

during installation, relaunch the installer by double-clicking the Setup icon on the CD.

➤ To install RealJukebox Plus after downloading:

1. Find the RealJukebox Setup file you downloaded, and double-click it. The installation wizard launches.

2. Follow the onscreen instructions. When installation is complete, the program launches and the Setup process begins.

5

CHAPTER 1: Getting Started


3. Click

Change

to change the default settings; click

Next

to proceed through the setup screens.

4. Click

Finish

when you are ready to complete setup.

Quick Start

Follow the instructions below to start enjoying RealJukebox Plus right away.

Note

These instructions assume that you have left your default settings “as is,” and that automatic record, automatic playback, and Start Playback with Record are

enabled. For more information, see “Preferences” on page 53.

Where to go What to click What to do

To Record and Play your CD, insert it into your CD ROM drive, then sit back and relax while RealJukebox does the rest. To toggle recording on/off, click

Record

. To toggle playback on/off, click

Play

(see Chapter 2: Record/Play a

CD on page 9).

To view your music, click the

Music Library

icon and browse your Master Library Groups (Genre, Artist/Album).

See Chapter 3: Music Library on page 17 for more

information.

To play your recorded music, select a track from your Music

Library, then click the

Play

button (see “Playing Music

Library Tracks” on page 23).

To create a custom Playlist, drag and drop Music Library

tracks onto the New Playlist icon (see “Create a Playlist” on page 26).

(click any link)

To download music from the Internet, click the

Get Music

icon and follow the links (see Chapter 4: Get Music on page 37).

6


CHAPTER 1: Getting Started

Keyboard Shortcuts

The following table contains shortcuts for many RealJukebox Plus features.

Command

Open Files and Playlists

Exit

Cut

Copy

Paste

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut

Ctrl+O

Alt+F4

Delete

Rename

Get CD Info

Select/Check All

Select/Check None

Skin/Full Mode

Ctrl+E

Ctrl+M

Full Mode (from Skin Mode) ESC

Record Ctrl+R

Ctrl+X

Ctrl+C

Ctrl+V

Del

F2

Ctrl+I

Ctrl+A

Play

Pause/Resume

Stop

Next Track

Previous Track

Mute

Help Contents

Ctrl+P

Pause/Break

Ctrl+S

Ctrl+N

Ctrl+B

F11

F1

7

Chapter 2:

RECORD/PLAY A CD

2

With RealJukebox Plus you can play tracks directly from a CD or record tracks onto your computer's hard drive for playback anytime.

You can play your CDs while you record them, or play previously recorded tracks while you record a new CD. RealJukebox Plus retrieves and saves CD Info for each CD, and features a Graphic

Equalizer so you can fine tune the sound of your music. Take a look:

Figure 2-1: Record/Play CD Screen

Refer to Figures 2-1 and 2-2 when using instructions in this chapter.

9

CHAPTER 2: Record/Play a CD

Figure 2-2: Record/Play Controls


Refer to this illustration when using instructions in this chapter.

Additional Information

For detailed information on each item, see

“Record/Play CD Features” on page 12.

Recording CDs

Recording CDs in RealJukebox Plus is as easy as popping your CD into your computer’s CD ROM drive. You can set up automatic recording in the

Options menu under


, or record manually using the instructions below.

➤ To Record individual CD tracks:

1. Insert a CD into your CD ROM drive.

2. Use the check boxes to select tracks to record (checked) or skip

(unchecked).

3. Click the

Record

button (click again to stop recording). Your tracks are saved in the Music Library.

Note

All recorded tracks are stored in the Music Library and the files are saved by default in the

C:\My Music

folder on your hard drive.

10



Playback While Recording

RealJukebox Plus lets you listen to your CDs while you record them. You can choose to automatically “Start Playback with Record” every time you record a

CD, or play CDs manually while you record them.

➤ To activate “Start Playback with Record”:

1. Open the Options menu and choose

Preferences

.

2. In the General section, click

Start Playback with Record

. Your CDs will now play automatically while you record them.

➤ To play CDs manually while recording:

1. Insert a CD and click the

Record

button.

2. Click the

Play

button (click again to stop playing).

Playing CDs

RealJukebox Plus lets you play your CDs just like your stereo or car CD player.

The difference is that RealJukebox Plus retrieves and saves your CD Info (track titles, album title, artist name, etc.), and gives you the option of recording your

CD to your hard disk at any time. You can choose automatic playback in the

Options menu under


, or play your CDs manually using the following instructions.

➤ To Play CD tracks:

1. Insert a CD into the CD ROM drive on your computer.

2. Use the check boxes to select tracks to play (checked) or skip (unchecked).

3. Click the

Play

button (click again to stop playing), or click the

Play Column

next to the track you wish to begin playing.

11



Record/Play CD Features

Below are descriptions of each feature on the Record/Play CD screen. Refer to

Figure 2-1 on page 9 and Figure 2-2 on page 10 for illustrations.

Feature

Play

Record

Pause

Stop

Previous Track

Next Track

Continuous Play

Shuffle Play

Eject

Volume

Get CD Info

Return

Play Column

Play Cursor

Check All/None

Mode

Status Bars


Description

Play the selected track or Playlist. (Click the

Play

button again to stop playback.)

Record the currently selected track. (Click the

Record

button again to stop recording.)

Pause the current track. To resume play, click

Pause

again.

Stop playing or recording.

Jump to previous track.

Jump to next track.

Play current CD or Playlist repeatedly.

Play current CD or Playlist tracks randomly.

Eject the current CD.

Adjust the sound level by using the slider.

Retrieve the album title, artist name, and track titles from an Internet database. For more on this

feature, see “Get CD Info” on page 14.

Click here to return to the currently playing track list. For example, if you are playing a Playlist while browsing the Music Library, clicking return takes you back to the currently playing Playlist.

Click here to move the play cursor to the track you wish to play.

Points to the currently playing track or the track selected for play.

Use these buttons to select or deselect all tracks on the current CD for recording and/or playback.

Checked tracks are played/recorded, unchecked tracks are skipped.

Click this button to switch from Full Mode to

Skin Mode.

This area displays information on the currently playing and/or recording tracks.

(Table Page 1 of 2)

12


Feature

CD Info Fields

CD Track List

RealLogo

RealBubble

RealJukebox Logo

Navigation Panel

Check Boxes

Record/Play

Indicators

Disk Space Area

Progress Bar

Control Panel

Menus

Mute



Description

These editable fields contain information specific to your CD: Artist name, Album title, and Genre.

Additional CD info can be found in the track list

(track name, length, etc.), many of which are also editable.

This area lists the tracks on your current CD, as well as track number and length. The track title field is editable.

Click the RealLogo to launch your browser and visit the RealNetworks web site (must be connected to the Internet).

Click the RealBubble to launch the RealPlayer.

Click here to visit RealJukebox Central, your source for all the latest info on RealJukebox Plus, including new skins, tips & tricks, and more!

Click the Record/Play CD icon, the Music Library icon, or the Get Music icon to navigate to those areas of RealJukebox Plus.

Check boxes let you determine which tracks to play or record (checked) and which ones to skip

(unchecked).

The green arrow indicator shows that a CD is currently being played. The red dot indicator shows that a CD is being recorded.

This area tells you how much space is required to record the current CD, as well as how much space is currently available on your computer’s hard drive.

Displays the current track’s playback progress.

You can skip forward or backward by dragging the slider left or right.

Contains buttons that help you record and play tracks.

Each menu contains a number of commands that help you get the most out of RealJukebox Plus.

Click here to mute the playing track. Click again to continue playback.

(Table Page 2 of 2)

13



Get CD Info

Your CD contains all the digital information you need to listen to your music, but that doesn’t include the CD title, the name of the artist, the musical genre, or track titles.

If you’re connected to the Internet, RealJukebox Plus automatically retrieves this information from a music information database on the World Wide Web.

If you’re not connected to the Internet, no problem. RealJukebox Plus saves

CD Info requests for every CD you record, and retrieves this information the next time you log on. You can turn off automatic retrieval in the Options menu under

Preferences...Internet Settings

, and get this information manually by clicking the

CD Info

(

i

) button.

Note

Sometimes the CD Info search does not find an exact match for your CD. In this event, you'll see a window asking you to choose between one or more nearmatches. If you see a CD title that matches your CD, you can choose it from this window. If no match is found,

you can manually enter this information (see “Track

Properties” on page 25).

Graphic Equalizer

What is it?

The Graphic Equalizer is your central control for customized audio. It lets you fine tune your audio experience by adjusting sound frequencies. Each frequency range is assigned to a slider on your Equalizer panel. This gives you

14


CHAPTER 2: Record/Play a CD control over each individual range rather than having to adjust all the high or low tones as typical treble and bass buttons do.

•

To use the Graphic Equalizer, open the View menu and select

Equalizer

.

Note

Some music file types may not support the Graphic

Equalizer.

How does it work?

Lower frequencies (bass) are the left half of the sliders, while higher frequencies (treble) are on the right. Going from left to right, each slider affects a slightly higher-frequency tone than the one before it.

•

To increase the volume of any given range, drag a slider up.

•

To decrease the volume of a range, drag the slider down.

The center position effectively leaves the incoming frequency unchanged.

Note

In some cases the equalizer may slow down your machine. Turning it off should return your computer to its normal speed.

Presets

The Graphic Equalizer comes with several “presets” which allow you to quickly adjust your sound for specific types of music: Pop, Classical, Bass Boost, etc.

•

To use a preset, click the down-arrow in the Settings box and choose a preset from the drop-down menu.

15


Components:


Turns your equalizer on and off. By engaging and disengaging the equalizer you can better adjust the sound quality by listening to the difference between the two. By default, the equalizer is OFF.

The central sliders allow you to adjust specific frequency ranges (in this example, the 31 Hz range) to your own preferences.

If you find you don't like your adjustments, click

Reset to bring all of the sliders back to zero, the central mark on each slider.

Settings:

“Settings”

Save Settings As...

Delete

A drop down box with the name of the slider settings. RealJukebox Plus comes with a number of pre-saved settings for your convenience which you can alter or add to as you wish.

Opens a Save As... dialog box to let you save the current settings with a name for later use.

Deletes setting currently displayed in the drop down area to the left of this button.

