Podcasting

General Questions

1. What is podcasting?
   
2. What do I need to make use of this podcast?
   
3. How do I get a Podcast receiver?
   
4. I have everything I need. How do I set up my software to get the Bible Minute Podcast?
   

Podcasting, in essence, is releasing an audio file to the general public, just like broadcasting. The difference is that instead of making audio available through the radio, you're making audio available for a portable mp3 player. By releasing audio content this way, you no longer have to be near your radio at a specific time. When the content is released, it's downloaded and ready to be taken with you and listened to at your convenience.

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To use this, you'll need 3 things.

• First, you'll need a portable MP3 player. An example would be Apple's iPod, but any portable device that will play MP3 files will work.
• Second, you'll need a podcast receiver. Although that sounds complicated, it's just a small piece of software that downloads the audio file automatically. This is covered in the next question.
• Third, you'll need an Internet connection. A broadband connection (DSL, Cable) is best because of the size of the files you will be downloading--about 11MB for a Back to the Bible program. However, it's not a requirement.

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How do I get a Podcast receiver?

There are a variety of receivers available. The most common is iPodder. To download it, go here and follow the directions there to download the software (about a 6MB file).

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I have everything I need. How do I set up my software to get the Bible Minute Podcast?

We'll go through the setup with the iPodder software. If you selected another receiver, your specifics will differ but you should be able to use this information to get started.

• Open iPodder. This usually means go to "Start > Programs > iPodder". Or, you may see the iPodder icon in your system tray--double click the icon to start the program
• You will see a line that says "Add feed manually" followed by a long empty box. Copy and paste the following line into the box:

  http://www.bibleminute.org/rss/bm_pod_rss.xml

  
  
  Click on "Add" and the feed will be added to the list.

• Since the power of iPodder comes from it's ability to automatically download content from the Internet, let's schudule a time to download. Click on the "Scheduler" tab along the top. Make sure the box for "Check feeds automatically" is checked and then set a time in one of the boxes below to tell iPodder when you want it to check for new content. The Bible Minute Program is updated at 12:30am CST Monday through Friday. You may want to uncheck the other boxes so you're not checking the site multiple times during the day when no new programs are available. Then, click on "Apply scheduler settings". Please note that your iPodder software will need to be running and have access to the Internet at the time you select.

Every day at the time you selected, the iPodder software will check for a new podcast, grab the new ones and download them. If you're using a compatible MP3 device, it may even auto-sync the device so that the program is automatically available to take with you. If not, simply add the downloaded file to your portable device and you're ready to go!

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If you have trouble, contact us.