Introduction to Podcast
A podcast simply
refers to any type of media file such as
audio or video file that is distributed
over the internet with the help of RSS or
syndication feeds so that they can be played
using a media player such as QuickTime or
Windows Media Player. Podcast can either
refer to the file itself or the method to
create the podcast that is more specifically
known as podcasting. Once you download the
podcast on your computer you can distribute
it in any way you want. The person who creates
the podcast is known as a podcaster.
The term podcast is derived from two words
i.e. iPos and broadcast. Podcast was invented
by Apple. The first podcast scripts were
first developed for the iPod and hence the
files are automatically downloaded to the
device after which you can view or hear
them. There are thousands of websites on
the internet such as Apple and National
Geographic that distribute podcasts for
download. The main difference between a
podcast and other digital media files is
that the podcast can download itself automatically
to the device through RSS feeds whenever
new content is added to the site. It can
also be subscribed easily and the new content
is added through reading feed formats such
as Atom and RSS.
Podcasting first came into existence in
the year 2004 and it was first distributed
through a media device in September 2004.
Podcasting is fully automatic and the files
are transferred from a server to the computer
device or a portable device such as the
iPod. The files are originally XML files
and these files contain video and audio
content. However files may also be in the
form of PDF files, text files or files of
any other type.
The creator can start distributing the podcast
file that he has created by posting the
file on the server from where the file can
be downloaded. The server can either be
a public web server or even a BitTorrent
tracker. Some files are created for general
public distribution while there are other
files that can accessed only by authorized
people. It is the content provider that
announces the arrival of the new file by
giving it a reference to the feed file.
The feed includes a list of urls from which
the podcast file can be accessed. The file
that is found through an RSS feed has other
information as well such as file creator,
date, title, etc
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