Playlists
- Creating Playlists
- Special Playlists
Podcasts
Podcasts are audio programs and radio shows that you can download on a regular basis through iTunes. With iTunes 6.0's new video capabilities, you can also find a growing number of video podcasts. These programs are free, but you do have to subscribe to them.
To browse Apple's selection of podcasts, highlight the Podcasts icon (
) in the source column. The first time you click on this, a dialog box will appear giving you a little information about podcasts; click on the Go to Podcast Directory button. Don't worry if you don't see this window or accidentally close it; you can also click on the arrow next to Podcast Directory just above the information bar to visit the directory.
Apple's Podcast Directory has descriptions of some of the available podcasts and a listing of the most popular programs. Click on a program or, on the left side of the site, search or browse by category. If you select a program, its description and a listing of its episodes will appear. Clicking on a category or searching will take you to an interface that allows you to browse programs. (Note: This is actually the iTunes Music Store interface. Stay in the Podcasts genre to ensure that everything listed is free.)
For example, I want to know what happened on last night's episode of House . So, I'll browse to the Movies & Television category and scroll down until I find FOXCAST: House . If I click on the arrow in the Album column, I'll arrive at the site describing the program and listing its most recent episodes.
To subscribe to this program, click on the SUBSCRIBE button on the far right. You will now be taken to your Podcasts window. A small orange circle will rotate beside the name of the program you just selected while iTunes downloads the most recent episode. A small blue or white circle will appear when it is finished. Click on the grey arrow to the left of the program title to view available episodes.
A quick note about Movie & Television podcasts: These programs may not be the actual audio of your television program or film. For example, the FOXCAST programs are descriptions of what happened in the episode by a narrator. Also, some programs are commentaries by actors and/or directors. |
To play your downloaded programs, use the iTunes controls as if you were playing a regular audio track. We'll learn more about playing videos in the next section of the tutorial.
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To check for new episodes of your subscribed programs, go to the Podcasts window and click on the Update button in the top right corner. Programs with new episodes available will, again, have a small white circle next to them. |
You can adjust how often iTunes will automatically update your podcasts. To do this, click on the Settings button in the bottom right corner of the Podcasts window. Or, select Preferences from the iTunes menu and click on the Podcasts icon.
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