16

Chapter 3:

MUSIC LIBRARY

3

The Music Library is the place to find your recorded music and to organize your tracks into groups and Playlists. You can catalog your music according to artist, album title, or genre, or create custom

Playlists that let you organize your tracks based on any criteria you wish. With the Music Library, it’s easy to find the music you want when you want it.

Figure 3-1: Music Library Screen

Refer to Figures 3-1 and 3-2 when using instructions in this chapter.

17

CHAPTER 3: Music Library

Figure 3-2: Control Panel



For information on other screen elements, please see

Figure 2-1, “Record/Play CD Screen” on page 9 and

“Record/Play CD Features” on page 12.

Music Library Screen Features

Below are descriptions of each feature in the Music Library screen as illustrated above.

Feature

Play

Record

Pause

Stop

Previous Track

Next Track

Continuous Play

Shuffle Play

Eject

Volume

Music Library Screen Features

Description

Play the selected track or Playlist. (Click the

Play

button again to stop playback.)

Record the currently selected track. (Click

Record

again to stop recording.)

Pause the current track. To resume play, click

Pause

again.

Stop playing and/or recording.


Jump to next track.

Play current CD or track list repeatedly.

Play current CD or track list randomly.


Adjust the sound level.

(Table Page 1 of 3)

18



Feature

Mute

CD Info

Return

Play Column

Play Cursor

Editing Tools

Music Library Screen Features (continued)

Description

Click here to mute the playing track. Click again to continue playback.

Retrieve the album title, artist name, and track titles from an Internet database. For

more information see “Get CD Info” on page 14.

Master Library Groups

Playlists

Navigation Panel

Music Info Panel

Click here to return to the currently playing track. For example, if you are playing a track from a Playlist while browsing the Music Library, clicking return takes you back to the currently playing Playlist track.

Click here to move the play cursor to the track you wish to play.

Points to the currently playing track, or the track selected for play.

You can edit your Playlists. For more

information, see “Edit Playlists” on page

28.

Your tracks are organized into Groups for easy access: view your music by Artist,

Album, or Genre. For more information,

see “Groups: Organize Your Music

Library” on page 21.

To further organize your music, you can create Playlists containing any combination of tracks in any format. For

more information, see “Create a Playlist” on page 26.

Click the Record/Play CD icon, the Music

Library icon, or the Get Music icon to navigate to those areas of RealJukebox

Plus.

Displays information and links pertaining to the selected track. Not all tracks contain Music Info, so this panel is not always visible.

(Table Page 2 of 3)

19



Music Library Screen Features (continued)

Feature

Multi-Function Button

Description

Portable Music Players

Depending on your current activity, this button can read “Add Tracks,” or “New

Folder.”

Add Tracks is available when a Playlist is selected, and lets you add new tracks to your Playlists.

New Folder is available when the Playlists icon is selected, and creates a new Playlist

Folder.

You can drag and drop tracks onto a portable music player and take your music with you wherever you go (see

“Portable Music Players” on page 32).

New Playlist Button

Contents Panel

Click here to create a new playlist.

Displays the contents of the currently selected item in the catalog panel.

Catalog Panel

Control Panel

Progress Bar

Status Bars

Menus

Displays the hierarchical organization of your music files, Master Library, playlists and portable music players.

Contains a number of buttons that help you record and play your tracks.

Displays the current track’s playback progress. You can skip forward or backward by dragging the slider left or right.

These bars provide a variety of detailed information about the playback and recording of your tracks.

Each menu contains a number of commands that help you get the most out of RealJukebox Plus.

(Table Page 3 of 3)

Master Library

The Master Library contains every recorded, downloaded, and imported track stored in your RealJukebox Plus Music Library. The Master Library organizes your music files according to artist name, album title, or genre. It’s a fast, easy way to find and play your music files!

20


Figure 3-3: Master Library


•

To view Master Library tracks, double-click to open a Group (Artist,

Album, Genre, or All Tracks), then select the sub-group you wish to view.

Your tracks appear in the Contents panel on the right.

Groups: Organize Your Music Library

In RealJukebox's Music Library, you can organize or “group” your Music

Library in a number of different ways:

❏

By Genre: Type of music (rock, country, jazz)

❏

By Artist: band, singer, musician, composer name (Vivaldi, Mozart)

❏

By Album: CD or album title (The Four Seasons, Requiem)

❏

By all of the above.

RealJukebox Plus offers enhanced grouping options. See “Master Library

Groupings” on page 60 for more information.

Regardless of your grouping choices, only one copy of each track exists in your

Music Library and on your hard drive. Groupings are simply different ways of looking at your music.

➤ To choose grouping methods:

1. Open the Options menu and select

Preferences

.

2. Click the

Music Library

tab.

3. Choose as many grouping methods as you like.

21



4. Click

OK

. The results of your choices are visible in the Catalog panel under “Master Library.”


If you'd like to group your tracks another way, try creating a Playlist that fits your criteria. For more

information, see “Create a Playlist” on page 26.

Editing Track Groupings

With RealJukebox Plus, you can quickly and easily drag and drop multiple tracks to new groupings. For example, if Blues tracks appear under the “Rock” genre, you can reclassify them as “Blues” with a wave of your mouse.

➤ To change track groupings:

1. In the Music Library, double-click to open a Master Library Group, and select a sub-group (artist name, album title, genre). Your track list appears in the Contents panel on the right.

2. Click to select the track or tracks you want to reassign. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

3. Drag and drop tracks from the track list into the desired group. Tracks are automatically reassigned to the new group.

Note

If your tracks appear in both the new and old groups, select

Refresh

from the View menu.

Sorting with the Header Bar

The Header Bar is the bar just above the track list in Music Library view. With a Group, Playlist, or All Tracks open, it contains the headers Track Name,

Album, Artist, etc.

•

To sort tracks by header criteria, click a header. To sort by name, click the

Name

header (Track Name, Playlist Name, Grouping Name).

Renaming Sub-Groupings

RealJukebox Plus lets you rename sub-groupings within Music Library

Groups. For example, you can easily change the “Rock” genre grouping to read

“Pop Rock,” or change an artist name or album title.

22



➤ To rename sub-groupings:

1. In the Music Library, double-click to open a Master Library Group (Artist,

Album, Genre).

2. Click the artist name, album title, or genre you wish to rename.

3. Press

F2

on your keyboard, and type a new name.

4. Press

ENTER

to accept your edited grouping name.

Playing Music Library Tracks

In the Music Library, you can play any and all tracks in your digital music collection. This includes tracks you have recorded from CDs, as well as those you have imported from your hard disk or downloaded from the Internet. You can also play Playlists you've created from your Music Library tracks.


For an illustration of the Music Library screen, see

Figure 3-1 on page 17.

➤

To play Music Library tracks:


2. Click the

Play

button to begin playing the list in order, or click the

Play

Column

to play a specific track.

Save Tracks As...


lets you change the format and quality level (or “bitrate”) of your files. This is handy in case you want to a) reduce the file size of your tracks so you can record more music on your hard drive, or b) create a group of Wave files for transfer to CD ROM (using CDR software).

Warning

Save Tracks As... is an advanced feature and should be used with care: many Save Tracks As... actions cannot be undone.

23


Figure 3-4: Save Tracks As...


24

Note

Save Tracks As... is not available while playing tracks.

Feature

Current Track

New Track

Save Tracks As... Features

Description

This information represents your track as it exists now: this is the current track name, format, and quality level of this track.

This is where you determine what your existing track will become. Here you can change the track name, select a new format, or reduce the quality level or “bitrate” of your track.

Track Name Highlight the current track name and type a new one if you wish.

Format Select a new format for your track. Choose RealAudio,

MP3, or Wave files (some portable devices require MP3 files)

Quality Choose a lower bitrate for your track. Note: Bitrate cannot be increased using Save Tracks As.... (To increase the bitrate for a track, re-record it at a higher bitrate. See

“Encoding Options” on page 56.)

VBR

Additional Options

Turn Variable Bitrate Encoding on/off. Variable Bitrate

Encoding is only available for MP3 audio files (see

“Variable Bitrate Encoding” on page 58).

Erase: You can choose to erase the original file from your hard disk when creating your new track (no undo).

Create Playlist: You can choose to have your new track appear as a Playlist in your Music Library. (It will also be available in the Master Library Groups.)



➤ To use Save Tracks As...:


2. Select the track or tracks you wish to change. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

3. Right-click your selected tracks and select


from the Quick menu. The Save Tracks As window appears.

4. In the New Track section, change the track name, format, and/or quality level as desired. (When multiple tracks are selected, track title cannot be changed.)

5. Click

OK

. Your new track appears in your Music Library.

Track Properties

Track Properties lets you edit track info, such as track title, album title, and artist name, for one or multiple tracks.

Figure 3-5: Track Properties

Tip

You can rename your custom fields! See “Rename

Custom Fields” on page 61 for instructions.

25



➤ To change Track Properties:

1. Click to select the track or tracks you wish to change. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

2. Right-click your selected track or tracks and select

Properties

from the

Quick menu.

3. Select existing text in any field (Title, Album, Artist, etc.) and type new text, or choose from the drop-down menu if available (click the

down arrow

to the right of the text field).

4. Click

OK

to accept your changes, or

Cancel

to close Track Properties without making changes.

Playlists

Playlists are compilations you create using tracks from your RealJukebox Plus

Music Library. In the past, many music lovers enjoyed creating “Greatest Hits” cassette tapes containing favorite tracks from their CD collections. If you're one of these people, you probably spent hours in front of your stereo changing

CDs and recording these collections to suit various moods and occasions:

Upbeat, Dance, Female Vocalists… With RealJukebox Plus, the days of tedious

CD changing are over.

More Good News!

❏

Playlists can contain a virtually unlimited number of tracks.

❏

Each Playlist track is a shortcut to the music file (not a copy of the actual file), so Playlists take up very little space on your hard drive.

❏

You can edit your Playlists at any time: add, delete, or rearrange tracks in

seconds! (For more information, see “Edit Playlists” on page 28.)

❏

Playlists can be downloaded to portable MP3 players so you can take your

music with you wherever you go. (For more information, see “Portable

Music Players” on page 32.)

