IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have received this error, you are not using the latest RealPlayer. RealPlayer 8 Basic is a FREE, recommended update available for Windows 95/98/NT and recent Macintosh systems.

If your system meets the minimum system requirements, we recommend that you update your player now by clicking here and following the download and installation instructions.

Error #38 File compression not supported. Cannot located the requested RealMedia decoder.

If you receive this message on a Windows machine, this can be the result of file conflicts with a previously installed version of the Player or Encoder. You need to manually delete any possible RealAudio and RealVideo files and reinstall the Player or Encoder. Use the links below to access the directions appropriate to your system. The directions are for Player deletion, but many of the files are shared libraries. If you have an Encoder installed, reinstall it after the clean Player installation.

A Newer Version of the Player May Be Required to Play the File

This message can indicate the RealAudio Player or RealPlayer attempted to play a file that is not in a RealAudio or RealVideo format accessible by that Player. Each version of the Player can only access specific types of media.

• RealAudio Player 3.0 can access files with the .ra, .rpm, or .ram file extensions.
• RealPlayer 4.0 can access files with the .ra, .rv, .rpm, or .ram file extensions.
• RealPlayer 5.0 can access files with the .ra, .rv, .rm, .swf, .rpm or .ram file extensions.

If the file causing the error message does have a correct file extension, then it was created with technology that your Player cannot support. For example, a .ra file created specifically for 5.0 and later Players is not compatible with 3.0 or 4.0 Players.

To successfully play the file, the Player needs to be updated to the current version. To update your Player for free, please visit http://www.real.com/products/player/index.html.

The File Requires More System Resources

You may also experience this error if you are attempting to play a file which is beyond your CPU's capabilities.

If you receive this message when playing the welcome.ram file that is installed with the Player, this does not mean that you cannot use the Player. The welcome.ram file is encoded in ISDN Stereo format and requires a Pentium computer for proper playback. However, you should be able to play files encoded with the 14.4 and 28.8 encoding algorithms.

The following table shows the minimum system requirements for playing each of the audio algorithms:

If your system does not meet the stated minimum system requirements for the Player, you may also receive this error. Please see the Documentation Library for the minimum system requirements for each version of the RealAudio Player and RealPlayer.