Audio for Download Pages Problem

Hi,

I downloaded Helix Producer Basic to record a Real Audio file for my website - actually to be downloaded for free by people purchasing a new course of mine.

It wasn't hard to record the audio using a microphone and Helix Producer Basic, but, after spending an eternity reading their Getting Started Guide and their website info. at http://www.realnetworks.com to try and figure out how get the thing to play, it seems impossible. The file size for my 18 minute audio was some 7,500 KB and I waited more than an hour to download the file from my hard drive to my webhost's server, where my website is located.

Then, when it finished, it only had downloaded 350 KB and then stopped. I then attached the file to my download page via a simple link and tried to save it - just as a customer would. Well, forget it - after an hour, it still hadn't downloaded.

I have the full sm file on my hard drive. Does anyone know how to get it more user friendly for a customer ? They surely don't want to spend an hour downloading it and then waiting another hour for the Real Player to "load it".

Is there a better solution to recording audio files, and providing them for immediate playback for customers ? Has anyone out there figured this one out ? If the answer is yes, I'm willing to pay someone to help me for a few hours or however long it takes to get this straightened out.

I need to get this audio ready and available for customers as quickly as possible, because it is part of another product I sell. If I have to re-record everthing, that's fine - it doesn't take long to do that part.

Anyone who can help, please help ! I can pay you by PayPal if you wish. I just need someone who has done this before and who knows exactly what to do and what to purchase, if anything.

Thank you.

Ken:

Did you mean RM and not SM?

Anyway. Real Player links are RAM, but Real Player files a RM.

Here's how you link it so it will download and play automatically...

Upload your RM file.

Open a Notepad page. The only thing to put in that page is the URL of your RM file. Save this page as an RAM file.

For instance. Say your real audio RM file is called test.rm

The page you create will only contain the following http://www.yoursite.com/test.rm and this page will be saves as audiofile.ram

Upload both test.rm and audiofile.ram to your website.

To get it to download and play, your link would be: http://www.yoursite.com/audiofile.ram

Real Player will read the .ram file and download and play the rm file.

Hope this helps,

Michael Ross