Create a Playlist

RealJukebox Plus makes it easy to create custom Playlists using the tracks you’ve recorded and imported into your Music Library. Simply drag and drop

26


CHAPTER 3: Music Library your favorite tracks from your Music Library group for hours of music the way you want to hear it.




➤ To create a Playlist:


2. Click the

New Playlist

button and type a name for your new Playlist, then click

OK

.

3. Drag tracks from the track list to your “New Playlist” folder. Repeat this step to add tracks from other Groups or Albums.

Congratulations! You've just created a Playlist. Now you can play the tracks you've selected, rearrange the tracks in your Playlist, or create additional playlists.

Playlist Folders

Playlist folders and sub-folders make it easy to organize your Playlists any way you like. You can create Playlist folders and sub-folders in the Music Library.

➤

To create a Playlist Folder:

1. In the Music Library, click to select the

Playlists

icon.

2. Open the File menu and select

New Folder

. (This option is available only if the Playlists icon is selected.)

3. Click

OK

. A new folder appears under the Playlists icon.

•

To name your folder, click to select it and press

F2

, then type a new name and press

ENTER

.

•

To create a sub-folder in your new folder, click to select your folder and choose

New Folder

from the File menu (or click the

New Folder

button).

27



Play a Playlist

Now that you've created a Playlist or two, you can play your Playlist tracks from the Music Library.




➤ To play a Playlist:

1. In the Music Library, double-click the

Playlists

icon to view your Playlists

(may already be open).

2. Click to select the Playlist you wish to play. A list of tracks appears in the

Contents panel on the right.

3. Click the

Play

button to begin playing your list in order, or click the

Play

Column

to play a specific track.

Edit Playlists

Once you've created a Playlist, you can change the order of the tracks, copy tracks from one Playlist to another, or delete tracks from your Playlist.

Note

Editing Playlist tracks does not affect the actual music files on your hard drive.

Figure 3-6: Editing Tools

28



Tool

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Move Up

Move Down

Editing Tools

Description

Cut a track from the list. Cut tracks are deleted from the current Playlist and saved temporarily to the clipboard.

Copy the selected track (copy is saved temporarily to the clipboard).

Paste a cut or copied track from the clipboard.

Delete the selected Playlist or tracks (see

“Export Playlists” on page 30).

Move the selected track up in the Playlist.

Move the selected track down in the

Playlist.

➤ To edit a Playlist:


Playlists



2. Click to select the Playlist you wish to edit. Your tracks appear in the

Contents panel on the right.

3. Click to select the track you wish to edit.

4. Click the editing tool you wish to use on the selected track:

•

To Copy a track into another Playlist, click the

Copy

button, then open the Playlist you wish to add the track to, and click

Paste

.

•

To move a track from one Playlist to another, click the

Cut

button, then open the Playlist you wish to add the track to, and click

Paste

.

•

To Delete a track from a Playlist, click the

Delete

button.

•

To change the order of tracks in your Playlist, click the

Move Up

or

Move Down

button, and repeat steps as necessary until your Playlist looks and plays the way you want it to. (Alternatively, click and drag tracks to the desired position in the list.)

29



Export Playlists

Once you've created Playlists in RealJukebox Plus, you can export them for use on another PC (for example, if you created a playlist at home, you can export it for use on your work machine as long as all the same tracks are present on that machine).

➤ To Export a Playlist:


Playlists



2. Click to select the Playlist you wish to export, and right-click. A Quick menu appears.

3. Click

Export

. An “Export Files” dialog appears.

4. Browse for the location you wish to export to, then click

Save

.

Deleting Tracks and Playlists

You can delete tracks from Master Library Groups (actual tracks), or from

Playlists (shortcuts to tracks).

➤ IMPORTANT: Notes on Deleting Tracks:

❏

Tracks deleted from Playlists do not affect other Playlists, Groups, your

Master Library, or files on your hard drive.

❏

Tracks deleted from Master Library Groups are no longer part of your

Music Library, but remain on your hard drive unless you choose to delete them permanently.

❏

Tracks remaining on your hard drive can be re-imported into RealJukebox

Plus at any time using the

Import Files and Playlists

command in the File menu.

❏

When deleting tracks from Master Library Groups, you can choose whether to remove tracks from your hard drive as well. If you choose this option, tracks are permanently deleted from your computer and are not available in the Recycle Bin.

❏

Groups cannot be deleted directly, but you can remove a Group by

deleting its tracks or reassigning them to another Group (see “Editing

Track Groupings” on page 22).

30



➤ To delete tracks:

1. In the Music Library, double-click to open the Group (and sub-group) or

Playlist from which you wish to delete tracks.

2. Click to select the tracks you wish to delete. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

3. Click the Delete (

X

) button or select

Delete

from the Edit menu.

Note

Tracks deleted from Groups are removed from all

Playlists. When deleting, you can specify whether you wish to delete tracks PERMANENTLY from your hard drive.

•

To delete an entire Playlist, select the Playlist you wish to delete, then click

Delete

(

X

) or select

Delete

from the Edit menu.

Importing Music Files and Playlists

You can import music files and Playlists from your hard drive in a wide variety of sources, in a number of music file formats or file types. You can also import

Playlists from other PC music players as well as Playlists exported from

RealJukebox Plus. Tracks imported into RealJukebox Plus appear in your

Music Library.

➤ To import music files with RealJukebox Plus:

1. Open the File menu and select

Import Files and Playlists...

2. Browse your hard drive to locate the music files or Playlists you wish to add to your collection.

3. Click to select a music file, then click

Open

. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

Note

Music files are imported into your Music Library and can appear under Playlists, Groups, or All Tracks.

Importing music files from a Windows directory

The easiest way to import tracks into your Music Library is to use the instructions above. If you wish to import tracks from a Windows directory

31



rather than using the RealJukebox Plus importer, follow the instructions below:

•

Open the directory containing the file you wish to import, and drag the file from the Windows directory to the Music Library in RealJukebox Plus.

(Dropping the file into an open Playlist results in the file being imported and added to the Playlist in one step.)


See Chapter 4: Get Music on page 37 for instructions on

downloading music from the Internet.

Portable Music Players

RealJukebox Plus and partners like the RCA Lyra, Diamond Rio, Creative

Nomad and others are teaming up to bring you the best method yet for taking your Music Library on the road. With RealJukebox Plus, you can drag and drop your favorite tracks from your Music Library right to your portable music player. No more bulky CDs and CD players, no more recording CD tracks to cassette tapes. You choose the tracks you want to hear, the way you want to hear them. RealJukebox Plus and your music player put the power of music in your hands.

32


Figure 3-7: Portable Music Players


Drag and drop tracks into your portable music player.

Install and configure your portable device for use with RealJukebox Plus (see

“Installing Your Portable Player” on page 61), then follow the instructions

below to start downloading music to your player. (For more information, see

“Add to Player” on page 34.)

➤ To download music to a portable device:



icon. Your installed portable device appears in the list. (If you don't see your player, you need to install it.)

2. Double-click to open a Group or Playlist, then drag and drop tracks onto your portable music player. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

3. Select your portable music player to preview your tracks before transfer.

Drag and drop your tracks to arrange them in the order in which you

33



want to hear them on your portable player. (Tracks labeled “On Player” cannot be moved.)

4. Click the

Begin Transfer

button to copy your selected tracks to your portable player. (Tracks labeled “Will Not Fit” will not be transferred.)

Note

RealJukebox Plus can automatically convert your music files to the format and bitrate of your choice before

transfer. See “Configuring Your Portable Player” on page 61.

Add to Player

If you are browsing your Music Library and you run across a track you would like to transfer to your Portable Music Player, you can add it to your list quickly and easily using the

Add to Player...

feature.

1. Select the track you want to add. (To select multiple tracks, press

CTRL

or

SHIFT

while clicking.)

2. Right-click the selected tracks and choose

Add to Player...

from the Quick menu.

3. When you’re ready to transfer tracks to your player, double-click the

Portable Music Players and select your player from the list.

4. Click

Begin Transfer

.

Overflow Tracks

If you have selected more tracks than your portable player can hold, some tracks toward the end of your list are labeled “Will Not Fit.” This indicates that these tracks will not be transferred to your portable player. To make tracks fit, try one of the following:

Promote a Track Drag and drop tracks to a higher position in the list. (Note that if you promote a “Will Not Fit” track, another track is demoted to “Will Not Fit” status.)

Delete a Track You can delete tracks from the line-up until no tracks bear the

“Will Not Fit” label. When all your tracks say “Pending,” they’re all ready to be transferred to your player.

34



Save Tracks As...

You can use the Save Tracks As... feature to save your tracks with a lower bitrate, which results in smaller files. This affects

only the files you select. (For more information, see “Save

Tracks As...” on page 23.)

Configure You can use the Configure option in Preferences to always lower the bitrate of tracks you transfer to your portable player.

(For more information, see “Configuring Your Portable Player” on page 61.)

Music Library Quick Menus

Quick menus contain a few handy commands at the click of the mouse. In the

Music Library, you can access two separate Quick menus, one from the

Catalog panel, and one from the Contents panel.

Figure 3-8: Catalog & Contents Panels

Catalog Quick Menu

To view this menu, right-click the Catalog panel in the Music Library.

Tool

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Rename

New Playlist

New Folder

Catalog Quick Menu Commands

Description

Not available in the Catalog panel.

Not available in the Catalog panel.

Paste a track from the clipboard.

Delete the selected Playlist.

Type a new name for the selected item.

Create a new Playlist.

Create a new Playlist Folder (see “Playlist

Folders” on page 27).

(Table Page 1 of 2)

35



Tool

Export

Add Tracks

Catalog Quick Menu Commands (continued)

Description

Export selected Playlists.

Add more tracks to the current Playlist.

Displays an All Tracks window.

(Table Page 2 of 2)

Contents Quick Menu

To view this menu, right-click the Contents panel in the Music Library.

Command

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Move file to…

Rename Track

Properties

Contents Quick Menu Commands

Description

Cut the selected item (saved temporarily to the clipboard).

Copy the selected track (saved temporarily to the clipboard).

Paste a cut or copied track from the clipboard.

Save Tracks As...

Delete the selected Playlist or track.

(Not available while playing tracks.)

Move the selected music file to another location on your hard drive or floppy disk.


