What is the RV file format?
.rv files are standalone RealVideo video stream files produced by RealNetworks. Introduced in February 1997 with RealPlayer 5, RealVideo was the dominant internet video streaming format from the late 1990s through the mid-2000s.
The RealVideo codec family evolved through several generations: RV10/RV13 (1997, H.263-based), RV20/G2 (1999, H.263 with spatiotemporal vector transform), RV30 (2002, RealVideo 8, proprietary), and RV40 (2003-2004, RealVideo 9/10, proprietary with quality approaching H.264). Each generation improved compression at the low bitrates typical of dial-up and broadband streaming.
Standalone .rv files begin with a .RVF magic header. In practice, RealVideo content is more commonly found inside a .rm (RealMedia) container, which multiplexes video with .ra RealAudio streams, or inside .rmvb files for variable-bitrate content. The .rv extension denotes a video-only stream without the enclosing container.
VLC media player remains the most practical modern tool for playing legacy .rv files. The format is effectively obsolete - RealNetworks discontinued RealPlayer for Linux and macOS, and MP4/H.264 has entirely replaced RealVideo for streaming and distribution.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWRealVideo files themselves are not typically malicious. Historic risk: RealPlayer had several vulnerabilities in the 2000s, but the format itself is just video data. VLC is safer than old RealPlayer for opening legacy .rv files.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open RV files
Windows2 apps
VLC media player
Open-source File > Open File, select the .rv file. VLC includes built-in RealVideo decoder. 
macOS1 app
VLC media player
Open-source File > Open File. RealPlayer for macOS was discontinued in 2018; VLC is the recommended replacement. 
Linux1 app
VLC media player
Open-source vlc file.rv from terminal or open via GUI. RealPlayer for Linux is no longer maintained. Technical details
deep spec| Magic bytes | 2E 52 56 46 (.RVF) at offset 0 for standalone .rv files |
| Container | Standalone .rv bitstream or embedded in .rm RealMedia container |
| Encoding | Binary, big-endian |
| Codec versions | RV10/RV13 (H.263-based, 1997), RV20/G2 (1999), RV30 (2002), RV40 (RealVideo 9/10, 2003-2004) |
| FourCC identifiers | RV10, RV13, RV20, RV30, RV40 (codec version identifier within stream or container) |
| Color format | YUV 4:2:0, 8-24 bpp |
| Maximum resolution | Up to 1920×1080 (RV40); earlier versions optimized for 320×240 at low bitrates |
| MIME type | video/vnd.rn-realvideo |
| Typical size | 1 MB - 700 MB (optimized for streaming at low bitrates) |
| Encryption | None in the stream; RTSP delivery may use transport-layer security |
| Audio pairing | Typically paired with RealAudio in .rm containers; .rv is video-only |
| Status | Obsolete since mid-2000s; superseded by MP4/H.264 for streaming |
| Released | 1997 (RealVideo 1.0) |
| Latest version | RealVideo 10 (RV40 codec, 2004) |
| Specification | wiki.multimedia.cx |
RV conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about RV files.
