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Helix (multimedia project)

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Helix DNA was a project to produce computer software that can play audio and video media in various formats and aid in creating such media. It was intended as a largely free and open-source digital media framework compatible with numerous operating systems and processors (including mobile phones) and it was started by RealNetworks , which contributed much of the code. The Helix Community was an open collaborative effort to develop and extend the Helix DNA platform. The Helix Project has been discontinued.

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38-501: Helix DNA Client is a software package for multi-platform, multi-format media playback. Helix Player is a media player compatible with Linux , Solaris , Symbian , and FreeBSD and uses the Helix DNA Client. The Helix DNA Producer application aids in producing media files, and Helix DNA Server can stream media files over a network. The code is released in binary and source code form under various licenses, notably

76-404: A geography application for Microsoft Windows , or an Android application for education , or a Linux game . Sometimes a new and popular application arises that only runs on one platform , increasing the desirability of that platform. This is called a killer application or killer app , coined in the late 1980s. For example, VisiCalc was the first modern spreadsheet software for

114-479: A "flat" picture can be transformed so as to give an illusion of depth when viewed through anaglyph glasses (usually red-cyan). An image viewed through anaglyph glasses appears to have both protruding and deeply embedded objects in it, at the expense of somewhat distorted colors. The method itself is old enough , dating back to the mid-19th century, but it is only with recent advances in computer technology that it has become possible to apply this kind of transformation to

152-426: A collection of objects composed of 3D vertices and textures, much like in any modern video game, to achieve special effects. Tedious and costly, this method is only used in a small fraction of movies produced worldwide, while most movies remain in the form of traditional 2D images. It is, however, possible to give an otherwise two-dimensional picture the appearance of depth. Using a technique known as anaglyph processing

190-684: A contentious debate in the computing community regarding web applications replacing native applications for many purposes, especially on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets . Web apps have indeed greatly increased in popularity for some uses, but the advantages of applications make them unlikely to disappear soon, if ever. Furthermore, the two can be complementary, and even integrated. Application software can also be seen as being either horizontal or vertical . Horizontal applications are more popular and widespread, because they are general purpose, for example word processors or databases. Vertical applications are niche products , designed for

228-467: A lifetime, or forever). Since the development and near-universal adoption of the web , an important distinction that has emerged, has been between web applications — written with HTML , JavaScript and other web-native technologies and typically requiring one to be online and running a web browser — and the more traditional native applications written in whatever languages are available for one's particular type of computer . There has been

266-747: A particular type of industry or business, or department within an organization. Integrated suites of software will try to handle every specific aspect possible of, for example, manufacturing or banking worker, accounting, or customer service. There are many types of application software: Applications can also be classified by computing platforms such as a desktop application for a particular operating system , delivery network such as in cloud computing and Web 2.0 applications, or delivery devices such as mobile apps for mobile devices . The operating system itself can be considered application software when performing simple calculating, measuring, rendering, and word processing tasks not used to control hardware via

304-797: A seek bar, a timer with the current and total playback time, playback controls (play, pause, previous, next, stop), playlists, a "repeat" mode, and a "shuffle" (or "random") mode for curiosity and to facilitate searching long timelines of files. Different media players have different goals and feature sets. Video players are a group of media players that have their features geared more towards playing digital video . For example, Windows DVD Player exclusively plays DVD-Video discs and nothing else. Media Player Classic can play individual audio and video files but many of its features such as color correction, picture sharpening, zooming, set of hotkeys , DVB support and subtitle support are only useful for video material such as films and cartoons. Audio players , on

342-754: A series of frames in a motion picture reasonably fast or even in real-time, i.e. as the video is being played back. Several implementations exist in the form of 3D video players that render conventional 2D video in anaglyph 3D, as well as in the form of 3D video converters that transform video into stereoscopic anaglyph and transcode it for playback with regular software or hardware video players. Well known examples of media player software include Windows Media Player , VLC media player , iTunes , Winamp , Media Player Classic , MediaMonkey , foobar2000 , AIMP , MusicBee and JRiver Media Center . Most of these also include music library managers. Although media players are often multi-media, they can be primarily designed for

380-512: A specific media. For example, Media Player Classic and VLC media player are video-focused while Winamp and iTunes are music-focused, despite all of them supporting both types of media. A home theater PC or media center computer is a convergence device that combines some or all the capabilities of a personal computer with a software application that supports video, photo, audio playback, and sometimes video recording functionality. Although computers with some of these capabilities were available from

418-486: A tooltip bubble previewing footage at the position hovered over with the mouse cursor. A preview tooltip for the seek bar has been implemented on few smartphones through a stylus or a self-capacitive touch screen able to detect a floating finger. Such include the Samsung Galaxy S4, S5 (finger), Note 2, Note 4 (stylus), and Note 3 (both). Streaming media players may indicate buffered segments of