Change the title, format, and quality level

of your recorded music files (see “Save

Tracks As...” on page 23).

Type a new name for the selected track.

Edit Track Properties for selected tracks

(see “Track Properties” on page 25).

Add to Player...

Delete Music Info Panel

Add the selected track to an installed

portable music player (see “Add to

Player” on page 34).

Some tracks contain additional information that appears in the Music

Info Panel (as illustrated in Figure 3-1 on page 17). You can delete the Music Info

Panel by removing this information from the track.

36

Chapter 4:

GET MUSIC

4

RealJukebox Plus is well connected in the music industry. Now you are too. RealJukebox's dynamic Get Music area is your one-stop digital music search, download, and purchase spot, connecting you to the best music sites on the Internet. Get Music is updated several times a week with new links to the hottest downloads, artist info, search sites, and digital music purchase sites. With Get Music, expanding your digital Music Library is as easy as clicking your mouse.

Figure 4-1: Get Music Screen

37

CHAPTER 4: Get Music


The Get Music screen lets you search for music on the internet, download free music, and purchase music online.

➤ To use the Get Music screen:

1. Connect to the Internet.

2. Click the

Get Music

icon on the left side of the RealJukebox Plus window.

3. Browse the Get Music screen, and click any link that interests you. Your browser opens, and the linked page loads.

4. Browse the site, following onscreen instructions for searching, downloading, or purchasing music.

Get Music Updates

The Get Music screen is a dynamic presentation and is updated regularly on the RealNetworks server. If you are connected to the Internet, RealJukebox

Plus can automatically update this screen whenever new information is available – this automatic operation is the default setting in Preferences.

•

To prevent automatic updates to the Get Music screen, uncheck the “Get

Music Updates” option in

Options...Preferences...Internet Settings

. (See

Chapter 7: Preferences on page 53 for more information.)

•

To update the Get Music screen manually, click

Update Now

.

38

Chapter 5:

REALJUKEBOX MODES

5

By now you're probably familiar with RealJukebox's Full mode of operation. But if you're in the market for more desktop real estate or a customized control panel, RealJukebox Plus features two additional modes that may interest you: Skin Mode, featuring a variety of themes and layouts; and the StartCenter, RealJukebox's ultra-compact mode with basic playback features.

Skin Mode

Skin Mode lets you customize RealJukebox Plus by choosing from a list of themes, or “skins.” Skins come in a variety of shapes and sizes so you can change the look and layout of RealJukebox Plus to fit your personality.

Choose the skin that suits your mood today, and change your mind tomorrow.

It’s up to you.

There are two ways to activate Skin Mode:

View menu:

From the View menu, choose Skin Mode to switch to the default skin, or choose Skins to assign the skin of your choice.

Click the Mode button to switch back and forth between Skin

Mode and Full Mode.

•

To quickly switch from Skin Mode to Full Mode, press the

ESC

key on your keyboard.

39

CHAPTER 5: RealJukebox Modes

Figure 5-1: Skin Mode


40

This is the default skin for Skin Mode.

Changing Skins

You can change skins as often as you change your mind. Try on a new skin now!

➤ To change skins:

1. In Skin Mode, click the

Menu

button (in Full Mode, open the View menu).

2. Select

Skins

. A drop-down menu appears.

3. Click to select a skin from the drop-down menu. Your new skin appears on your Skin Mode control panel.

Note

Some skins have non-standard button configurations. If you don't see what you’re looking for, try switching to another skin, or press

ESC

to go to Full Mode.

Deleting Skins

As your skin collection grows, you may want to eliminate skins you don’t use often. You can delete and rename skins in the Windows Explorer.

➤

To delete skins:

1. In Skin Mode, click the

Menu

button. In Full Mode, open the View menu.

2. Select

Skins

, then choose

Delete Skins

from the drop-down menu.

Windows Explorer launches with the Skins folder open.



3. Click to select the skin you wish to delete. To select multiple skins, use the

CTRL

and

SHIFT

keys.

4. Press the

DELETE

key on your keyboard and click

Yes

.

➤ You can also rename skins in Windows Explorer:

•

To rename a skin, select a skin and press

F2

, then type a new name.

“Get Skins”

RealNetworks is always making new skins available on our Web site. Visit http://realjukebox.real.com

to see the latest skins today.

Note

To Get Skins, you must be connected to the Internet.

➤

To Get Skins from Skin Mode:

1. Right-click the skin (or click the

Menu

button) to view the Skin Mode menu.

2. Select

Skins

. A drop-down menu appears.

3. Select

Get Skins

from the drop-down menu. Your browser opens.

4. Browse through the available skins. When you find one you like, click the link to download it.

➤ To Get Skins from Full Mode:

1. Open the View menu and select

Skins

.

2. Select

Get Skins

from the drop-down menu. Your browser opens.

3. Browse through the available skins. When you find one you like, click the link to download it.

Note

When you download a skin, RealJukebox Plus automatically switches to your new skin. This is the default setting, which you can toggle on/off in the

Options menu under

Preferences…General

.

Skin Mode Features

Most skins contain the same basic controls as Full Mode. Some skins contain different button configurations, and some don’t contain all the buttons

41



you’re accustomed to seeing. If you don’t see a control you need, try a different skin or press

ESC

to switch to Full Mode.

•

To view an Options menu, click the

Menu

button or right-click on the surface of the skin.

•

To view Playlists and Master Library tracks, right-click the skin, then choose

Browse Master Library

.

Browsing the Master Library

➤ To view and play Playlists and Master Library tracks:

1. Right-click the skin, then select

Browse Master Library

from the menu. The

Music Library browser window opens.

2. In the Catalog panel on the left, click to open a Group or Playlist, and if necessary, select a sub-group or playlist. Tracks appear in the Contents panel on the right.

3. Double-click the track you wish to play. Tracks continue playing in order within the Group or Playlist.

Skin Mode Menu

To view this menu, click the

Menu

button or right-click anywhere on the surface of the skin.

Command

Now Playing

[CD Drive/CD]

Select Playlist

Skin Mode Menu Commands

Description

Displays the group or Playlist from which the current track is playing (currently playing track appears in bold).

This area displays the name of the CD drive and the current CD [D: Mozart].

Select from Master Library

Click here for a drop-down menu that gives you instant access to all your

Playlists.

Click here for a drop-down menu that gives you instant access to all your recorded tracks.

(Table Page 1 of 2)

42



Skin Mode Menu Commands (continued)

Command

Browse Master Library...

Description

Open Files and Playlists...

Play Controls

Skins

View

Select this option to browse your Music

Library Groups and Playlists for a specific

track to play (see “Browsing the Master

Library” on page 42).

This option lets you play music files and

Playlists from your hard drive or other source (automatically imports files to

Music Library).

Click here for a drop-down menu with recording and playback commands.

Choose a skin from the drop down menu, or choose

Delete Skins

to go to the

Skins folder in Windows Explorer (see

“Deleting Skins” on page 40). Choose

Get Skins

to launch your browser and download new skins from RealNetworks

(see “Get Skins” on page 41).

Open the View submenu and choose from the following commands:

Always on Top: Set Skin Mode to appear on top of your other application windows.

Equalizer: Open the Graphic Equalizer

(see “Graphic Equalizer” on page 14).

Preferences: View RealJukebox

Preferences.

Full Mode Switch from Skin Mode to Full Mode.

(Table Page 2 of 2)

StartCenter

StartCenter places an icon in the system tray area of the Windows task bar.

Using the StartCenter Menu, you can play CDs from the task bar without launching RealJukebox Plus.

43


Figure 5-2: StartCenter in the System Tray


If you've selected automatic play or record in Preferences under “General,”

StartCenter performs these tasks automatically when you insert a music CD into your CD drive.

StartCenter is active by default, but you can enable/disable it in the Options menu under


.

➤

To activate the StartCenter:

1. Open the Options menu, and choose

Preferences

.

2. Click the

General

tab.

3. Check

Allow StartCenter to start up in the System Tray

, then click

OK

. A

StartCenter icon appears in the system tray portion of the taskbar, typically located in the bottom-right corner of your screen.

•

To launch RealJukebox Plus from StartCenter, double-click the

StartCenter

icon.

•

To pause playback from StartCenter, click the

StartCenter

icon once.

•

To access the StartCenter menu with additional features, right-click the

StartCenter

icon.

The StartCenter Menu

If the StartCenter is activated in RealJukebox Plus Preferences, the StartCenter

Menu is at your fingertips. Use the StartCenter menu for easy access to CD playback features.

•

To access the StartCenter menu, right-click the

StartCenter

icon in the

Windows Taskbar.

44



Disable StartCenter

StartCenter Menu Commands

Command

About RealJukebox Plus

Description

View version number and other information.

Turn off the system tray icon and disable it for future sessions. (To re-activate this

feature, see “To activate the

StartCenter:” on page 44.)

Close StartCenter

Continuous

Shuffle

Turn off the system tray icon for the remainder of this session.

Play current CD or Playlist repeatedly.


Play/Stop

Pause

Previous Track

Next Track

Open RealJukebox Plus

Play or stop playing the current CD.

Pause playback of the current CD or track.


Jump to next track.

Launch RealJukebox Plus.

45

Chapter 6:

REALJUKEBOX MENUS

6

RealJukebox Plus menus contain a variety of commands to help you get the most out of your music. The following pages describe each menu and its options.


This section describes the menus found in the Menu Bar across the top of each RealJukebox Plus screen. For

additional information, see “Skin Mode Menu” on page

42, “The StartCenter Menu” on page 44, or “Music

Library Quick Menus” on page 35.

The File Menu

Command

New Playlist

New Folder

Open Files and Playlists

Import Files and Playlists

Search Disk For Music

File Menu Commands

Description

Create a new Playlist in the Music Library.

Create a new Playlist Folder (see “Playlist

Folders” on page 27).

Open and play music files from your hard drive or other sources (automatically imported into the Music Library.

Create new RealJukebox Plus tracks by importing music files from your hard drive or other sources, or import backedup Playlists. For more information, see

“Deleting Tracks and Playlists” on page

30.

Scan your hard drive for music files

RealJukebox Plus can import and play.

(Table Page 1 of 2)

47

CHAPTER 6: RealJukebox Menus


Command

File Menu Commands (continued)

Description

Save Tracks As...


