How do I listen to podcasts on the go?
What are digital audio players?
Who sells them?
If I want to comparison shop, what should I know?
What is RSS?
What is an aggregator?
Is it important for me to know these technical terms?
What kind of equipment will I need to become a podcaster?
What kind of equipment will I need to take my podcasting to the next level?
What you need to know
Introduction to Digital Audio Players Three types of digital audio players MP3 Format
Aggregators – How a podcast gets to you RSS – How a podcast is made available Equipment for becoming a podcaster Setting up a studio
Take Action
Useful sites
Do it now! – for personal podcasters Do it now! – for business podcasters
Wrap up
Summary
Watch your step
The three things you need to know Stay tuned…
Digital Audio Players (DAPs) are also commonly referred to as MP3 players, after one of the file formats they play; however they usually play many kinds of files.
>>>TECHNICAL TERM: DIGITAL AUDIO PLAYER
While you can listen to podcasting on your computer, as we’ve learned above, you can use the programs we downloaded above to get podcasts, then synchronize (“sync”) them onto your digital audio player so you can listen to it on the go.
DAPs are available in different styles, depending on what you want. Since new technology seems to change every day, the best solution to find a specific make and model suitable to you (that won’t be out of date by the time you read this) is to go onto some shopping comparison sites to check out current brands and their features.
http://www.nextag.com/
This is a great site that has all kinds of digital audio players from high quality to not-so-high quality.
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/
This site is very valuable to help you get quality and value when selecting a digital audio player. (Make sure you type the URL the way it is written above, as the extra .com is necessary to take you to the right page).
• Portable MP3 CD player. If you want to be able to listen to MP3s and CDs containing music or MP3 files, you can buy a portable MP3 CD player. A CD can hold several hours of MP3 music files and these cost less than $200.
• If you want to listen to MP3s and don’t require a lot of space, you can buy MP3 players that have a little bit of room in a storage device like a memory card. These are called flash-based digital audio players. Most of these players have up to 1GB of storage space and cost between $50 and $200.
• If you listen to a lot of MP3s or really big files, you may need a larger hard-drive based digital audio player to store greater amounts of files for you. These are commonly called “digital jukeboxes.” They typically have 20GBs of storage space or more and will generally run over $200.
As you can see, there’s a digital audio player for every taste and budget. Shop around on the Internet and at an audio store and you may find the one that is suitable for you.Companies are always coming out with different models and upgrades so rather than reviewing specific models, we’ve simply included a list of some of the leading digital audio player manufacturers. This is not an exhaustive list, but simply a list of some of the key players in alphabetical order.
Check out their individual sites to see what kind of MP3 players they offer.http://www.apple.com/
You may also want to consider looking at eBay for some excellent values on MP3 players as well!
MP3 Format
If your computer does not have the capability to record and save an audio file as an MP3 file, and you want to do more than simply phone in your podcast, like you learned earlier, you can buy software at a local office supply store for as little as $10 which can get you started creating MP3 format audio files (which is the file format you'll need to record your podcast in to attach it to an RSS feed, which you’ll learn about shortly). The software available comes in a range of prices depending on the capabilities you want in it. Podcasting is increasing in popularity in such a rate that, if your computer does not currently allow you to create MP3 files, the computer you buy probably will.
Aggregators – How a podcast gets to youWhen you downloaded Doppler, which is an aggregator, you acquired the program that will allow you to subscribe to RSS feeds. Doppler will look for updated versions of those feeds regularly and download them to your computer when a new one has been posted.
If you don’t want to get bogged down in the technical details, think of it like this:Remember back to the beginning when we talked about your family fighting over who gets which section of the newspaper on Saturday morning? The Doppler program and an RSS feed is like if the newspaper company simply left your favorite section of the paper outside of their office and you trained your dog to run there and pick it up and deliver it to you so you don’t have to even get out of bed in the morning!
RSS – How a podcast is made availableWebsites who want to make a podcast available to get noticed by an aggregator will post an RSS feed. RSS 2.0 allows a file to be attached. So a website with a podcast will attach it to their RSS feed where it will be noticed by anyone with an aggregator and a subscription.
RSS stands for “Really Simple Syndication” and is just a file format that allows websites to make their information available to people who have subscribed. It doesn’t have to be podcasts, it can be other kinds of information as well, but the MP3 format of a podcast, when attached to an RSS feed is how podcasts are delivered.
