Hi Jonathan, Adam, Monkey Pusher, Chuck, and Others,
I'm cc'ing this to the macvisionaries list, since it may be of general
interest.
Jonathan originally asked:
Is there any way I can sync across my complete list of podcasts I am
subscribed to, so I can then bring up the more episodes option for
each
podcast irrespective of whether episodes are on the phone for that
podcast?
and Chuck suggested that he use the Podcaster app:
I use Podcaster. It's totally accessible and works great!
only 99 cents.
Here is a link:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/podcaster-formerly-rss-player/id377195245?mt=8
Adam and Monkey Pusher asked about the search feature, whether this
app could download single episodes, and whether this app is stable.
My experience is that Podcaster is very good app which will do most of
what Jonathan wants: i.e., it is a way of getting podcast downloads
from the iPhone without going through iTunes, and let him manage his
podcasts without needing to sync. Further, it has some nice features,
such as letting you view the pages in Serotalk's rss feed to examine
the comments and links while the podcast is playing (or you could
pause the playback and examine these pages.) However, it is really
for subscriptions rather than finding and downloading individual
episodes, although you can download single episodes. It uses its own
search engine to find podcasts, and I find that this is much less
effective at locating podcasts than iTunes searches on either my
computer or on the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad. After reading their blog,
I also tried using their recommended search site:
http://podcaster.fm/search.aspx
but I found that this alternative was also not particularly effective
for finding feeds for podcasts I had subscribed to in iTunes.
Podcaster's search facility will show you the most popular podcast
feeds, and if you know a podcast feed address independently of their
search facility, you can always add it. However, a much better way to
get your podcast feeds into Podcaster is to use iTunes (on your
computer) to search for and subscribe to feeds, and then export the
list of your subscriptions as an OPML file. If you have been using
another podcatcher client for your podcast subscriptions, you can
alternatively use the OPML file from that client. Mail the OPML file
to yourself as an attachment, and open the attachment from mail on
your iPhone. When you double tap the attachment, you can flick right
to an "Open In" button that will let you choose which application to
open the attachment in. One of those options will be "Podcaster",
which will import your feeds. This does take a little while if you
have a number of feeds, because Podcaster will also use your default
settings to download episodes from each feed as it add these entries
to your list. Voiceover will announce the progress as it adds feeds
and episodes, however, and you can cancel out from the process if you
want it to stop importing podcast feeds. (Again, the cancel action
takes a little time, because downloading episodes as well as importing
feeds won't immediately stop midway -- this is obvious if you monitor
the progress.)
I'll describe how to export the OPML from iTunes for the Mac, and
provide a description of how I would provide instructions to a Windows
iTunes user who was not using a screenreader. Hopefully someone else
can tidy up any modifications that are needed.
1. In iTunes on your computer, navigate to the sources table (on the
Mac, I usually use Command+Option+F to move to the search text field,
then VO+Right arrow to the sources table and interact with VO+Shift
+Down Arrow; in Windows the same shortcut is Control+Alt+F, and I
think you can tab to the sources table.)
2. Navigate to "Podcasts" in the sources table by pressing "p o d"
3. Navigate to the "File" menu on the iTunes menu bar (on the Mac, use
either Control+F2 or VO+M to move to the menu bar, then press "F' to
go to the "File" menu and arrow down; in Windows use the F10 key to
move to the menu bar and press "F" if you're not at the "File" menu,
then arrow down)
4. Navigate to the "Library" menu option by pressing "L", then right
arrow to the submenu.
5. Use your arrow keys to navigate to "Export Playlist…" (on a Mac you
can VO+Up arrow to this, or you can press your down arrow 4 times --
it's the last item in a list that includes "Backup to Disc", "Organize
Library", "Export Library…", "Import Playlist…", and "Export Playlist…")
6. The dialog window that pops up will have three entries: (1) "Save
As:" with a text box where you can type in the name of the file
(which will default to "Podcasts"), (2) "Where:" followed by a pop up
button (combo box) that lets you specify the location (e.g.,
"Desktop"), and (3) "Format;" followed by a pop up button to set the
format of the file. You can choose whichever name or location you
want; it's only this last format button that must be set to "OPML".
