How To: Podcasting To The World
The widespread interest in podcasting, along with the challenges of configuring high-quality dedicated podcasting systems, offers digital integrators plenty of business opportunities through existing and future clients. A podcasting system offers an easy way for musicians to distribute music from home, or to allow individuals to broadcast their own radio programs. Podcasting is also a useful way for small businesses to distribute audio programs to employees or as a service to customers, or for integrators to publicize their services.
Podcasting Best Practices
So what exactly is a podcast? A podcast is an audio file (most commonly in MP3 format) available online in a way that allows software to automatically download it for listening at the user's convenience on a portable device or PC. With endless possibilities of content, a podcast can cover virtually any topic.
It allows content creators to interact with audiences in a way that hasn't been seen before in the blog community. With podcasting, consumers can run their own radio stations without any high-end training, expensive equipment or hassle.
First, customers will need a few pieces of basic equipment: a desktop or laptop, microphone or digital recorder, headphones, some type of audio editing software and RSS feed software.
Step 1: Recording Podcasts
Recording an audio file is pretty easy nowadays, and Windows or Mac users can use a variety of methods to achieve this goal. For most podcasters, a basic USB microphone will do the trick. USB microphones from either Creative Labs or Labtec are sufficient and often come pre-packaged with new computer systems or are available for less than $30. For users looking for a more professional feel, a headset rather than a microphone should be used when recording audio files. Digital Connect recommends using the Altec Lansing AHS 502, also priced under $30.
For users who prefer a high-end method, Digital Connect Lab engineers recommend the Edirol R1 Portable 24-Bit Wave/MP3 Recorder. This portable device records and plays back audio at a crystal-clear 24-bit audio resolution without compression.
The audio files can be transferred to a computer using a USB 2.0 connection or stored on a removable Compact Flash card. The unit retails at an MSRP of $439. One major benefit of this product is that it is equipped with two built-in high-grade omnidirectional microphones.
Step 2: Editing Podcasts
After an audio file has been recorded, a number of programs can be used to give it a more professional feel. For beginning podcasters, Digital Connect engineers suggest using a program such as Audacity (audacity.sourceforge.net). Audacity is a free, open-source, fully functional audio editor for both Windows and Mac users. The GUI is fairly simple, and users will be very pleased with the program's numerous features. The major downside of this free software is that users cannot output/encode files in the MP3 format common to podcasts. A quick solution is to buy an MP3 encoder such as Smart Wave Converter, which sells for $9.99.
Digital Connect engineers strongly recommend Adobe Audition 1.5. It comes with a plethora of features and tools. Although Audition is geared more toward experienced editors, beginners will still find it useful out of the box. The interface and user manuals are extremely intuitive, making the software accessible to users at any level of experience.
Digital Connect engineers were also impressed with the more than 20 popular audio file formats and variations that are supported for import, including .wav, AIFF, MP3 and WMA files. The product can also encode/output final audio files to MP3 formats.
Adobe Audition 1.5 also comes with a CD that contains 5,000 high-quality royalty-free music loops that can be used in any audio file and can give a podcast a more professional feel.
Step 3: Publish the Podcasts
Once the MP3 files are finished, they can be uploaded to a server like any other file. Digital Connect engineers recommend testing the files once they're uploaded with any MP3 player to make sure they work. The audio files can go anywhere on a server, but it's important to keep them all in one directory so they are easy to find and manage.
The final step is creating a podcast news feed. Podcast feeds are RSS files that describe a podcast, along with information for each show. An RSS file is just a text file that links to an MP3 file. Advanced users can use any text editor to create an RSS news feed. However, most podcasters use blogging programs or other applications to automatically generate news feeds. Digital Connect engineers suggest using a shareware program such as Podcast RSS Feed Generator (www.tdscripts.com/webmaster_utilities/podcast-generator.php), which does all the work.