Think of it like this: remember your amazingly trained dog that runs to the newspaper office to get your favorite section of the newspaper? How does the dog know which of the many sections of the newspaper that are bundled in boxes outside of the office is the section you want? After all, other members of your family have seen your great idea and trained their pets to do the same thing. Here’s how: You’ve trained your dog to go to a specific box, the box with only your section of the newspaper, and when there’s a new paper in the box, the dog will pick it up and bring it back to you. An RSS feed is like that box.
There are several options for you to create RSS feeds for your MP3 audio files. If you are just starting out and interested in doing a regular podcast without a lot of expense or headache, then you'll probably want to stick with some of the free methods explored earlier. On the other hand, as you move towards becoming a professional podcaster, you'll probably want to pick up some of the software that can turn your work into a podcast and then make it available for the world to enjoy.
In an upcoming chapter you learn about sites that will automatically attach your MP3 format audio file to an RSS feed and host your podcast on their site for a small fee. Or you can purchase your own software that will let you create RSS feeds yourself. http://www.feedforall.com/ is one of the leading sites right now.
Equipment for becoming a podcasterAs mentioned earlier, you can easily turn professional for very little upfront cost. There’s no sense in getting an expensive microphone or high-end sound mixing equipment if you are simply podcasting for business or personal use on a regular basis.
If, however, you are planning on going to the big leagues and want world class podcasts then you may want to look at:http://www.podcastingnews.com/category/Handheld_Dynamic_Microphones.htm Podcasting News has an excellent review of handheld microphones to help you make your decision. Links are available to click through and buy it if you like it.
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/Products/ShowProduct.asp?PID=961 One of the best sound mixing programs on the market today is called Sound Forge and it is available through Sony. If you’re looking for high quality, no-holds-barred production, you’ll want to consider Sound Forge!
http://www.podcastingnews.com/category/
As if that’s not enough, this page on podcastingnews.com has a comprehensive list of some excellent podcasting-related products you’ll need if you plan on podcasting with the big boys.
Next, you’ll need some sound mixing software that will allow you to create and edit your MP3. You can buy Mixcraft for about $40 or $50 and it gives you a wide range of features to allow you to create good quality podcasts. There is also a free trial available! You can find it at http://www.acoustica.com/mixcraft/index.htm.
These tools should help you get started on the track to professional podcasting. All you need is a topic, a target audience, and a website to post your finished podcast.Later we’ll talk about top quality equipment for those who want to create a world class sound. If that’s you, read on! Otherwise, you’ll probably make great quality podcasts with the equipment mentioned here.
Setting up a studioIf you're planning on simply recording at home as a personal podcaster over the telephone, as you learned earlier, in your studio is simply your telephone and the script in your hand. Of course, you want to make sure that the dog isn’t barking, the kids aren't screaming in the background, and the television is turned off. So a little bit out of attention is needed to make sure that your studio environment is ready to go. But essentially all you need as a personal hobbyist podcaster is the ability to shut the door and pick up the phone.
In fact, the beauty of this kind of podcasting is that you don't even need to be at home to podcast. So if you have a faithful and loyal following who want to hear what you have to say, you can still podcast if you are on vacation or away from home… because you just need to use the telephone.
If you decide to become a little more advanced in the realm of podcasting, you can still create a small studio without a lot of expense. As we've seen, the software is still quite affordable as is the equipment for a high-quality podcast. Perhaps you want to convert a room of your home or business into a podcasting studio, especially if you're going to have more than one host or guests. Since you cannot share a microphone, passing it back and forth between you and your guests, you'll need to buy more than one microphone and you either need to buy software or an attachment for your telephone if you plan on recording a call-in show.
If you are podcasting from a noisy environment, for example if you own an auto body shop and you’re podcasting from an office in the same building, you may be able to effectively deaden the sound by stapling foam pads to the walls around the room. This does not have to be very expensive, since foam is available at hardware stores and camping supply outfitters.
If you are investing to create a world-class podcast, an authentic studio will cost you thousands of dollars in equipment and in creating a studio environment. But for 99.9% of the podcasters out there, a quiet office (or one that is made quiet with foam) should suffice.