Change the title, format, and quality level

of your recorded music files (see “Save

Tracks As...” on page 23).

Move Files...


Move selected tracks to another hard drive or floppy disk location.

Update Files with Track Info... Apply ID3 track information to your music files.

Exit Quit RealJukebox Plus.

(Table Page 2 of 2)

The Edit Menu

Command

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Select All

Select None

Rename

Get CD Info

Properties

Edit Menu Commands

Description

Delete the selected item (saved temporarily to the clipboard).

Copy the selected item (copied to the clipboard).

Place an item from the clipboard (the most recent item you've cut or copied).

Delete the selected item. (Deleted items not saved to the clipboard.)

Select/check every track in the current track list or every item in the Contents panel.

De-select/uncheck every track in the current track list or every item in the

Contents panel.

Rename the selected track or Playlist.

Retrieve the album title, artist name, and track titles from an Internet database.

Edit Track Properties for selected tracks

(see “Track Properties” on page 25).

Rename custom fields.

48


The View Menu


Command

Skin Mode

Skins

Record/Play CD

Music Library

Get Music

Refresh

Equalizer

View Menu Commands

Description

Switch from full mode to RealJukebox's

Skin Mode (see “Skin Mode” on page

39).

Choose a skin from the drop down menu, or choose

Delete Skins

to go to the

RealJukebox Skins folder in Windows

Explorer (see “Deleting Skins” on page

40). Choose

Get Skins

to launch your browser and download new skins from

RealNetworks.

Switch to Record/Play CD view.

Switch to Music Library view.

Switch to Get Music view.

Reloads the current screen to include any new information, such as newly recorded tracks.

RealJukebox's Graphic Equalizer is your central control for customized audio (see

“Graphic Equalizer” on page 14 for more

information).

The Controls Menu

Command

Record

Play

Controls Menu Commands

Description

Record selected (checked) tracks from the current CD. (Changes to “Stop

Record” when recording.)

Play current CD or currently selected track. (Changes to “Stop Play” when playing.)

(Table Page 1 of 2)

49



Command

Pause

Stop

Next Track

Previous Track

Continuous Play

Controls Menu Commands (continued)

Description

Pause playback. Select again to resume playback. (Changes to “Resume” when paused.)

Stop playback and recording processes.

Jump to next track.

Shuffle Play

Eject

Mute


Play current CD, Group, or Playlist tracks repeatedly.

Play current CD, Group, or Playlist tracks randomly.


No sound.

(Table Page 2 of 2)

The Options Menu

Command

Configuration Wizard…

Options Menu Commands

Description

Import CD Streamer…

Backup Security Key…

Restore Security Key…

Change your current configuration. This changes the settings chosen during

RealJukebox Plus setup, and affects any changes you have made to RealJukebox

Plus Preferences.

If you have CD Streamer installed on your computer, RealJukebox Plus finds and imports tracks and Playlists created by that program.

Create a floppy disk backup of the security key (recommended!).

Restore your backed-up security key from floppy disk.

Preferences… Set RealJukebox Plus Preferences. For

more information see Chapter 7:

Preferences on page 53.

50



The Sites Menu

Items in this menu may change as new sites become available.

Command

RealGuide

RealJukebox Central

RealJukebox New User's

Guide

RealNetworks Home Page

Sites Menu Commands

Description

Your online guide to artist info, free music downloads, music shopping, and more.

Up-to-date information on RealJukebox, new skins, tips & tricks, and more!

CDDB

Download Music

Find Music

Buy Music

This overview of RealJukebox will help get you started.

Visit real.com and find out about our new products and services.

CD Data Base, your source for CD information.

Download tracks and albums from the

Internet.

Search the Internet for digital music.

Shop online for your favorite music.

The Help Menu

Command

Contents

Online Tutorial

Common Questions

Search Knowledge Base

Help Menu Commands

Description

View the table of contents for the Help file.

View a RealJukebox tutorial.

Submit Technical Request

View Frequently Asked Questions online.

Access the same information our tech support staff uses to answer questions by phone.

Contact technical support via the Web and request help.

Customer Account Help Contact Customer Service via the Web and request account information.

(Table Page 1 of 2)

51



Help Menu Commands (continued)

Command

Billing & Shipping Help

Description

Contact Customer Service via the Web and request billing and/or shipping help or information.

Service & Support

Product Feedback

Check for Update

Visit RealNetworks support site.

Tell us what you think!

About RealJukebox Plus

Find out whether a new version of

RealJukebox Plus is available from

RealNetworks.

Read RealJukebox Plus version information and credits.

(Table Page 2 of 2)

52

Chapter 7:

PREFERENCES

7

In addition to the basic features described in previous chapters, RealJukebox

Plus Preferences section provides a number of additional features and settings.

This chapter fully describes each option in the Preferences area, and helps you to determine the settings that will help you get the most out of RealJukebox

Plus and your digital Music Library.

➤ To set Preferences


Preferences

.

2. Click a Preferences tab (for example,

General

,

Recording Options

,

Encoding

Options

, etc.)

3. Set each Preference as desired. (Use the guide below to determine the result of each setting.)

4. After you have adjusted all settings to your preference, click

OK

.

General

Inserting a CD

RealJukebox Plus can automatically start playing, and/or recording your CD as soon as you insert it into your CD ROM drive. Use these boxes to turn automatic features on and off.

StartCenter in the System Tray

StartCenter places an icon in the “system tray” of your Windows taskbar and gives you easy access to basic playback features. This option allows you to

toggle StartCenter operation on/off. For more information, see “StartCenter” on page 43.

53

CHAPTER 7: Preferences


Start Playback with Record

RealJukebox Plus can play your CDs while you record them! Use these check boxes to toggle “Start Playback with Record” on/off. With this feature on, CDs automatically begin playing when you begin recording them. Turn this feature off, and CDs record without automatic playback (you can still click the

Play

button for manual playback while recording). See “Playback While Recording” on page 11 for more information.

Note

Some systems may record faster with this feature turned off.

Skin Importing

Check this box to switch to your new skin automatically when you import. See

“Skin Mode” on page 39 for more information.


Recording Method

Choose between digital and analog recording methods.

Note

In some cases, RealJukebox Plus may choose to record in

Analog mode due to system limitations. If this occurs,

please see “Troubleshooting” on page 73.

Digital

Analog

Music on your CD is stored in digital “bits,” the language computers use to read and write files. RealJukebox Plus can read these bits directly from your

CD and write them to your hard disk, resulting in an exact copy of the original CD.

Rather than reading the digital information from your CD, this method plays the music through your sound card, then converts the sound into digital form and writes the information to your hard disk.

Error Correction (Digital Recording)

Some CD ROM drives can introduce errors when reading digital data from your CD. With this option on, RealJukebox Plus attempts to correct errors.

54



This option takes extra time to carefully read your CD data, and can subsequently slow down the recording process.

Record Volume (Analog Recording)]

Since Analog Recording Mode records the sound directly from your sound card, you may want to adjust the volume for best results.

While Recording

Sometimes, depending on your system configuration or other applications you may have running, RealJukebox Plus is unable to play your CD while you record it. This option lets you choose whether to display an error message in these cases. If this problem arises often on your system, you may want to disable this error message.

Recording Options Reset

If you are experiencing difficulties with RealJukebox Plus, you may want to run a test to ensure optimal performance.

•

To run a test on your system, click the

Run Test

button.

This test resets all Preferences.

Advanced Recording Options

Warning

These options are for advanced users only. Any adjustments you make to this area may have unpredictable results.

Offset

These settings allow you to offset the number of “frames” of audio to record at the beginning or end of your track. Use this option if your tracks consistently seem cut-off at the beginning or end.

55



Read

Spin Up CD before starting to record

Some CD ROM drives begin extraction before the CD is spinning at full speed.

This option provides better results in these cases. Use this option if you are having trouble recording the first track on your CD.

Stop recording when error correction fails

With error correction on in

Preferences...Recording Options

, this option aborts the recording process and brings up an error message when error correction fails. With this option off, RealJukebox Plus keeps recording even when error correction fails.

Blocks

Use this option to change the number of data “blocks” RealJukebox Plus extracts each time it reads the CD.

Advanced CPU Options

This option allows you to allocate more or less computer processing power to

RealJukebox Plus while recording your CDs.

Warning

Increasing CPU usage may affect other applications running simultaneously, and can have unpredictable results. Use this option at your discretion.

Encoding Options

Format

Choose which types of files RealJukebox Plus creates when recording your tracks: RealAudio, MP3, or Wave files.

Note

Wave files are actually uncompressed, unencoded music files, and tend to be much larger than encoded

RealAudio or MP3 files.

56


Quality


Choose the quality level at which you want to record your music. Higher quality music files take up more space on your hard drive. For example, a 3 minute track recorded at 44Kbps RealAudio takes up only .9MB; the same track at 96Kbps takes 2.1MB. The table below illustrates the amount of disk space required for a 3 minute track at each available bitrate.

Format

RealAudio

Disk Space Requirements per 3 min. Track

Bitrate (Kbps) Disk Space (MB)

32

44

0.7

0.9

RealAudio

MP3

56

64

96

64

96

32

1.4

2.1

0.7

1.2

1.4

2.1

Wave

112

128

160

192

224

256

320

1411

2.4

2.7

3.4

4.1

4.8

5.5

6.9

30.3

Higher bitrates (112 - 320Kbps) available only in RealJukebox Plus.

Note

128Kbps is the industry standard for MP3 recordings, and is very near CD quality; most users won’t notice a significant difference between files recorded at 128Kbps and those recorded at 320Kbps. When choosing your bitrate, consider the trade-off between sound quality and file size.

57



Variable Bitrate Encoding

Variable Bitrate Encoding (VBR) is an important advancement in encoding technology. It allows RealJukebox Plus to adjust the “bitrate” or quality level as it records your music, based on the individual needs of each piece. More complex sections of a track require more “bits” of computer information to create a high-quality sound, and are recorded at a higher bitrate based on the quality level you choose. Less complex sections can be accurately represented using a lower bitrate. The result is high-quality sound with smaller music files.

You can choose to record with Variable Bitrate Encoding, or opt for Constant

Bitrate, which records without VBR.