(Mac users, all the usual Finder shortcuts for setting location work
if you want to change this: e.g. Command+Shift+D for Desktop; Command
+Shift+H for your Home directory; Command+Shift+O for Documents,
etc.). On a Mac I would press the pop up button (VO+Space) and then
press "O" to select "OPML".
7. Press the "Save" button to exit the dialog window. (I usually just
press the "Return" key to commit changes and press the "Escape" key to
cancel in dialog windows that I am familiar with.)
8. Mail yourself the Podcast.OPML file as an attachment. (On the Mac,
use Command+Shift+A to attach a file, and again all the Finder
shortcuts for selection and navigation work in the dialog window.)
Steps 1 through 7 can be skipped if you already have an OPML file from
another podcatching application. (Although, I would argue that the
most comprehensive way to search for podcasts is to use the "Power
Search" feature under the iTunes Store menu -- it shows up either as
the "Search" option under the "Store" menu of iTunes' menu bar, or as
a "Power Search" link on the iTunes Store home page. Set the pop up
button on the Power Search page that come up to "Podcasts", and then
type in search terms for title, author, description, etc.)
To import the OPML file into the Podcatcher app:
1. On your iPhone, open the email message you sent yourself, and
double tap on the attachment (e.g., which is named "Podcasts.opml")
2. Your attachment will open in a page with heading
"Podcasts.opml" (sounds a bit strange when VoiceOver says it on the
iPhone). and VoiceOver will announce "Message, back button" with focus
on this button in the top left corner.
3. Flick right twice past the "Podcasts.opml, heading" to the "Open
in…" button at the top right corner, and double tap.
4. VoiceOver will say, "Alert, Podcaster", and focus will be on a
"Podcaster" button. Depending on what other document reading or
download app you have on your iPhone, you may have buttons for other
app options to open this OPML file, followed by a "Cancel" button at
then end. Double tap the "Podcaster" button.
5. The Podcaster app will open, and start importing your feed
subscriptions on a screen with heading "Importing". There is a "Done"
button at the top left that will let you cancel the import midway.
Otherwise, you'll be given information on whether feeds have been
successfully imported and episodes found.
There are some limitations in using Podcaster. You don't have the same
flexibility that iTunes gives you in specifying very different
settings for on a subscription by subscription basis for automatic
handling. You should also be aware that it is possible to fill up
your device if you have many podcast subscriptions and set these up
for automatic downloads. You have the ability to either download or
stream from the feed (though you wouldn't want to stream unless you
had a WiFi connection). I find Podcaster works best for me when I use
this for a certain subset of my podcast subscriptions. I would also
not use Podcaster to search for individual podcasts, since this is
really better for subscriptions, and the search function is weak
unless you're looking for very popular feeds. For example, if I
wanted to listen to the recent Apple Keynote, I wouldn't use
Podcaster, I'd instead go to the iTunes app, and do a search on "Apple
Keynotes", and stream the podcast from there. YMMV.
A couple of other things to mention: podcasts downloaded through this
app cannot be played through the "Bookmark" app, which can only access
audiobooks and podcasts added from your iTunes library. ("Bookmark" is
a nice app for listening to audiobooks and podcasts on your iPhone. It
lets you set multiple bookmarks, add notes tagged to specific
locations, and navigate easily in large time increments through your
track. See the applevis site for more details.)
I did, however, find out that the controls for scrubbing and changing
the playback rate (to twice the speed) can be accessed from this app.
On the screen where the web page information is displayed for a
podcast, it turns out that you can "flip" this page so that the
scrubbing and fast playback controls get displayed instead. This
appears to be doable by double-tapping an icon in the top right corner
of the screen where the podcast is playing. For example, suppose I've
decided to play one of the SeroTalk podcasts in a list of episodes,
and I've just double tapped the entry for their September 18th Tech
Chat. On the screen that comes up, I'll hear VoiceOver say,
"Podcasts, back button" with focus on this button in the top left. If
I flick right, or touch the top center of the screen, just below the
time on the status bar, I'll hear "SeroTalk". If I flick right again,
or touch the top right corner of the screen, I'll hear "Default images
m, button". A two finger flick up would read these elements, followed
by a descriptions of the web page contents, followed by player
controls (rewind, play, and skip forward buttons) and volume
controls. Now, it's possible to scrub backwards and forwards in a
track with these controls. While the podcast is playing, do a double
tap and hold on either the "rewind" or "skip forward" buttons to scrub
backwards or forwards in the track. However, the current page's
controls don't let you play the podcast at double speed. To access
that control, double tap the button in the top right corner of the
page. In the present case, it is labeled "Default images m, button".
