Podcasting Guide - Video Podcasting
Why just stick to audio podcasts? Video podcasting is increasingly popular and, with Podcast FM, is probably much simpler than you thought.
Can I Use Podcast FM to Make Video Podcasts?
Yes. Podcast FM will automatically detect whether you are adding a video of audio file to your channel. It also automatically detects the frame rate, height and width of your movie and includes that information in your subscription feeds.
How Do I Make A Video Podcast?
Just as with audio podcasting, much of the editing can be done any home PC. The only extra equipment you'll need is a camera and microphone. Many modern digital cameras allow you to capture video. If you have a camera, it may be that you already have everything you need to become a vodcaster.
When it comes to editing, there are number of free packages that allow you to edit video.
Avid FreeDV is a reduced-feature version of the industry package. Tricky to learn but worth it for the end result, and, who knows, mastering this program may even give you the ability to work in TV one day. Outputs .MOV files which are readable by video iPods.
Windows Movie Maker ships with Windows XP Service Pack 2 so you may already have a copy. Easy to use and, nowadays, quite powerful, it, unfortunately, limits the output to Microsoft's propriety .WMV format, making it incompatible with your iPod without using Quicktime Pro. It does a good job of compressing your videos, however, so offers a more bandwidth-friendly alternative to Avid FreeDV.
Numerous tutorials are available for both of these programs on the internet. Once you have made your video, you need to export it in a web-friendly format and then upload into a Podcast FM channel using the Podcast Manager.
What Format and Size To Output?
What settings to choose when exporting depends on your audience.
Just as podcasts don't necessarily need to be listened to on an iPod, video podcasts don't necessarily need to be watched on a video iPod. However, if you do want your audience to be able to use a video ipod, you'll need to ensure your video uses one of the following formats: .m4v, .mp4, or .mov at a resolution of no more than 480 x 480 pixels and a frame rate of no more than 30 fps. For best results, you should use Quicktime Pro to convert your video file to Apple's H.264 encoding and reduce the resolution to no more than 320 x 240. This optimises your video for the video iPod.
Otherwise, just play with your program's settings to reduce your filesize to the minimum possible. Video can use a lot of bandwidth and if your video podcasts are taking too long to download, your audience may well start looking for something that doesn't tie up their internet connection so badly.
Keeping Filesize Low
Some tips to help reduce the filesize of your video:
Keep video short - snappy and regular podcasts are not only faster to download but will attract a larger audience.
Reduce the resolution - Unless you're showing amazing special effects or scenery, there's no reason for your videos to be more than 320 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall.
Lower the framerate - The default for video is around 25 frames per second. By lowering this to 15 fps you'll lower the filesize without drastically affecting apearance.
Compress your video - Uncompressed video can be huge. Convert it to a MPEG-4 format for the best compression rates.
