Landing : Athabascau University

Landing iTunes Podcasting

Last updated October 12, 2011 - 5:37pm by Steve Swettenham Comments (8)

This is a job aid in development:

Backgrounder:

Tools:

Overview:

iTunes requires two files for the web podcast to work.  The first file is the audio, while the second file is the RSS feed.  iTunes uses the RSS feed file in its podcast directory.  A correctly structured feed will download the desired audio file to be played from within iTunes.

 

Workflow:

  1. Create audio files and save to MP3 format
  2. Edit MP3 metadata
  3. Upload MP3 files to iTunes folder in MCAST group and assign Access privileges to Public (or upload to some other webspace)
  4. Go to RSS Feed Generator at http://www.podtopia.net to create the file to upload to a public folder on the Landing (with public access privileges)
  5. Submit the RSS Feed in iTunes
    Following the link https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/publishPodcast opens the iTunes app on the MAC.  Entering a Podcast Feed URL forces an iTunes store login.  This means that you would need an iTunes store account to submit Podcasts to the iTunes directory.  Is there an "Unofficial" Landing iTunes account ? ...  In addition the podcast RSS feed has to be already created and uploaded to a website so the URL from the RSS feed file can be entered into Step 1 of iTunes podcast submission.

 

Notes:

- Good metadata will make the MP3 more useful, including a cover image

 

References:

How to Submit Podcasts to iTunes Music Store
http://www.feedforall.com/how-to-submit-podcast-to-itunes.htm

How to Publish to iTunes
http://www.ehow.com/how_12066237_publish-itunes.html

Making a Podcast
http://www.apple.com/ca/itunes/podcasts/specs.html

Podcast on How to Create MP3 and RSS / XML feed
http://www.podcast411.com/howto_1.html

CBC Podcast example
http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/

Comments

  • Very helpful, though I got terribly stuck on the metadata (figured it out - thanks for the links). I bought a copy of RecordforAll - Audacity is free, but the editing is a bit too fine-tuned for me. I'm going to use Audacity to do the recording (and Pamela for Skype - for now - to record Skype interviews) and then plunk it into RecordForAll to do the editing...and then Audacity again to edit the metadata. Hoo-boy. That's a lot of moving files around.

    Heather Clitheroe October 11, 2011 - 8:57pm

  • Aaand...I'm stuckity stuck stuck. When I tried to validate the RSS feed, I get the following warning:

    This feed does not validate.

    line 15, column 3: url must be a full URL: https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/photos/download/85348/

     

    I tried submitting the feed just the same (https://landing.athabascau.ca/mod/file/download.php?file_guid=85348) but I got a message back saying 'the feed has no episodes.' I think the problem, too, is that the Landing file is 'https://landing.athabascau.ca/mod/file/download.php?file_guid=85344' instead of an expected mp3 file?

     

    Hrm.

    Heather Clitheroe October 11, 2011 - 9:13pm

  • I believe you are correct Heather, the combination of HTTPS and lack of absolute URL to a filename.MP3 will not be a valid RSS/Podcast feed.  I will inquire for a work around.

    Steve Swettenham October 12, 2011 - 1:10pm

  • Thanks, Steve! I wonder if AU would unofficially sanction the podcast by giving us some FTP rights (or rather, giving an AU staffer permission; the files could be sent on over). It's not a must-have, but I think it'd be nice if people could subscribe via iTunes.

    Heather Clitheroe October 12, 2011 - 1:21pm

  • Based on how much effort has gone into obscuring the absolute path to the filename.MP3 (after much exploration of the Internet packets), IMHO it would be better to host a copy of your file on a free and open podcasting community site that has direct iTunes feed compatibility and point back to the Landing as the published reference source. 

    While this is not the best solution it is a similar option to individuals on the Landing who use YouTube as a streaming feed.  I have not done any research on the best dedicated Podcasting open-source service community and thus would caution any involvement in a 3rd party solution.

    I agree that iTunes offers further exposure for the academic community and the Landing.  Maybe the Landing could tap into a plugin for iTune feeds?  Ah the adventure of being on the bleeding edge of digital multimedia distribution.

    Steve Swettenham October 12, 2011 - 5:17pm

  • A sample iTunes RSS feed can be seen at:

    http://www.podcast411.com/howto_1.html

     

    note the URL reference is HTTP ............. .MP3

    Steve Swettenham October 12, 2011 - 5:31pm

  • This is what the RSS feed looks like for a CBC iTunes subcribe:

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <rss version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/DTDs/Podcast-1.0.dtd">
        <channel>
            <title>CBC News: Hourly Edition</title>
            <link>http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/</link>
            <description>The latest national and international news, updated every hour</description>
            <itunes:summary>The latest national and international news, updated every hour</itunes:summary>
            <itunes:category text="News &amp; Politics"/>
            <itunes:author>CBC News: Hourly Edition</itunes:author>
            <itunes:image href="http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/images/promo-hourlies.jpg"/>
            <image>
                <title>CBC News: Hourly Edition</title>
                <url>http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/images/promo-hourlies.jpg</url>
                <link>http://www.cbc.ca/podcasting/</link>
            </image>
            <item>
                <guid isPermaLink="false">http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/hourlynews_20111012_1900.mp3</guid>
                <title>CBC News: Hourly Edition for 2011/10/12 at 19:00 EDT</title>
                <description>CBC News: Hourly Edition for 2011/10/12 at 19:00 EDT</description>
                <pubDate>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 19:00:00 EDT</pubDate>
                <itunes:duration>4:30</itunes:duration>
                <enclosure length="270" type="audio/mpeg" url="http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/hourlynews.mp3"/>
            </item>
        </channel>
    </rss>

    Steve Swettenham October 12, 2011 - 5:35pm

  • https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/photos/download/85348/

    Replace the above URL in your feed with:

    https://landing.athabascau.ca/pg/photos/download/85348/landing-episode-one.mp3

     

    Let me know what happens.  I give it a 50% chance but you are the pioneer on this quest.

    Steve Swettenham October 12, 2011 - 5:51pm

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