Video to RM Converter

How to Convert Video to RM Online

1. Upload Your Video File: Drag and drop or click "+ Add Files" to add MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV, WebM, MPEG, TS, 3GP, or any of 35+ supported video sources. Batch upload is supported — convert several files in one pass.
2. Pick the Quality Preset and File Compression Mode: The default is Very High (Recommended), which targets RV20 video at solid bitrates. Drop to High, Medium, Low, or Lowest if you need a smaller .rm for slow-bandwidth streaming. Under File Compression, switch from the preset to Specific file size (enter MB/KB and let auto-scale do the rest), Constant Bitrate, Constant Quality, or Constraint Quality if you need ABR-style control.
3. Set Resolution and Trim (Optional): Use the Video resolution dropdown to keep the original, scale by Resolution Percentage (e.g. 50%), pick a Preset Resolution (1080p, 720p, 480p, 360p, 240p, 144p), or enter exact Width x Height. Toggle Trim from Unchanged to Time Range to clip a start/end (HH:MM:SS.ms precision) — useful for trimming an intro before delivering the RM.
4. Convert and Download: Click Convert. xconvert encodes your file to RealMedia in the cloud and returns a .rm you can download or send to RealPlayer / VLC. No watermark, no sign-up, no email gate.

Why Convert Video to RM?

RealMedia (.rm) is a proprietary container created by RealNetworks and introduced with RealPlayer 4.0 in February 1997. The format pairs RealVideo codecs (RV10/RV20 for older content, RV30/RV40 for later streams) with RealAudio inside an RMF-headed file, and it became the dominant streaming wrapper for late-1990s and early-2000s web media — CNN news streams, BBC radio archives, university lecture portals. xconvert outputs RM with RealVideo 1.0 (RV10) preselected — RealVideo 2.0 (RV20) is the alternative — and a selectable audio codec (RealAudio 1.0 / REAL_144, AAC, or AC3), matching the playback profile that virtually all legacy RealPlayer and VLC builds can handle.

You probably want RM in one of these scenarios:

• Restoring or migrating a legacy archive — Many corporate intranets, library digital collections, and broadcaster archives standardized on RM between 1998 and 2005. Re-encoding modern MP4 sources into RM lets new content slot into an existing catalog without breaking metadata, player skins, or .ram/.smil playlists.
• Playback on RealPlayer-only kiosks and embedded systems — Museum exhibits, old in-store display loops, and some Asian-market set-top boxes still ship with RealPlayer as the only bundled decoder. RV20-in-RM is the codec/container pair those devices are calibrated for.
• Compatibility with legacy RTSP servers — Helix Server and other RealNetworks-era streaming servers expect .rm with native RealVideo. Transcoding your H.264 source into RM lets you push it through an existing distribution chain without touching the server.
• Forensic or educational reproduction — Web archaeology projects, media-studies courses, and software preservation efforts reproduce the look-and-feel of late-1990s internet video, which means delivering source files in the same format viewers would have seen at the time.
• Compact streaming at very low bitrates — RM was engineered for dial-up and early broadband, and the RV20 codec still produces watchable footage at 100-300 kbps. If you're targeting a constrained network (offline kiosks, low-bandwidth WAN), RM remains a viable output.

If you instead want a variable-bitrate version, see Convert Video to RMVB. To go the other direction, Convert RM to MP4 for modern playback.

RM vs MP4 — Format Comparison

Quality Preset and Bitrate Quick Guide

For very specific archival targets, switch File Compression to Constant Bitrate or Specific file size and dial in your own number instead of using a preset.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which video and audio codec does the output RM file use?

xconvert encodes the video stream with RealVideo 1.0 (RV10) by default, with RealVideo RV20 (the H.263+ derivative shipped in the RealPlayer 6/7 era) selectable; the audio codec is your choice of RealAudio 1.0 (REAL_144), AAC, or AC3. Those codecs maximize compatibility with legacy RealPlayer builds and modern VLC, which still decodes RV10/RV20 and RA codecs. There is no RV30/RV40 encoder in open-source tooling; if you want the variable-bitrate RealMedia variant, use Convert Video to RMVB.

Will the converted RM play on a modern computer?

Yes — install VLC (which has decoded RealVideo natively since version 0.8 in 2005) or MPlayer, and your .rm file will play on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Web browsers do NOT play RM natively — there is no <video> codec support for RealVideo in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge. If you need browser playback, convert to MP4 instead.

Why is the maximum quality lower than what MP4 can do?

The RV20 codec inside .rm predates H.264 and uses an H.263+ derivative. It's a 1999-era encoder optimized for low-bitrate dial-up and ISDN streams, so even at Very High preset the rate-distortion performance trails modern codecs by 3-4x. If you're not bound to the RM container for compatibility reasons, MP4 with H.264 or H.265 will give noticeably better quality at the same file size.

Can I convert a 4K source to RM?

You can upload a 4K (2160p) source and xconvert will accept it, but the practical ceiling for RV20-in-RM is 720p or 1080p. RealMedia was never designed for UHD content, and most legacy RealPlayer builds cap decode at 1080p or lower. Use the Resolution Percentage or Preset Resolution dropdown to scale down to 720p / 480p / 360p — that's where RM playback is reliable.

What's the difference between RM and RMVB?

RM is the original 1997 container with a constant-bitrate (CBR) profile — every second of footage uses about the same number of bits, which simplifies progressive streaming. RMVB ("RealMedia Variable Bitrate"), introduced around 2002, lets the encoder spend more bits on complex scenes and fewer on static ones, producing smaller files at the same perceived quality. RMVB was hugely popular for anime fansubs and Asian pirate releases in the mid-2000s. Use Video to RMVB if you want VBR.

Is RealMedia still actively maintained?

The container spec is stable but effectively unmaintained — RealNetworks released RMHD (an H.265-in-RM variant) around 2014 but has not made significant updates since, and the company itself pivoted away from media-player software in the 2010s. RealPlayer Cloud was discontinued for desktop in 2019. Treat RM as a "legacy compatibility" output, not a forward-looking format.

Can I trim the source before converting to RM?

Yes — in Step 3, change the Trim dropdown from Unchanged to Time Range and enter a start and end timestamp in HH:MM:SS.ms format. The trimmed segment is encoded directly into the output .rm so you don't need a second pass. Useful for cutting an intro from a lecture recording or skipping a black-frame leader.

What input formats can I upload?

xconvert accepts 35+ video formats as RM sources: MP4, MOV, MKV, AVI, WMV, FLV, WebM, MPEG, MPEG2, MPG, M2V, M2TS, MTS, TS, 3GP, 3GPP, 3G2, ASF, AV1, AVCHD, CAVS, DIVX, DV, DVR, F4V, HEVC, M4V, MJPEG, MXF, OGV, RM (re-encode), RMVB, SWF, VOB, WTV, and XVID. If your source isn't listed, run it through Video to MP4 first, then convert the MP4 to RM here.

Does the converter add a watermark or limit conversions?

No watermark, no per-day cap, and no sign-up required. Files are processed server-side and cleared from the conversion queue automatically. For batch jobs, you can queue multiple files in a single upload and they convert with the same settings.