Note

Variable Bitrate Encoding is available only when recording to MP3 format.

Secure Files

RealJukebox Plus offers a security option that allows you to protect your files from illegal use. Files recorded in RealJukebox Plus with security “on” can only be played on the machine upon which they were recorded. To turn security off, uncheck the box marked

Secure Files

.

Note

Wave (.wav) files are recorded without security.

CD Drive Options

Chances are, your CD ROM falls under the category, “Standard” in this section of preferences. If you encounter difficulties playing or recording CDs using RealJukebox Plus, you may wish to check with your CD ROM drive’s documentation or your CD ROM manufacturer’s technical support department to determine whether your drive is of another, non-standard type.

If so, you’ll want to change the setting under “Other type” in this section.

File Storage

Choose the hard drive location where RealJukebox Plus stores your recorded, downloaded, and temporary music files. You may want to move one or all of

58



these when managing your disk space (see “Alternative File Storage” on page

66).

You can also choose whether to automatically move your previously downloaded music files into the download directory you have specified.

Naming

If no CD Info is available from the database, RealJukebox Plus names your tracks according to the settings you select here. Additionally, you can specify how you’d like RealJukebox Plus to name music files saved to your hard drive, and whether you’d like RealJukebox Plus to rename your music files if new CD

Info becomes available.

Internet Settings

Information Settings

Get CD Info from the Internet

If you’re connected to the Internet, RealJukebox Plus can automatically retrieve CD Info from the Internet. Use this option to turn automatic CD Info retrieval on/off. If you choose to turn this option off, you can retrieve CD Info manually by clicking the

CD Info

button:(

i

) on the RealJukebox Plus control panel.

Note

If you’re not connected to the Internet, RealJukebox

Plus saves CD Info requests for every CD you record, and retrieves this information the next time you log on.

Send Configuration Info When Connecting to Technical Support

With this option checked, RealJukebox Plus sends information about your computer setup to our Technical Support department to help us serve you better.

Get Music Updates

The Get Music screen in RealJukebox Plus is a dynamic presentation: it changes every couple of days, so we can always offer you the latest music

59



downloads from the hottest music sites. RealJukebox Plus can update this screen automatically whenever you’re connected to the Internet and new information becomes available. Use this option to turn “Get Music” screen updates on or off. (If you choose to turn this option off, you can update the

Get Music screen manually by clicking the

Update Now

button.)

Web Proxy Settings

If you’re using RealJukebox Plus on a computer at your place of business, you may be connecting to the Internet through a proxy service. If you’re unsure about these settings, leave them as they are, or contact your company’s network administrator for assistance.

Music Library

Master Library Groupings

Select groupings used for organizing music in the Master Library. You can choose to view your Master Library in one or all of the following ways.

Single Groupings

Album

Genre

Artist

Master Library Groupings

Combination Groupings

Artist/Album

Genre/Artist

Genre/Album

Genre/Artist/Album


For more information, see “Groups: Organize Your

Music Library” on page 21.

Information Fields

The track information fields in your Music Library can display various types of track data, including artist name, track title, genre, and more. Use these check boxes to determine which information fields to display in your Music

Library.

60



Rename Custom Fields

In addition to the standard information available for each track, RealJukebox

Plus provides three custom fields which you can use to further label and classify your music. This option allows you to rename your custom fields (for example: Lead Guitarist, Record Label, City of Origin, etc.).

Note

Renaming custom fields changes these fields in all

Music Library tracks.


RealJukebox now supports portable music players! The Portable Music Players section of Preferences lets you install and configure portable players for use with RealJukebox Plus.


See “Portable Music Players” on page 32 for instructions

on using your portable music player with RealJukebox

Plus.

Installing Your Portable Player

Follow your manufacturer’s instructions to connect your player or memory card to your computer, then use the instructions below to install your player for use with RealJukebox Plus.

➤ To install a portable player:

1. Open the Options menu, and select

Preferences

.

2. Click the


tab.

3. Click

Add...

A list of supported players appears. (Click

Update List

for the latest list of supported players.)

4. Select your player from the list, and click

OK

.

Configuring Your Portable Player

RealJukebox Plus can automatically convert music files before you download them to your portable player. This option lets you choose automatic conversion settings, as well as additional settings for your player.

61



➤ To configure your portable player:


Preferences

.

2. Click the Portable Music Players tab, and select

Configure

.

3. Choose the desired format and bitrate from the drop-down menu.

4. Click

OK

to accept changes.

➤ You can also:

•

Choose

Variable Bitrate Encoding

if available (see “Variable Bitrate

Encoding” on page 58).

•

Click the

Initialize

button to erase your player’s memory card.

•

Choose whether to convert files every time, or only when necessary.

•

Click

Remove

to uninstall a portable player.

Why Convert Music Files?

Format:

Bitrate:

Some portable players only recognize and play specific file types, such as MP3. RealJukebox Plus can change the file type of a track you’ve already recorded (for example, a RealAudio file becomes an

MP3 file). To find out whether your player requires a specific file type, check your manufacturer’s instructions.

Tracks recorded at higher bitrates tend to be larger than those recorded at lower bitrates. You may wish to record higher bitrate files for better sound quality on your desktop or stereo speakers, then automatically convert to lower bitrates before transferring files to your portable player. Lower bitrate files can take up less disk space, so you can take more songs with you.

Update

Update Notification

RealNetworks is constantly working to improve RealJukebox Plus, and we’d like to keep you informed in the event of available updates. If you’re connected to the Internet and an update is available, you’ll get notice when you launch

RealJukebox Plus. The options in this section allow you to check for updates now, or to turn off update notification for 30 days.

62



Music File Types

RealJukebox Plus can play all common music file types, including RealAudio,

MP3, Wave, Liquid Audio, A2B, and more. This area lets you choose

RealJukebox Plus as your music player for all digital music on your computer.

•

To make RealJukebox Plus your primary music player, click the button labeled

Make RealJukebox my default player

.

If you did not select RealJukebox Plus as your primary music player, use the

Settings

button to choose the file types you want RealJukebox Plus to play by default.

63

Appendix A:

DISK SPACE MANAGEMENT

A

As you build your Music Library, it is important to manage your disk space carefully. Here are some tips for making the most of the resources available to you.

Optimal Encoding Options

Choose the optimal encoding options for your available disk space. If you’re running out of disk space, check your format and quality levels. The “Select a

Quality Level” section of Encoding Options displays the file size for each quality level, or “bitrate,” in each format. Try selecting a lower quality level (or bitrate) for smaller files.

➤

To change encoding options:


Preferences

.

2. Click the


tab.

3. Under “Select a Format” choose a music file format.

4. Under “Select a Quality Level” choose the desired bitrate or quality level.

5. Click

OK

to accept your new settings.

Save Tracks As...


lets you reduce the quality level or “bitrate” of your tracks, resulting in smaller music files. This is a quick way to reduce the file size of multiple tracks and free up space on your hard disk. This option is not available while playing tracks.


See “Save Tracks As...” on page 23 for more information

on converting tracks to lower bitrates.

65

APPENDIX A: Disk Space Management


Remove Unused Tracks

If you're not listening to a track, consider deleting it from your hard drive to free up space.

•

To sort your tracks according to when you last listened to them, click the

Last Played

header in any Master Library Group track list.

Alternative File Storage

There are two options for changing file locations from your primary hard drive to another storage medium, such as a floppy disk or an external hard drive.

➤

Move files to another location:

1. Click the

Music Library

icon on the left side of the RealJukebox Plus window.

2. Click

All Tracks

. Your recorded tracks appear in the Contents panel on the right.

3. Place the cursor on the track you wish to move (use

SHIFT

and

CTRL

to select multiple tracks), and right-click. A Quick menu appears.

4. Select

Move file to…

from the Quick menu (this option not available while playing tracks).

5. Browse for the drive and folder to which you want to move the music file, then click

OK

.

➤ Select a new file location:


Preferences

.

2. Click the “File Storage” tab.

3. Under “

Recorded Music Files Location

,” “

Temporary Files Location

,” and/or

“

Default Download Location

,” type in a new path to the floppy drive or external hard drive (Example: A:\My Music) you want to save your tracks in.

4. Click

OK

to accept your new settings.

66

Appendix B:

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

B

This chapter contains some of the common questions customers ask about RealJukebox Plus. If you don’t find the answer to your question here, please feel free to contact RealNetworks Technical

Support at

http://service.real.com

.

What are the System Requirements for RealJukebox Plus?

Operating System

Windows 95 with Service Pack 1, Windows 98, or Windows NT with Service

Pack 3

Minimum System

•

Intel



Pentium



200MHz MMX, or Cyrix



6x86MX PR233, or AMD



K6 PR-200

•

32MB RAM

•

Hard disk space:

•

15MB for software

•

200MB for music

•

CD ROM Drive

•

Full Duplex Sound card and speakers

•

16 bit color video card

•

Internet connection and web browser (Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01 or later)

Recommended System

•

Intel



Pentium



300MHz MMX, or Cyrix



M II

 −300,

or AMD



K6

−

2/300

67

APPENDIX B: Frequently Asked Questions


•

64MB RAM

•

Hard disk space:

•

15MB for software

•

1GB for music

•

CD ROM Drive with digital audio extraction

•

Full Duplex Sound card and speakers

•

16 bit color video card

•

Internet connection and web browser (Internet Explorer 3.01 or later)

How much disk space does each track/album take up on my hard drive?

That depends on the encoding format and quality level you chose during setup or in RealJukebox Plus Preferences. At 96Kbps quality RealAudio, three to four minute track requires about 2.5MB of hard drive space. A 45-minute album requires about 33MB. 1GB of hard drive space can hold more than 30

CDs!

Where does RealJukebox Plus store my music?

RealJukebox Plus saves your music files to the directory specified during setup or in Preferences under “File Storage.” The default is

C:\My Music

. RealJukebox

Plus catalogs your music in “Groups” in the Music Library; the best way to access your music is to click the

Music Library

icon and view your tracks under the Master Library.

How does RealJukebox Plus find my CD information?

If you are connected to the Internet, RealJukebox Plus checks an Internet database and retrieves information including the CD's title, the name of the artist, and the title of each track. This information is automatically saved when you record your CD.

