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How to Setup your own Podcast with PreSonus

So, you want to be a Podcaster? It is not as difficult as you may think.

There are many different ways to start a Podcast. Of course, you will need a computer and internet connection.  You will also need (at a minimum), a working microphone, computer interface such as the INSPIRE 1394, FIREBOX or FIREPOD and a pair of speakers.  A hosting service or server is required to host your website that will deliver your Podcasts to a world-wide audience.  You'll want to have an idea of what your Podcast will be about.  Scratch that; your Podcast can be about anything!  You don't even need to plan.  Just start talking into the microphone if you like.  That is part of the freedom of Podcasting.

Before you can just start talking into the miic, you do need to take care of a few small things. Who will host your Podcast files?  If you're not a programmer, how do you write this XML and RSS enclosures stuff?  Is it beginning to sound complicated?

It's Easy
If you are handy with XML, HTML, RSS enclosures and have a website (most of us probably don't), you probably don't need this guide.  For the rest of us that may be computer savvy, but do not feel like programming, there are many other options.  We will look at just one of the more popular sites that caters specifically to Podcasters.  They also believe in making life easy and assisting with the setup of your Podcast.  In addition, they have a very minimal charge for allowing a very large audience to download your Podcast.

It's a Blog!
Just remember that you are creating a Blog (...or Weblog) that is very similar to an online diary.  You make an entry which can include text and/or media files (MP3 audio files for our discussion here).  Each entry in your Blog pushes down the last entry so that your most recent comments are at the top.  The diagram below shows a typical structure for a weekly Podcast.

Starting Your Podcast

LibSyn // Podcasting made easy
The Libsyn site first requires you to setup an account. You chose the type of account based on how large your storage area needs to be for Podcasts.  For a weekly Podcast, the smallest account size will very likely work well.  There is a small monthly fee for the service that covers the bandwidth, hosting service and site management, all from one provider.

Libsyn is just one of many possible services you can use to host your Podcast.  We'll use Libsyn as an example because this all-in-one host specializes in media content and Podcasts.

Setting up your Podcast
After answering a few questions from the setup your Podcast link, your website is ready!  You will probably end up with something similar to the screen below:

Now What?
After we confirm our start page is showing correctly, we are ready to Publish an entry into our Blog.  Keep in mind that an entry can be just a bit of text that you write, an audio Blog (such as a Podcast on an MP3 file) or you can mix and match all in one entry, or in different entries.  The choice is yours.

Let's head back to the main Libsyn page (the one you see right after logon) and make a simple text entry into our Blog.

Notice that our mouse pointer in on the publish tab.  Let's click that.  Now, we are presented with a simple form. I'll make a very simple text entry and add a Presonus logo to that entry.

Once we click on the post button, the entry is instantly added to our Blog and visible on the site.  Let's take a look at the entry as our visitors will see it:

Our first entry appears just as we want from the web browser.  Of course, we really want to Podcast, so let's have some fun

We need to create our Podcast and save it as an MP3 file (a compressed audio file).  Most commercial sound editors will save in MP3 format, such as Cubase LE, Sound Forge, Garage Band, Audition and many others.  You will need an audio interface to convert your voice or out side of the computer audio to digital audio inside the computer.

PreSonus currently makes three interfaces that work great for podcasting depending on your needs and your budget.  All PreSonus interfaces come with audio recording software such as Cubase LE to get your cast off to a professional start.

INSPIRE 1394 - expandable 4 channel FireWire Recording System

Features

  • 24-bit/96k sample rate
  • Input channels: 2 mic / instrument, 2 line / phono inputs
  • Software control panel and zero latency mixer
  • Daisy-chain up to four units for sixteen simultaneous recording channels
  • PreSonus Propak Software Suite: Cubase LE, 20 real-time effect plug-ins plus 2GB of drum loops and samples for audio production

FIREBOX - 6 in 8 out FireWire Recording System

Features

  • 24-bit/96k sample rate
  • 6 Input channels: 2 mic / instrument, 2 balanced TRS, 2 digital
  • 8 outputs / six balanced TRS, 2 digital
  • MIDI and SPDIF I/O
  • Software control panel and zero latency mixer
  • PreSonus Propak Software Suite: Cubase LE,, 20 real-time effect plug-ins plus 2GB of drum loops and samples for audio production

FIREPOD - 10x10 FireWire Recording System with 8 microphone preamplifiers

Features

  • 24-bit/96k sample rate
  • 10 Input channels: 8 mic, 2 instrument, 8 line, 2 digital
  • 10 Output channels: 8 balanced TRS, 2 digital
  • MIDI and SPDIF I/O
  • Daisy-chain up to 3 units for 24 simultaneous microphone recording channels
  • PreSonus Propak Software Suite: Cubase LE, 20 real-time effect plug-ins plus 2GB of drum loops and samples for audio production

Hook up your microphones, instruments, keyboards and other audio gear to create a Desktop Audio Workstation.