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456-411: Is a computer program designed to carry out a specific task other than one relating to the operation of the computer itself, typically to be used by end-users . Word processors , media players , and accounting software are examples. The collective noun " application software " refers to all applications collectively. The other principal classifications of software are system software , relating to

494-412: Is a computer program designed to help people perform an activity. Depending on the activity for which it was designed, an application can manipulate text, numbers, audio, graphics, and a combination of these elements. Some application packages focus on a single task, such as word processing; others called integrated software include several applications. User-written software tailors systems to meet

532-505: Is a type of application software for playing multimedia computer files like audio and video files. Media players commonly display standard media control icons known from physical devices such as tape recorders and CD players , such as play (  [REDACTED]  ), pause (  [REDACTED]  ), fastforward (⏩️), rewind (⏪), and stop (  [REDACTED]  ) buttons. In addition, they generally have progress bars (or "playback bars"), which are sliders to locate

570-712: Is also a commercial version called Helix Server, which has more features and supports more media formats. It was originally called the Helix Universal Server when it was announced in or before 2002. It is based on the Helix DNA Client. It is available for Linux, Solaris, Symbian and FreeBSD. Users of Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X can use RealPlayer, which has similar capabilities. It is a media encoding engine for creating streaming broadcasts, on-demand streaming content, and downloadable audio video files. The Helix DNA Producer runs on MS Windows, Linux and Mac OS X. The Helix DNA Producer contains output support for

608-459: Is not restricted to the "of or on application software" meaning. For example, concepts such as application programming interface (API), application server , application virtualization , application lifecycle management and portable application apply to all computer programs alike, not just application software. Some applications are available in versions for several different platforms; others only work on one and are thus called, for example,

646-526: Is occasionally the object of controversy. For example, one of the key questions in the United States v. Microsoft Corp. antitrust trial was whether Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser was part of its Windows operating system or a separate piece of application software. As another example, the GNU/Linux naming controversy is, in part, due to disagreement about the relationship between

684-489: Is royalty-free and - openly or reservedly- can be run, distributed, modified, reversed, republished, or created in derivative works without any copyright attribution and therefore revocation . It can even be sold, but without transferring the public domain property to other single subjects. Public-domain SW can be released under a (un)licensing legal statement, which enforces those terms and conditions for an indefinite duration (for

722-493: Is supplied as a library which is included within Android Java applications for over the air installation. Helix DNA client contains support for the following media formats: The Helix DNA Server, first released on 22 January 2003, supports streaming of following formats: It supports streaming to any device or application that supports HTTP , RTSP / RTP , TCP, UDP unicast and UDP multicast streaming protocols. There

760-722: The Internet Tablet OS from Nokia , which is found on the Nokia 770 , N800 and N810 Internet Tablets. Cingular Video is also based on the framework. Other projects that use the Helix framework include RealNetwork's Rhapsody online music service, the Banshee and Amarok music players, and MediaReady 4000. Helix DNA also manifests itself as the RealPlayer on Mobile Internet Devices (MID) and on Netbooks. Developers from

798-583: The Linux kernel and the operating systems built over this kernel . In some types of embedded systems , the application software and the operating system software may be indistinguishable from the user, as in the case of software used to control a VCR , DVD player, or microwave oven . The above definitions may exclude some applications that may exist on some computers in large organizations. For an alternative definition of an app: see Application Portfolio Management . The word "application" used as an adjective

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836-687: The Open Source Lab announced in 2007 they would use Helix technologies for content creation applications and collaboration in the One Laptop Per Child project. Helix DNA client contains support for the following media formats: Helix DNA Client for Android provides an HLS, MPEG-DASH, Verimatrix DRM and Microsoft PlayReady DRM media player for Android 2.2 to latest devices. Supporting H.264 and AAC codecs with Adaptive Bit Rate support (H.264 / AAC) including audio only. Armv7 and Armv6 supported using Stagefright media platform. Helix SDK

874-513: The Windows Store , the term was extended in popular use to include desktop applications. There are many different and alternative ways to classify application software. From the legal point of view, application software is mainly classified with a black-box approach , about the rights of its end-users or subscribers (with eventual intermediate and tiered subscription levels). Software applications are also classified with respect to

912-608: The proprietary RealNetworks Community Source License and the free and open source software RealNetworks Public Source License. Additionally, the Helix DNA Client and the Helix Player are licensed under the popular GNU General Public License (GPL) free and open source license. Use of the RDT , the default proprietary Real data transport, and of the RealVideo and RealAudio codecs requires binary components distributed under

950-532: The Apple II and helped sell the then-new personal computers into offices. For Blackberry it was their email software. The shortened term "app" (coined in 1981 or earlier ) became popular, with the 2008 introduction of the iOS App Store , to refer to applications for mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets . Later, with the 2010 introduction of the Mac App Store and the 2011 introduction of