For other podcasts it will be some number like "16 thumb, button" --
apparently to indicate a thumbnail icon, and tied to a number for your
podcast subscription. Once you double tap this button, the web page
vanishes and player controls similar to those of podcasts will be
available at the top of the screen. For example, if you move your
finger down from the heading at the top center of the screen, you'll
hear "Seek slider, 0 per cent, adjustable; seek within a podcast,
swipe up or down to adjust the value". To the left of the slider will
be the current playhead position indicating time into the podcast and
at the right of the slide you'll hear the time remaining. Move your
finger down from the time remaining, and you'll hear "Playback rate 1x
or 2x, button". If you only want to speed up the rate of your
podcast, start with your finger at the top right corner of the screen
where the button is now labeled "flip, button" and move it down past
the time remaining to the "Playback rate 1x or 2x, button" and double
tap. Then move your finger back up the top right corner to the "Flip,
button" and double tap to return to the original screen. This
arrangement is similar to the arrangement for podcasts in the "iTunes"
app (or "Music" app on the iPod Touch.) The icon in the upper right
corner of the podcast screen flips the screen between "Album tracks"
and "Play view". When you select "Album tracks", you get a listing of
the episodes in your podcast subscription with your currently selected
track checked. When you select "Play view", you get your selected
track with the player controls for scrubbing and changing playback
speed at the top of the screen. Both views have the regular player
controls (rewind, play/pause, skip forward in Podcaster; or previous
track, play/pause, next track in iTunes/Music) at the bottom of the
screen. Both Podcaster and iTunes/Music apps let you fast forward or
rewind by doing a double tap and hold with the skip forward/next track
and rewind/previous track buttons, and you can listen to the speeded
up navigation as you try this. The scrubbing controls at the top of
the screen in both Podcaster and the iTunes/Music app for podcasts
work differently in that you can move directly to another part of the
podcast by using the slider -- either by swiping up or down to move in
larger chunks through the track, or by doing a double tap and hold on
the slider bar and shifting your finger to the right or left.
(VoiceOver announces "hi-speed scrubbing" when you adjust the slider
position by using double tap and hold, and then shift your finger
right or left along the position of the track, but it's the same
effect as what you get when you perform the same gesture on the seek
slider of Podcaster in the same location at the top of the screen.)
One slight difference is that in the default iTunes/Music app there is
a "30 second rewind" button just below the track position at the top
of the screen. For Podcaster there is a "skip button" in this
position that is just labeled "10". Double tapping this button
appears to move you forwards in increments of 10 seconds, while in
iTunes you are move backwards in 30 second increments.
A final comment: when you switch to get access to scrubbing and fast
play controls by double tapping whatever icon is announced in the top
right corner of your podcast, you stay in that view for all the other
podcasts that you access in Podcaster. So in the case of the SeroTalk
podcast in my example, if I adjust the view to bring up controls for
playing back the podcast at twice the speed, and I do not flip back to
the regular view by double tapping the "Flip, button" in the top right
corner, I will not be able to view the web pages and show notes for
any other SeroTalk episodes that I choose to play. And if I select an
episode from any other podcast subscription, the default playing
screen will also come up with the scrub controls at the top, and no
web pages, until I double tap the "Flip, button" in the right corner
of the screen.
HTH. Cheers,
Esther
On Sep 18, 2010, at 14:28, Monkey Pusher wrote:
does the search feature search the itunes store or has its own
resources it searches for podcast
On 9/18/10, Adam <adlaw...@verizon.net> wrote:
Hi:
Does it have a "search" feature?
Also have read some negative reviews stating it crashes frequently
& has
other bugs.
Have you found this to happen to you when using the app?
Can you download just one episode instead of subscribing to the
series?
Look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Regards,
Adam
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