About Podcasts and Video
Podcasts
What is a Podcast?
A
podcast can consist of audio or video and can be thought of as a
downloadable radio program, or TV program.
You can access podcasts
through a podcatcher such as iTunes or a lot of people find them
through Google and click on them right from the web page.
Podcasts can be spoken word or music or both. You don't need an iPod
to listen or view; many users listen from their computer (Mac or PC).
How do I Listen to Podcasts?
Again, an iPod is not needed and many users listen
or view from their computer.
Let's say you see a podcast on a webpage and you want to listen.
If your speakers or headphones are hooked up and you have a media
player installed, you should be able to click on the link and it will
download then play. Some people get confused when nothing
happens, especially if they are on a slow connection. This is
because podcasts can be big files and it takes time to download them
before they can play.
How do I View a Video Podcast?
The best way to view a video podcast is to
click on the link denoted "Flash." If you run a Mac or PC and
have updated your browser in the last two years, you'll be able to
view the file without downloading additional viewing software (we use
Flash 8). Flash videos start playing, or "streaming" before they
are fully downloaded, so you don't have to wait. You should
update your browser if you are having trouble.
If you are running an older browser, you can view the MPEG4 video
natively on a Mac or on a PC if you have installed iTunes or QuickTime
(available at Apple.com). These files don't "stream" and have to
be fully downloaded before viewing. It is suggested to use a
broadband connection when accessing video files to avoid long wait
times.
I'm Having Trouble. Should I Download
the Podcast to my Hard
Drive First?
If you are having trouble, then yes; the
best way to get around difficulties is to download the file to your
hard drive before trying to play the file. When dealing with a
video podcast, you should not try to download the "Flash" version but
you can do this with the MPEG4 version (it will say next to the
download whether it is Flash or MPEG4).
What are the Steps for Downloading
a
Podcast to my Hard Drive First?
1. Right click on the podcast link and
select "Save Target As." See graphic below:
2. Find a place for it on your hard
drive. Make sure it's in a place where you can find it.
See graphic below:
3. Find the saved file through Windows Explorer. Once you find it, you can:
A. Click on it to listen to it at your
computer. Most PCs will have Windows Media Player installed, if
not you should install
Apple iTunes or
Windows Media Player.
B. Burn it to a CD and listen to it in
your car, home stereo, computer, or portable CD player.
C. Upload it to an iPod. Apple
iTunes makes this process easy and seamless.
D. Upload and listen to it to an mp3
player, PDA, Smartphone, Treo, Blackberry, or MP3 enabled cell phone.
What are these
Buttons?
These buttons are a convenience for
advanced users. The instructions on this page are mostly for
users that want to download podcasts directly from the web page, which
can be cumbersome if you do it a lot. If you have iTunes
installed (no iPod required), you can "subscribe" to a podcast and new
episodes are downloaded as soon as they are available. Further,
if you have an iPod and it is in its dock, the podcast will be
uploaded your iPod automatically.
The "Add to iTunes" button is for users who want to subscribe to the
podcast using the iTunes one click button. If you are on a Mac
or PC and have iTunes installed, just click and you'll be subscribed.
The "RSS" button is for users who are using their own podcatcher.
To use it, click on the RSS button, which will open up a web page
written in XML. Ignore the page contents, but copy the URL and
paste it into your podcatcher and you will be subscribed.
Take me back to the
Podcast Page so I can try it!
San Francisco Opera Podcast is produced in association with MobileCast
Media. For more information, please visit
http://www.mobilecastmedia.com.
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