988-539: The Helix DNA Technology Binary Research Use License. Helix DNA Client powers many digital media applications, including RealPlayer for MS Windows, Mac OS and Linux (since version 10), RealPlayer Mobile, and Helix Player. It is used on Nokia , Motorola , Samsung and Sony Ericsson mobile phones. 800 million mobile phones with the Helix client have been shipped since 2004. It is also being used in embedded devices like

1026-499: The ability to adjust appearance and acoustics during playback using effects such as mirroring, rotating, cropping, cloning, adjusting colours, deinterlacing , and equalizing and visualizing audio . Easter eggs may be featured, such as a puzzle game on VLC Media Player . Still snapshots may be extracted directly from a video frame or captured through a screenshot, the former of which is preferred since it preserves videos' original dimensions (height and width). Video players may show

1064-664: The current position in the duration of the media file. Mainstream operating systems have at least one default media player. For example, Windows comes with Windows Media Player , Microsoft Movies & TV and Groove Music , while macOS comes with QuickTime Player and Music . Linux distributions come with different media players, such as SMPlayer , Amarok , Audacious , Banshee , MPlayer , mpv , Rhythmbox , Totem , VLC media player , and xine . Android comes with YouTube Music for audio and Google Photos for video, and smartphone vendors such as Samsung may bundle custom software. The basic feature set of media players are

1102-426: The feature set of Media Player Classic and MediaMonkey combined. By default, videos are played with fully visible field of view while filling at least either width or height of the viewport to appear as large as possible. Options to change the video's scaling and aspect ratio may include filling the viewport through either stretching or cropping, and "100% view" where each pixel of the video covers exactly one pixel on

1140-411: The following data types: Developers who want MP3 encoding can license the code from RealNetworks for a fee. There is also an add-on package for Helix DNA Producer SDK with AAC or aacPlus encoding support. Helix DNA Producer was also available in a commercial, closed-source version –RealProducer Plus for MS Windows and Linux. Media player (application software) Media player software

1178-481: The late 1980s, the "Home Theater PC" term first appeared in mainstream press in 1996. Since 2007, other types of consumer electronics, including gaming systems and dedicated media devices have crossed over to manage video and music content. The term "media center" also refers to specialized computer programs designed to run on standard personal computers . Application software An application program ( software application , or application , or app for short)

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1216-399: The media in the seek bar. 3D video players are used to play 2D video in 3D format. A high-quality three-dimensional video presentation requires that each frame of a motion picture be embedded with information on the depth of objects present in the scene. This process involves shooting the video with special equipment from two distinct perspectives or modeling and rendering each frame as

1254-440: The operation of the computer, and utility software ("utilities"). Applications may be bundled with the computer and its system software or published separately and may be coded as proprietary , open-source , or projects. When referring to applications for mobile devices such as phones, the term "app" is more commonly used. In information technology, an application ( app ), an application program , or application software

1292-554: The other hand, specialize in digital audio . For example, AIMP exclusively plays audio formats. MediaMonkey can play both audio and video formats, but many of its features including media library, lyric discovery, music visualization , online radio, audiobook indexing, and tag editing are geared toward consumption of audio material; watching video files on it can be a trying feat. General-purpose media players also do exist. For example, Windows Media Player has exclusive features for both audio and video material, although it cannot match

1330-734: The programming language in which the source code is written or executed, and concerning their purpose and outputs. Application software is usually distinguished into two main classes: closed source vs open source software applications, and free or proprietary software applications. Proprietary software is placed under the exclusive copyright, and a software license grants limited usage rights. The open-closed principle states that software may be "open only for extension, but not for modification". Such applications can only get add-ons from third parties. Free and open-source software (FOSS) shall be run, distributed, sold, or extended for any purpose, and -being open- shall be modified or reversed in

1368-409: The same way. FOSS software applications released under a free license may be perpetual and also royalty-free . Perhaps, the owner , the holder or third-party enforcer of any right ( copyright , trademark , patent , or ius in re aliena ) are entitled to add exceptions, limitations, time decays or expiring dates to the license terms of use. Public-domain software is a type of FOSS which

1406-400: The screen. Zooming into the field of view during playback may be implemented through a slider on any screen or with pinch zoom on touch screens, and moving the field of view may be implemented through scrolling by dragging inside the view port or by moving a rectangle inside a miniature view of the entire field of view that denotes the magnified area. Media player software may have

1444-417: The user's specific needs. User-written software includes spreadsheet templates, word processor macros, scientific simulations, audio, graphics, and animation scripts. Even email filters are a kind of user software. Users create this software themselves and often overlook how important it is. The delineation between system software such as operating systems and application software is not exact, however, and

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