ScreenCastsOnline Media Blitz!

OK, So not quite!

We have a saying over here in the UK about waiting ages for a bus and then three come along at the same time. Well, this seems to have happened with some podcast appearances I'll be making over the course of the next week or so.

The first out of the gate is a live interview I did with Victor over at the Typical Mac User Podcast using Talkshow (as mentioned in this weeks show). The interview was a blast and it was really good to chat to some of the TMUP listeners, many of whom were also ScreenCastsOnline viewers. You may hear some voices you recognise!

If you weren't able to make the live podcast (props to Christian Meerman (and other UK and european listeners) who stayed up until 2am to participate in the chat) you can still stream or download the podcast as follows:

iTunes Subscription to TMUP - Recommended! Direct MP3 Download

Stream from the Website

I hope you enjoy it and thanks to Victor for inviting me and also to the rest of the TMPU community for making me feel so welcome!

I'll post the details of the other two podcasts I'll be popping up on this week, once they are released.

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Appearance on the Mac Roundtable Podcast

Tim Verpoorten from the MacReviewCast kindly asked me to participate in this weeks Mac Roundtable Podcast The Mac Roundtable podcast has just changed format so each of the four original members are producing shows on various subjects and this has allowed the show to open up to guests. Tims show this week is all about podcasting and he has included contributions from Paul Figgiana (Audio Podcasting), Me (ScreenCasting) and Craig Syverson (Video Podcasting). Give it a listen! - Link Thanks for the opportunity to be in such esteemed company Tim!

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The.Point Inception

I'm a regular subscriber to "The Point" podcast produced by the extremely knowledgeable Paul Figgiani from New York. Paul covers mainly Apple based post production tools such as Final Cut etc. I met up with Paul at last years Podcast & Portable Media Expo. He was kind enough to give me some great advice on setting up the audio side of ScreenCastsOnline. To be honest, the Podcast isn't out as often as I'd like and had podfaded slightly as Paul is a very busy guy involved with many commercial projects and a senior role in GigaVox Media. Imagine my delight when a new episode popped onto my iPod this morning just before heading out for my morning constitutional. Jumped straight to the podcast and was surprised to find it was only a few minutes long? Wow! Talk about a change of style and the promise of excellent things to come. The new episode is a teaser for what sounds like a ton of stuff that Paul will be covering as part of his exploration of the New Final Cut Studio 2. I have to say that I love the new fresh approach and will be following the new version of The.Point very closely. Way to go Paul! Just one question, what on earth is Broccoli Rabe? Ah! Tasty!

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New Project Blog Launched - Podcast Monetizer

If you're a member of the ScreenCastsOnline forums or you saw my interview with Robert Scoble from last year, you'll know I've been putting together a package for podcasters that will teach them how to create the necessary infrastructure to run a "Premium" Podcasting service. It's taking a lot longer than I expected but another milestone along the path has been reached with the launch of a new blog and a new name for the package The Podcast Monetizer You can checkout the blog and find out more about it here.

Technorati Tags: podcasttools, Premium Podcasting, Podcast Tools

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Recommendations for Formatting Video Podcasts

The iTunes podcasting team has just released some recommendations for formatting video podcasts now that Apple TV is here. Excuse me while I smile....

1. If you're encoding your video podcast at 320x240, please increase the resolution to either 640x480 or 640x360 (depending on the aspect ratio of your source files). Why? Because video podcasts at this resolution look great on Apple TV and still port to video iPods. Lower resolution podcasts might also work on both platforms, but they don't look nearly as good on a widescreen TV. As always, make sure to test any encoding changes you make to ensure device compatibility. QuickTime 7.1's "Export to iPod" function will ensure that a video file is encoded at a width of 640 and is iPod-compatible.

Ah yes, 640x360 is a great resolution for 16:9 content and looks OK on the iPod, your Mac and at a push, Apple TV . Did I mention I've been releasing my free feed in this resolution since October 2005!

2. It's best not to create two different podcast feeds for different resolutions. By doing so, you dilute the popularity of your podcast and reduce exposure in our charts. It's better to have one feed high in the charts than two that are lower.

Noooooo...... Create two feeds, one at 1280x720 and label it - AppleTV HD and then do a second feed at 640x360 and label it iPod. We need to be able to identify which is the good stuff and having a HD feed will give you some Kudos. If the bandwidth is a killer, get a Libsyn account or use a third resolution (960x540) to bring the file sizes down. Call the third feed - AppleTV ED (enhanced definition). As far as diluting exposure via iTunes, Apple - give us a way to aggregate multiple shows together so that people don't suffer from having multiple feeds. Did I mention I've been releasing my premium feeds in 1280x720 and 960x540 via iTunes since October 2005!

3. If your source files are 16:9, stick with that aspect ratio. Don't add letterboxing to make them 4:3. By doing so, you prevent the video from expanding to fill a 16:9 widescreen TV and instead end up with black space on all four sides. Also, your original source files should be at least 640 pixels wide.

Absolutely! Sorry, I know I may be repeating myself but it's great to be proved right and be ahead of the game :-)

Technorati Tags: Apple, Premium Podcasting, Apple TV, iTunes

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