Podcasting
Wikipedia, on Podcasting
The term "podcasting" is a portmanteau of the words iPod and broadcasting. Although an iPod is currently the playback device of choice for many early adopters of podcasting, a portable music player is not required to take advantage of this method of content distribution. Podcasting is functionally similar to the use of timeshift-capable digital video recorders (DVRs), such as TiVo, which let users record and store television programs for later viewing.
A podcast is much like an audio magazine subscription: a subscriber receives regular audio programs delivered via the internet, and she or he can listen to them at her or his leisure.
Podcasts differ from traditional internet audio in two important ways. In the past, listeners have had to either tune in to web radio on a schedule, or they have had to actively download individual files from webpages. Podcasts are more flexible and much easier to get. They can be listened to at any time because a copy is on the listener's computer or portable music player, and they are automatically delivered to subscribers, so no active downloading is required.
RSS is a Web content syndication format
The acronym stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary, depending on who you ask.
Websites that support such simple syndication provide their content in a format that can be read by News Aggregator client software. Links to these specifically formatted pages are often referred to as “feeds” due to the dynamic nature of how often they can be updated. A desktop RSS aggregator works by periodically checking on subscribed feeds for new content. When new posts are found, usually a portion of that post such as the title and perhaps a short excerpt from the article are displayed. The full story can be linked to open in a separate web browser, or in some cases in the News Aggregator itself.
Podcasting works the same way. However, as most RSS feeds deal primarily with text, podcasting is intended for rich media types such as audio, video, digital photos, and more. Moreover, this rich media is often downloaded automatically by podcasting software, again on a periodic schedule. This media can then be played at any given time and often times on a variety of media players, such as an iPod.
Enclosure Tags
Enclosures in RSS 2.0 make podcasting possible. Early models of media communication utilized the “one to many” process of media broadcasting. Later methods of streaming media promised a more democratic “many to many” solution, but quality suffered. The most recent approach of subscription-based media consumption, led by PVR pioneers such as TiVo Inc., may provide the best mix of each, reaching a sweet spot between digital content on-demand and traditional broadcast quality. Further, the combined advantages of RSS and enclosed media brings this subscription model of media distribution fully into the Internet arena.
Client Software
- Podcast Tuner
Subscribes to podcasts with a single click and reports at a glance what shows have new content available. Podcast Tuner integrates audio playback inside the application. Also, displays OPML show notes without launching a browser, and sends only designated content to iTunes. (Feb. 2005 alpha release) - iPodder
iPodder is written in Python. which is provides good cross-platform functionality, but it's an interpreted language, so it's slow. - iPodderX
Popular Mac client that offers solid performance. The iPodderX GUI is a bit “un-Mac” like, but works fine. iTunes integration is all or none. Provides limited media playback within the application. - Doppler
A Windows client that focuses on ease of use and customization. Features include: drag and drop URL for subscriptions; scheduled feed retrieving; multiple filters to customize the numer of files to download, size of downloads, text, and more. - NetNewsWire (2.0 beta)
NetNewsWire is now more focused on reading news, with lots of new newsreading features, including podcast and OPML support. Download audio files and other enclosures; send audio files to iTunes.
HOW TO PRODUCE A PODCAST
|
OPML
OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML-based format that allows exchange of outline-structured information between applications running on different operating systems and environments.
Many elements of the Podcast environment are generated and managed with Outliner applications. Program subscription lists, Podcast directories, Show notes, and more are all easily managed and distributed using OPML files.