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Repairing RealPlayer after a crash Apps
I was having a repeated problem with RealPlayer crashing while playing content from NPR, then refusing to play the same content again. This is due to the streaming audio downloads files that get left behind when the crash occurs, and result in an error stating that RealPlayer cannot play a file of type "smil_2." This is Finder-level naming interfering with RealPlayer.

To get rid of the old files and allow RealPlayer to do what it needs to, you need to go to its cache and delete the files manually. To find the location, go to the Window menu and choose "Clip Info" (command-I). Follow the path to find and delete all files with the extension "smil," and any that contain "smil" followed by a numeral. The default path that RealPlayer uses to store these files is /private -> tmp -> 501 -> Cleanup At Startup. If you choose to type this manually in Terminal, put "Cleanup At Startup" in quotes to avoid a "too many arguments" message.
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Not necessarily 501
Authored by: vogunaescht on Dec 17, '02 10:12:29AM

Just be careful with the user id 501. It's the default user id of the first user on a freshly installed mac. If you have more than one user, they have different user ids.
You can check your user id with /Applications/Utilities/Netinfo Manager. In Netinfo Manager, choose your domain ("/" is your local domain), go to "users", select your username and look at the entry "uid". That's the value you're looking for.
Or just type "ls -ln" in the shell in your home directory to see your uid (third column).



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Not necessarily 501
Authored by: Elektron on Dec 19, '02 06:04:03AM

Or, of course, "id".

/tmp/`id -n`/blah...



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Use iTunes
Authored by: shurakai on Dec 17, '02 01:50:23PM

iTunes has streaming audio from NPR too, go to Radio -> Public -> KCRW Simulcast. They obviously aren't local (unless you're from L.A.) but they have all the good national and international news.



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Fixed in RealOne Player gold
Authored by: grobbins on Dec 19, '02 01:38:30PM
The SMIL renaming bug mentioned here is fixed in the final release of RealOne Player for Mac OS X, which is available from real.com Additionally, it's easy to find the temporary files played by RealOne Player for Mac OS X by holding down the Command and Option keys when choosing a clip title from the File menu. That will show the clip's file in the Finder.

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