I'm trying to view a video on c-span.org that is published in RealMedia format, using the rstp protocol. Totem is unable to play the file, and the folks at c-span, in all their wisdom decided to make all the links call Javascript functions. I don't really feel like sifting through source code to find the URL of every video I want to watch. How can I set up Firefox (or is this a Gnome issue?) to launch RealPlayer instead of Totem to play these files? I can't find a setting anywhere.

Any ideas?

install realplay

sudo apt-get install realplay

I already did that, but the installer didn't set my system up correctly.

Clarification:

When I tried to install realplayer from Synaptic, I got the following error:"realplayer: Depends: xlibs but it is not installable." So I downloaded and installed RealPlayer directly from real.com. But it didn't setup the rstp: links.

<rant>While I appreciate the push for user friendly programs--such as in Gnome and Firefox, all that user-friendliness is useless if it means hiding essential options, such as changing handlers</rant>

OK... I asked on the Helix Community forum and got the following answer:
Hope this helps someone.

I recently discovered a better way of doing this:

1. Open up gconf-editor
2. Drill down to /desktop/gnome/url-handlers/rstp (create it if necessary)
3. Set the command key to realplay "%s"
4. If you created the rstp entry, add the following keys, as well: enabled (boolean, checked); needs_terminal (boolean, unchecked)

Hey mssever!

Thanks for the tip! I was trying to watch C-Span this morning myself and discovered that it didn't work anymore. It wanted to start Totem. Totem doesn't work. I uninstalled Totem and got the error you talked about.

I went to "about:config" in Firefox and fixed it there. Works like a charm! Thanks!