As the heir of RM format, RMVB format is developed based on RM format. RMVB, known as RealMedia Variable Bitrate, is a variable bitrate extension of the RealMedia multimedia container format developed by RealNetworks.

The RMVB files usually contain pieces of multimedia data compressed using the proprietary RealMedia compression algorithm. RealMedia codec uses compression similar to MPEG-4 Part 10 codecs, such as X264.

Popular RMVB Codecs

• RealMedia Splitter - RealMedia Splitter allows you to play RealNetworks audio/video files using Windows Media Player. You will need to install RealPlayer/RealOne Player or Real Alternative first.
• Real Alternative Lite - Real Alternative allows you to play RealMedia files without having to install RealPlayer/RealOne Player. Supported: RealAudio (.ra .rpm), RealMedia (.rm .ram .rmvb .rpx .smi .smil), RealText (.rt), ReadPix (.rp), RealMedia embedded in webpages. .smi and .smil files.
• x264 Video Codec - x264 is an open source H.264 (also known as MPEG-4 AVC) based video codec available for many platforms.
• K-Lite Codec Pack Basic 5.4.0
• ffdshow 6

Other popular video codecs

• Media Player Codec Pack
• X Codec
• VSS Video Codec
• Etymonix MPEG-2 Video Codec
• DivX
• LEAD H.263 Video Codec
• Ut Video Codec Suite

• If you want to encode and decode realmedia, you can Download Top 5 Realmedia Codec Pack.
• If you want to learn RA codecs, you can have a look at RA Codec for Windows Media Player.
• If you don't know which codec can be compatible with your Windows 7, you can download Codec Pack for Windows 7.