Can I increase/decrease the computing resources RealJukebox Plus uses?

You can determine the amount of computing power RealJukebox Plus uses in the Options menu under

Preferences...Recording Options...Advanced CPU

Options

.

68



Warning

This option may affect your machine’s performance and should be used with caution.

What is a “Group” or “Grouping”?

Groups are the categories RealJukebox Plus uses to organize your music.

Groups include Artist, Album, and Genre, or a combination of your choice.

See “Groups: Organize Your Music Library” on page 21 for more information.

How can I change my Groupings?

You can choose how your music is organized, or grouped, by changing the

“Music Library” settings in Preferences (Options menu). You can change the group a track falls under by editing the Artist, Album, or Genre fields, or by dragging and dropping a track onto an existing group. You can also create a custom Playlist and group your tracks in any way you like.

•

To edit text fields, select the item you wish to edit and press

F2

, then type in the text of your choice. Use the tab key to move to the next text field.

You can also use the following methods:

•

To edit multiple text fields, or to edit multiple tracks, select the items you wish to edit and choose

Properties

from the Edit menu.

•

To change groupings by drag and drop, select the track or tracks you wish to regroup, then drag and drop them onto the group with which you wish to associate them.

How can I change the order of tracks in a group?

You can sort tracks in a group using the header bar. You can also create a custom Playlist and edit it so that the tracks play in whatever order you wish

(see “Create a Playlist” on page 26).

•

To sort tracks by header criteria, click the header bar above the track list in the Music Library. For example, to sort by track name, click the

Name

header (Track Name, Playlist Name, Grouping Name).

69



How can I update the Get Music screen?

You can choose to automatically update this screen in Preferences under

“Internet Settings.” You can update the screen manually by clicking the

Update Now

button.

How can I prevent updates to the Get Music screen?

You can turn the auto-update feature off in Preferences under “Internet

Settings” (Options menu).

How can I listen to my recorded tracks while recording a CD?

Uncheck “Start Playback with Record” in Preferences under “General,” then

follow the instructions in the “Playing Music Library Tracks” section on page

23.

Which files should I back up on a regular basis?

We recommend that you create backups of at least two RealJukebox Plus folders regularly to prevent loss of data in the event of file corruption or other system difficulties.

•

The RealJukebox database folder (

db

), located by default in

C:\Program

Files\Real\RealJukebox

.

•

The My Music folder (

My Music

), in which your recorded tracks are stored; located by default in

C:\My Music

.

You should also run the Backup Security Key option in the Options menu.

The RealJukebox Security Key, a small file that allows your machine to play back secure files. RealJukebox's Options menu contains a Security Key

Backup option to make it easy to create a backup of this file.

➤ To create a Security Key Backup:

1. Place a formatted 3.5" (1.44MB) floppy disk in your floppy disk drive.


Backup Security Key

.

3. Click

OK

.

Note

In the event that you are ever unable to play secure music files you've recorded using RealJukebox Plus, use

70


APPENDIX B: Frequently Asked Questions the Restore Security Key option to restore your backup security key.

Why did RealJukebox Plus import non-music sound files?

If you chose to scan your hard drive for music during the setup process or by choosing

Search Disk for Music

from the File menu, RealJukebox Plus searched for all audio file types. If your hard drive contains audio files other than music files, these are automatically imported along with your music files. For instructions on removing unwanted audio files from your Music Library, see

“Export Playlists” on page 30.

71

Appendix C:

TROUBLESHOOTING

C

This chapter contains some of the common questions customers ask about RealJukebox Plus. If you don’t find the answer to your question here, please feel free to contact RealNetworks Technical

Support at

http://service.real.com

.

Why did RealJukebox Plus record in analog mode?

Problem

Solution

Your CD ROM drive may not support Digital Audio Extraction. In this case, RealJukebox Plus automatically selects analog recording mode to allow you to listen to your CD's as you record them.

Contact your CD ROM drive manufacturer to determine whether your CD ROM drive supports digital audio extraction. For further assistance, contact RealNetworks technical support at http://service.real.com.

Why do I hear talking or typing on my recordings?

Problem

Solution

If you are recording in analog mode, your sound card may be mixing in sounds from other input devices, such as your built-in microphone, while RealJukebox Plus is recording.

To assure that only the CD-Audio is recorded in RealJukebox Plus, be sure to Mute the other inputs (such as microphones) on your sound card control panel (see Windows Help or your Sound Card instructions).


See “Recording Method” on page 54 for more

information on analog vs. digital recording mode.

73

APPENDIX C: Troubleshooting


Why can’t I hear my recorded tracks?

Problem 1

Solution

Problem 2

Solution

Problem 3

Solution

Because RealJukebox's sound can come from many different sources – RealAudio (.rmx, .ra) files, RealAudio unsecured (.rmj) files, MP3 (.mp3) files, as well as CDs – RealJukebox's volume control affects, and is affected by, the Windows Master Volume level. Windows master volume may be turned down.

Check your Windows volumes and adjust your Wave volume (be sure it isn't muted). Also make sure that “CD Audio” is active and not muted.

You may have disabled the

Play

button. (Some sound cards require that Play be enabled in order to record tracks in analog mode.

Click the

Play

button when recording.

CD Audio is not selected in your computer’s volume control. Some sound cards require that this option be selected in order to record tracks in analog mode.

Open your computer’s volume control panel and make sure that

CD Audio is active and not muted:

1. Double-click the speaker icon in your Windows System Tray (usually in the bottom-right corner of your screen). The volume control panel opens.


Properties

. The properties window appears.

3. Under “Adjust volume for” click

Recording

, then click

OK

.

4. In the volume control panel, check the

Select

box under CD Audio, then click

OK

.

Note

If you continue to experience difficulties in this area, please contact technical support at http://service.real.com

.

74



Why do my tracks have skips or pops in them?

Problem 1

Solution

Your computer may have been performing a complex task while recording, such as opening or saving a large file.

Re-record problem tracks. To ensure high-quality results, refrain from changing windows or scrolling in a window while recording.

Note

You can also open the Options menu and select

Preferences

, then


, and allocate more

CPU usage under “Advanced CPU Options.”

This option may affect other applications running at the same time as

RealJukebox Plus and should be used with caution.

Problem 2

Solution 1

Your CD ROM drive may be reading with errors.

Choose Error Correction in digital recording mode:


Preferences

, then click the

Recording

Options

tab.

2. Select

Digital

under

Recording Method

.

3. Click the box next to

Use Error Correction

(not available on Windows NT systems using generic CD ROM drivers).

Note

This setting may slow down the recording process, but is likely to produce more consistent results under some circumstances. (Playback while recording may not be available in this mode).

Solution 2

Choose analog recording mode:


Preferences

.

2. Click the


tab.

3. Select

Analog

under “Recording Method.”

Note

If you encounter further problems in this area, please contact technical support at http://service.real.com.

75



Help, I’m out of hard drive space!

Problem

Solution

You're having so much fun with RealJukebox Plus, you've filled your hard drive with music!

There are several things you can do to free up disk space on your

primary hard drive (see Appendix A: Disk Space Management on page 65 for more information).

Why can’t I play CDs while recording?

Problem 1

Your system may not support this feature, or may support it only at lower speeds.

Solution 1

Check the system requirements and make sure your system meets

the “Recommended” standards (see “What are the System

Requirements for RealJukebox Plus?” on page 67

)

.

Solution 2

Try recording in a different format or at a lower quality level:


Preferences

.

2. Click the


tab.

3. Select a music file format under “Select a Format.”

4. Select a quality level or “bitrate” under “Select a Quality Level.”

Solution 3

Choose analog recording mode:


Preferences

.

2. Click the


tab.

3. Select

Analog

under “Recording Method.”

Problem 2

Solution

Your machine may not be fast enough to support “Start Playback on Record.”

Check the System Requirements in Appendix B: Frequently Asked

Questions on page 67. If your system meets the recommended

requirements and you still have difficulties, contact technical support at http://service.real.com/.

76



Why is RealJukebox Plus playing a different track from the one I selected?

Problem

Solution

Tracks may not be selected for playback. If you are in the

Record/Play CD screen, RealJukebox Plus only plays tracks you have checked using the check boxes alongside your track list. If you select an unchecked track for playback, RealJukebox Plus jumps to the first checked track in your list. If no tracks are checked, an error message appears.

In the Record/Play CD screen, use the check boxes to select the tracks you wish to play.

I chose MP3 format in Preferences. Why do my recorded files have a .rmx extension?

Your MP3 files have been recorded in a “secure” format. Files recorded in

RealJukebox Plus with security “on” can only be played on the machine upon which they were recorded.

Note

RealJukebox Plus can automatically convert your music files for use with portable music players. Please see

“Configuring Your Portable Player” on page 61.

Windows NT Problems

Recording Errors

ASPI is one of several methods of extracting music CD data. Some Windows

NT systems do not have ASPI drivers, which can cause problems when recording digitally in RealJukebox Plus. If you received an error while recording, you may wish to switch to analog recording mode:


Preferences

.

2. Click the


tab.

3. Choose

Analog

under “Recording Methods,” and click

OK

.

Other Windows NT Known Issues:

•

Tracks fail to record.

•

Tracks record to 99%, then recording aborts.

•

Playback is sluggish when changing tracks or view in RealJukebox Plus.

77



If you are experiencing any of the above issues, we recommend that you purchase an ASPI driver for your system. As of this writing, these drivers are not available as freeware or shareware. More information can be found at http://www.adaptec.com

.

Contact RealNetworks

http://www.real.com/company/contact/index.html

This site contains everything you need to know to get in touch with

RealNetworks, including web sites, downloads, phone numbers, addresses, even driving directions.

http://service.real.com/help/faq/rjbfaq.html

For up to date Frequently Asked Questions on RealJukebox Plus, check this site regularly.

http://service.real.com/

For additional Technical Support and information, this is the place to be.

Search the same information tech support people use to answer customer questions every day!

http://realjukebox.real.com

Visit RealJukebox Central for tons of way cool music-related stuff, including artist and band info, and music downloads.

78

GLOSSARY

The following table contains a list of terms defined specifically for RealJukebox Plus.

While some of these concepts may have broader meanings and implications, the definitions in this glossary relate directly to your use of RealJukebox Plus rather than the world or Internet at large.

