How to Get Podcasts into iTunes

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How to Get Podcasts into iTunes by Daniel Dwase...

There are several ways you can find the iTunes Music Store's podcasts.

Either click the Podcasts icon in the iTunes Source list and then click the link for the Podcast Directory at the bottom of the window, or just zip into the Music Store from the Source list and click the Podcasts link on the main page.

Either way, you're launched right into the middle of iTunes Podcast Central.

I will discuss more of how to get podcasts into iTunes in the iTunes Store topics.

Here we'll look at some simple steps.

Some Web sites have links to podcasts posted right on the page.

These links are denoted with an orange tag labeled with Pod, RSS, or XML are links to that podcast's feed.

Like news feeds that use RSS to update your Web browser or your RSS Reader --a program that can be used on your desktop that automatically updates information when it is made ready by the site supplying the feed-- with the absolute latest headlines, blog entries, or other news, podcast feeds deliver the latest episode of your favorite audio or video shows right to your desktop.

To get one of these podcast feeds sending feeds into iTunes, click the RSS orange icon on the page.

Here's an example using bbc.co.uk...

You may get a screen full of text, but the URL in the browser's address bar is the important thing here.

Copy that address into your clipboard and then in iTunes select the Subscribe to Podcast option from the Advanced menu.

Click OK.

iTunes will now take care of the rest. If iTunes is already open it will populate the information about the podcast that you can subscribe to for a fee or for free.

You are now subscribed to the podcast.

Alternatively, if you see a Subscribe button next to your podcast, click it and you are ready to go.

Note: If you want to share a certain podcast with your friends immediately, click its title in your iTunes window and drag it to the desktop.

This creates a Podcast Subscription File --.pcast or an MP3 file-- that you can attach to an e-mail that you send to your friends.

Your recipients just need to drag the .pcast or MP3 file into their copy of iTunes to sign up for the feed.

You can also ask iTunes to monitor and check for new podcasts. This can be done via the Podcasts tab of the Preferences dialog.

Go to Edit > Preferences and select the Podcast tab.

Choose the desired options from the drop-down lists and click OK when done.

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See Also...

• How to share iTunes playlist with another
• How to upload songs to your iPod using iTunes
• How to upload songs to iPod and manually update it
• How to create iTunes Playlist
• How to create iTunes Smart Playlists
• How to backup iTunes songs
• How to assign iTunes ratings to songs
• How to add song lyrics to your iPod via iTunes
• How to import Audiobook CDs into iTunes

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