News from the Giz is that after a brief beta test, Real Media is set to release a new version of RealPlayer that will allow iPod users to download and play Real Media on their 5th Generation video iPods. As part of the As RealPlayer Plus package, the application will give users the ability to download Web videos to your iPod with a single click.

The near forty dollar ($40) application will also burn those same web videos to DVD, rip, mix and burn CDs and MP3s, contain a 10-band equalizer for music mixing, and an analog recording feature to allow ripping of old album, cassette tapes and voice recordings that can then be converted into digital files.
The later spate of features is nothing new, but the ability to download digital media directly to the iPod is something that has been solely the domain of iTunes. And if Real Media has figured out how to synch and install video onto the iPod, you can bet that they know how to do it for music downloads as well and the web video capability is merely a trial balloon to see if Cuptertino will lower the litigious hammer.
But come on, it’s REAL PLAYER … the hallmark of lackluster audio and video quality. So how much of a threat can it be?

Still, for the option, I’m sure many iPod users will be lining up to give it a go.