A

album

This term refers to your CD as a collection of music. “Album” is a colloquial term dating back to 78

RPM records, which contained only one song on each side. These records were often sold in books or “albums” comprising multiple slip-covers, each holding a single record.

analog

This is the original sound wave, which can be converted into digital data or can be recreated from a previously stored data file. CDs store information as digital data and CD players convert the signal back from digital into analog form so you can hear it.

analog extraction (recording)

If your CD ROM does not support digital audio extraction, analog recording is used. This method records the actual sound output of your CD as it is routed through your soundcard.

artist

The band, composer, singer, etc. who recorded your CD.

ask-tell-help

RealNetworks policy of “Fair

Practices & Conventions for

Handling File Formats in the Era of the Internet.” RealJukebox always asks before making itself the default player for music file types. For more information on this policy, point your browser to http://www.real.com/company/pressroo m/pr/testimony/asktellhelp.html.

B

bitrate

The amount of digital information being stored per second of audio. In general, a higher bitrate means better sound quality with a larger file size.

“blocks”

Unit of measurement describing the amount of data RealJukebox reads from your CD. One “block” equals 2

“frames”.

79

Glossary

browser

Short for Internet browser (for example, Netscape Navigator or

Internet Explorer).

C

catalog panel

Area on the left side of the Music

Library Screen that displays the organization of music files, the

Master Library, playlists, and portable music players.

CD Info

CD data retrieved from an Internet database. If you are online,

RealJukebox connects to the Internet and retrieves your CD's title, the artist’s name, track titles, etc. This information is automatically saved when you record your CD.

CD Streamer

A program that records tracks from

CDs and saves them as music files.

check box

RealJukebox's Record/Play check boxes let you determine which tracks to play or record (checked) and which ones to skip (unchecked).

Clipboard

The clipboard is a temporary storage place that holds only one set of cut or copied items at a time. The last items you cut or copied are stored on the clipboard.

contents panel

The area on the right side of the

Music Library Screen that displays


the contents of the item currently selected in the catalog panel.

continuous play

When this option is selected,

RealJukebox plays your CD, album, or

Playlist repeatedly (in listed order) until you stop playback.

D

digital

Sound information can be represented as a data stream of values. The original sound wave is sampled (measured) many times a second and resulting values are stored as computer 0's and 1's. To listen to the sound, the values must be converted back into an analog waveform using a digital to analog converter.

digital audio extraction

If your CD ROM supports this feature, RealJukebox can read the digital music data directly from your

CD, bypassing your sound card for the best possible sound quality.

E

encode (encoding)

The second step in digital CD recording, encoding is the process of converting music data into music files so RealJukebox can play your tracks. (See extraction, below.)

extraction

The first step in digital CD recording, extraction is the process of reading the raw music data from your CD.

The next step in the recording process is encoding, described above.

80


F

file type

A file’s “type” tells your computer which programs can use the file.

When you click a link or a file,

Windows checks to see what program is associated with that file type and automatically launches that program

(for example, double-clicking on a.rmx file should launch RealJukebox and begin to play a track).

firewall

Security devices used to protect companies from unauthorized access to their servers. A firewall ensures that all communication between an organization's network and the

Internet conform to the organization's security policies using either proxy services or packet filtering.

format

See “music file formats.”

“frames”

Unit of measurement for audio data.

Each individual “frame” equals

1/75th of a second of information.

G genre

Music type or category: Rock,

Classical, Country, Jazz, Pop, etc.

graphic equalizer

Display that allows you to fine-tune your audio by increasing or decreasing the volume within specific frequency ranges.

Glossary

group (grouping)

RealJukebox’s method for organizing tracks in the Music Library: by Genre,

Artist, Album, etc.

H

Header Bar, Headers

The bar just above the Contents Panel or track list in the Music Library screen. With a Group, Playlist, or All

Tracks open, it contains the headers

Track Name, Album, Artist, etc. You can click a header to sort tracks by header criteria.

I

ID3

RealJukebox Plus is ID3 (version 1.1) compatible. This means track information (track title, artist name, genre, etc.) is stored in your actual music files, not just in the

RealJukebox database.

Imported Playlist

A Playlist you have created in another

CD recording program and imported into RealJukebox.

ISP

Internet Service Provider: the service you use to dial up to the Internet if you do not have a permanent network connection.

M

Master Library

Located in the Music Library, this list contains all your recorded or imported music files.

media

A general term that includes any visual, audio or text. For purposes of

81

Glossary

RealJukebox, media includes music, video, or other information

RealJukebox can extract from your

CD or import from another source.

MP3 (.mp3)

MPEG Layer 3 Audio: One of several music file formats or file types.

music file formats

These are the different file types

RealJukebox can encode and play. File types RealJukebox can encode include

RealAudio files as well as MP3, and

Wave. RealJukebox can play all of the above, as well as Liquid Audio, A2B, and more. New format support is being added to RealJukebox all the time!

Music Library

The place where all your recorded music is stored and organized according to your preference.

O

offline

Not connected to the Internet.

online

Connected to the Internet.

P

Playlist

A collection of tracks you compile from your recorded music files.

play column

The dark column to the left of your track list. Home of the play cursor.

play cursor

Green arrow in the play column; points to the track you've selected for play, or the currently playing track.


portable music player

Similar to a portable cassette or CD player, these small, lightweight devices allow you to store and play back audio files transferred from your computer.

proxy

Used in conjunction with a firewall, a proxy service determines whether a requested connection between a computer on the internal network and one on the outside is permitted.

R

.ram, .ra, .rm

RealMedia file extensions used by

RealPlayer, and compatible with

RealJukebox.

RealAudio

RealNetworks' audio format. When you choose RealAudio format under

Options...Preferences…Encoding

Options

, RealJukebox saves your music as RealAudio (.rmx) secure files or RealAudio unsecured (.rmj) files.

RealMedia

Files created by RealNetworks for use with our products. RealJukebox plays files with .rm and .ra RealMedia extensions.

RMJ (.rmj)

RealAudio unsecured: If you opt not to secure your files during installation or in Preferences,

RealJukebox creates files with this extension.

RMX (.rmx)

RealJukebox's standard secured files.

82


S

seek bar

Part of the RealJukebox's Playback function, the seek bar indicates the current position in the track being played. You can jump to any point in a track by clicking on a location on the bar or by dragging the slider.

security

RealJukebox offers a security option that allows you to protect your files

from illegal use (see “Secure Files” on page 58 for more information).

security key

A small file that is required by

RealJukebox to play back secure audio files. Each user of RealJukebox has a unique security key which should be backed up on a floppy disk.

server

Any computer or program that

“serves” or provides information to another computer or program.

shuffle play


StartCenter

RealJukebox's StartCenter operation places a RealJukebox icon in your

Windows Taskbar, which allows you easy access to many RealJukebox features.

status bars

The black information areas above your track list in the Record/Play screen. These bars tell you which CD or Playlist is currently playing and/or being recorded.

Glossary

system tray

Typically located on the Windows

Taskbar in the bottom-right corner of your screen, the system tray contains icons representing programs and system controls. This area often has a digital clock display as well.

T

track

Usually refers to an individual song recorded from a CD.

U

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. This is the complete address that tells your browser and RealJukebox where to find information on the Internet

(example http://www.real.com

).

W

Wizard

A tool that walks you through a process, such as configuration

(setting RealJukebox to run the way you want it to). Wizards usually contain a series of screens, each containing one or more options, and buttons that allow you to proceed

(Next), back up (Back), or close the wizard and save your settings

(Finish).

83

RealJukebox Plus Manual

RealJukebox Plus Manual

http://www.real.com

CONTENTS

WELCOME TO REALJUKEBOX PLUS!

Congratulations! You’re the proud owner of RealJukebox Plus, the industry’s premier digital music system. With RealJukebox Plus, your music is at your fingertips at home, at work, or on the go!

What is RealJukebox Plus?

How to Use This Manual

Chapter 1: Getting Started contains installation instructions and a Quick

Chapters 2 - 7 provide in-depth information on RealJukebox Plus features and

Appendixes A - D contain additional information you may find helpful,

Text Conventions

Instructional Formats

Mouse Clicks

GETTING STARTED

Grab your mouse and hang on! It's time to start creating your personal music collection. Follow the procedures in this section to install RealJukebox Plus, and to get a quick overview of its features and controls.

Installation

Quick Start

Keyboard Shortcuts

RECORD/PLAY A CD

With RealJukebox Plus you can play tracks directly from a CD or record tracks onto your computer's hard drive for playback anytime.

You can play your CDs while you record them, or play previously recorded tracks while you record a new CD. RealJukebox Plus retrieves and saves CD Info for each CD, and features a Graphic

Equalizer so you can fine tune the sound of your music. Take a look:

Recording CDs

Playback While Recording

Playing CDs

Record/Play CD Features

Get CD Info

i

Graphic Equalizer

What is it?

How does it work?

MUSIC LIBRARY

The Music Library is the place to find your recorded music and to organize your tracks into groups and Playlists. You can catalog your music according to artist, album title, or genre, or create custom

Playlists that let you organize your tracks based on any criteria you wish. With the Music Library, it’s easy to find the music you want when you want it.

Music Library Screen Features

Master Library

Groups: Organize Your Music Library

Playing Music Library Tracks

Save Tracks As...

Track Properties

Playlists

Create a Playlist

Playlist Folders

Play a Playlist

Edit Playlists

Export Playlists

Deleting Tracks and Playlists

Importing Music Files and Playlists

Portable Music Players

Music Library Quick Menus

GET MUSIC

Get Music Updates

REALJUKEBOX MODES

Skin Mode

Changing Skins

Deleting Skins

“Get Skins”

Skin Mode Features

StartCenter

REALJUKEBOX MENUS

RealJukebox Plus menus contain a variety of commands to help you get the most out of your music. The following pages describe each menu and its options.

The File Menu

The Edit Menu

The View Menu

The Controls Menu

The Options Menu

The Sites Menu

The Help Menu

PREFERENCES

General

Inserting a CD

StartCenter in the System Tray

Start Playback with Record

Skin Importing

Recording Options

Recording Method

While Recording

Recording Options Reset

Advanced Recording Options