If you are dialing in for your five-minute free podcast or you are a small business looking to start podcasting, or you are an entrepreneur looking to make money from podcasting, all you will likely need is a quiet place to record. And if your basement is a quiet place, that might be appropriate for you. Or maybe it means going into work after everyone else is gone. Whatever the set up, there is no need to spend a lot of money to create a studio. As your podcasting becomes more serious you can slowly move into a better equipped studio setting.
Take Action!http://www.dopplerradio.net/
Start here to “get” podcasts on your computer. You need this program (or one like it) to pick up the feeds that will deliver your podcast to your computer.
http://www.blogger.com/start
Sign up here as a place to write about what’s going on in your life or the world of your interests or hobbies and as a place to put your podcasts. While it’s not technically software, it’s the way you’re going to get podcasts on the Internet if you don’t want to do any more than a very basic hobby-style podcast.
http://www.audioblogger.com/
Once you’ve signed up here, you can phone in your podcast, which will appear on your blog at blogger.com. It’s a great way to start!
http://www.nextag.com/
This is a great site that has all kinds of digital audio players from high quality to not-so-high quality. You can comparison shop here to buy an MP3 player to hear podcasts on the go!
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/
This is a great site that reviews MP3 players if you want to get a second opinion before you purchase one. Don’t forget to add the extra “.com” after the address in order to get to the correct page.
http://www.podcastingnews.com/
This is an excellent and comprehensive site that covers everything you need to know to get on top and stay on top of the podcasting industry.
http://www.podcasting-tools.com/
This is an excellent site about podcasting and takes you through everything from an introduction to how to podcast as well as the technical aspects of podcasting. It doesn’t look great but it’s quite functional and informative.
http://www.feedforall.com/
On this site you can buy a program that will let you create RSS feeds for your MP3 files. This is one of the leading sites in this field.
http://www.wimpyplayer.com/index.html
With this site you can buy and download a file that can help you save your file as an MP3 file and then post it with an RSS feed. It replaces the free Doppler program you downloaded and lets you create and post podcasts as well.
1. Compare prices and features on an MP3 player.
2. When you’ve found one that suits your needs, buy it and start downloading your favorite podcasts to listen at your convenience.
3. Once you’re comfortable podcasting and you think you’d like to take the next step beyond the free 5-minute phone-in style podcast, check out some of the software available to create your podcasts.
Take it to the next levelFind someone else in your area who is interested in podcasting and offer to work with them on creating a podcast. You will be able to share the workload and any expense you might incur while at the same time building off of each other's expertise.
Do it now! – For business podcasters1. Identify whether you can use an MP3 player for yourself (to get information on your industry) or for your employees (to replace meetings, etc.).
2. Determine the level you want to go for podcasting for your business. If you are satisfied with a good quality podcast at an affordable price, look into buying a USB microphone and some of the recommended software.
3. When podcasting, don’t forget to keep your format interesting for your listeners, and follow an order and a script so you maintain a professional sound.Take it to the next level
If you are going to create high quality, world-class podcasts that are the unrivalled epitome of what a podcast should be, you may want to check out some of the higher end equipment. If you are not there yet but would like to be some day, stay on top of the software development industry so that when you're ready you'll be an informed buyer.
Wrap-upBuying a digital audio player is easy, especially once you’ve reviewed the features in each one. Find one that is suitable to you and use it to listen to your favorite podcasts while you’re on the go.
Watch your stepIt’s easy to spend a lot of money on technology that changes so rapidly. Don’t worry about investing heavily until you are completely comfortable with podcasting and willing to stick with it for the long term. Podcasting can be a lot of work as you prepare regular scripts so you want to make sure it’s a challenge you’re willing to accept on an ongoing basis.
The three things you need to know1. Digital audio players let you take your podcasts off your computer and on the road. They become even more convenient by not tying you to sitting in front of your computer.
2. RSS is necessary for people who want to become podcasters since that file allows them to attach an MP3 file to be picked up by an aggregator.
3. An aggregator, like Doppler, is necessary for people to subscribe to podcasts. Once they’ve subscribed, Doppler will download updated podcasts as regularly as they appear at the podcaster’s website.
Stay tuned…In the next section we’ll talk about finding all the podcasts you can possibly dream of in order to keep your brand new digital audio player alive with podcasts!
And later, we’ll show you how you can make money with podcasts. Listen now… quit your day job later!