Real Audio player replacement?

Over the weekend, my mother asked me the following question:

" My church offers previously-recorded sermons in the .RM format, and I use Real One Player to play these files. Regrettably, the free version of Real One Player comes bundled with adware, and now my computer has advertisements and 'suggestions' popping up on my desktop! I would like to know if there is a freeware alternative to Real One Player, which can handle the .RM and other Real Media formats. What can you suggest? "

My Response:

Unfortunately, I don't use Real Player and refuse to install it on my machine (for similar reasons).

I have recently (and in the past) tried to search for an alternative to using Real Player to play the .RM file formats, but came up empty-handed. So, I've decided to save this question for Infopackets Readers.

Do you know of a freeware utility which does not contain adware or spyware, and can play Real Audio formats? Email me your suggestion and I'll include an update in the next newsletter.

Update 2003/07/08: This article has been updated. Click here to read!