Cubase LE is a fantastic multi-track audio editor that comes with the FireBox and works on both Mac or Windows XP computers

You can use Cubase LE to record, create and save your MP3 file that will become your Podcast.

Turning your MP3 into a Podcast
Now that we have an MP3 file, it's time to turn it into your very own Podcast and publish it.  Let's go back to the Libsyn website and navigate to your dashboard (the page with the tabs) and select the media files tab.  This is where we will upload our MP3 and turn it into a Podcast.

 

After clicking on the media tab, we see the manage files section that allows us to select our MP3 file from the local computers file system.  We will click on the "browse" button and navigate to the MP3 file.  Then, click the "upload" button to transfer our MP3 file to the server that will broadcast our show.

After our MP3 file is successfully uploaded to the webserver, we need to go back to the publish tab again and create a media entry to our Blog.  This is very similar to a text entry, except we will tell the system to add an MP3 file and prepare it for syndication which will allow people to subscribe and automatically synchronize new Podcasts as you add them.

Publishing an MP3 file and creating your Podcast
After clicking the publish button from the Libsyn dashboard, we can set up our MP3 file as a Podcast.

Notice the radio button at the top is now set to "Podcast".  We can then add any text we would like along with this entry to describe the Podcast.  Also, be sure to click the pulldown menu and select our media (MP3) file.

After our settings are complete, just click the "post" button to post our new Podcast.  We will get confirmation that the Blog entry has been posted.

Next, take a look at the site through your web browser.

Podcast number 1 is available!

At this point, our Podcast is ready for either a direct MP3 download/play or it can be syndicated so that a user can automatically be synchronized with your latest Podcast every time you post one.  You'll notice that you can click on the "POD" button and the MP3 should play normally on your system.  However, if you look in the bottom-left corner, you will see a logo that reads "RSS 2.0".

The key to understanding what happens next is a little tricky, so let's simplify it.  There are 2 ways to get the information (in this case, an MP3) to your listeners.  As we mentioned above, they can simply click the "POD" button and the MP3 will play.  However, they will not be notified the next time you post a show.  There is no syndication or synchronization going on by listening this way.

However, if you click the RSS 2.0 button, you get:

This clearly is not what we want.  Why did this happen?  The reason is simple.  In order to syndicate your MP3 so that users will automatically download the content from your Blog to their local system, you need to have an RSS 2.0 compatible reader, or aggregator. 

So, how do you start listening in to Podcasts?  You will need a client application that allows you to "subscribe" to a cast and will automatically download media content (usually an MP3 audio file) and play it.  Of course, the client also allows you to sort, add/remove and manage your library of Podcasts.

We will take a look at 2 popular clients for listening to Podcasts;  Apple iTunes and iPodder.  There are many more great clients out there that you may like better, but we will take a look at these 2 for our demonstration purposes.

IPodder

IPodder can be freely downloaded for many platforms and is distributed under the GNU licence.  Visit www.ipodder.org.

Here is a look at the main iPodder screen after you download and install it.  You will notices a few default subscriptions in the top pane of the windows and a small "play" icon below that actually plays the MP3 file.  You will also notice a "synchronize" icon and many other features that let you jump right in to subscribe, download and play Podcasts.  Please see the programs Help file for more details on running iPodder.

Apple iTunes 4.9 (or greater)
Starting with version 4.9, Apple iTunes (a free download at www.apple.com) included support for Podcasts.

Try clicking the "Podcast Directory" button and you can browse/search for thousands of Podcasts.  Have fun!

I still can't find my Podcast feed.  Where is it?
Your Podcast feed is a URL that needs to be entered into your reader (see iPodder and iTunes above).  How do you know the URL?  The URL of your feed is not usually the same as your site.  The actual feed URL is in the dashboard of Libsyn.  However, an easy way to find your feeds URL is to open your Blog's webpage and simply roll your mouse arrow (don't click) onto the RSS 2.0 button.  Take a look in the bottom left corner of your browser and you should see the URL for that button.  This is the feed's URL.

The URL you see here can be typed into your aggregator (or reader).  However, most readers will automatically associate themselves with RSS/XML feeds and allow you to double-click the chicklet RSS 2.0 button to automatically subscribe to that Podcast.  If not, you can always just type the feeds URL into your reader manually.

Presonus hopes that you have enjoyed our "Intro to Podcasting" and the "Podcasting How-To" documents.  Of course, these documents are only the beginning and have only scratched the surface.  How much you learn about Podcasting is up to you.  Use the power of the Internet and type "Podcasting" into your favorite search engine.  As this document is written, there are already several books available on Podcasting.

The most important thing to remember is to have fun!

Other Resources
There are many, many resources for Podcast news and information.  Since the Podcasting world is moving very quickly, you may want to browse a few of these sites, look over the forums, and get a feel for the Podcast community.  You will likely find that most people are still quite new to Podcasting and enjoy helping other people out.  Below are just a couple of sites with great information on the Podcast movement.  Many others are available and are just a Google search away: