I take some time to answer questions on Audacity and podcasting.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Inspired to podcast again
Don't wait until the planets align to start podcasting again! Just jump in, but try not to make it a huge ocean, which will just sweep you back on shore.
How to change the “author” in iTunes
You can't just change the individual MP3s to have the correct author displayed in iTunes, you also have to change the RSS/XML information. This is easy if you use Feedburner.
- Go into your Feedburner settings.
- Click your podcast's feed.
- Switch to the Optimize tab and then click SmartCast.
- If SmartCast is activated, you'll be able to change your podcast author field to your desired name (your real name, your company, your podcast network, or whatever!).
Which visualization in Audacity? Waveform or Waveform (dB)?
Both visualization methods are handy depending on what you're doing. Waveform shows you the shape of your audio, not necessarily its volume. Waveform (dB) shows your audio's volume, which is great for seeing how much noise you're recorded while you're not speaking, but it can be harder for editing.
Waveform
Waveform (dB)
Mono or stereo for voice-only podcast?
Unless you have a really good reason to release your podcasts in stereo (such as special effects, audio drama, music or sound clips), then mono will always be half the size (taking up less hosting space and bandwidth) and thus download twice as fast.
How can you get cover art to display on iPods (or other players)?
Having your podcast cover art in iTunes or your RSS feed is not enough, you also need to add it to each released episode by inserting it in the ID3 tags. Although iTunes can do this, it saves tags in an different, not-so-compatible version (ID3v2.2). You can use MP3tag (free, Windows-only) or ID3 Editor ($15, Windows or Mac) to easily insert your cover art into each file. I recommend 600×600 pixels, but 300×300 is also okay. If you need great-looking cover art, please contact me because I'm a designer!
I currently use MP3tag on my Mac OS X computer. How? I use Code Weavers Crossover to run Windows applications seamless in OS X without installing Windows (like Parallels Desktop for Mac requires).
Need personalized podcasting help?
I no longer offer one-on-one consulting outside of Podcasters' Society, but request a consultant here and I'll connect you with someone I trust to help you launch or improve your podcast.
Ask your questions or share your feedback
- Comment on the shownotes
- Leave a voicemail at (903) 231-2221
- Email feedback@TheAudacitytoPodcast.com (audio files welcome)
Connect with me
- Subscribe to The Audacity to Podcast on Apple Podcasts or on Android.
- Join the Facebook Page and watch live podcasting Q&A on Mondays at 2pm (ET)
- Subscribe on YouTube for video reviews, Q&A, and more
- Follow @theDanielJLewis
Disclosure
This post may contain links to products or services with which I have an affiliate relationship and may receive compensation from your actions through such links. However, I don't let that corrupt my perspective and I don't recommend only affiliates.
Related Content
My favorite program for editing ID3 tags (as well as for listening to audio) is MediaMonkey. It's also free.
http://www.mediamonkey.com/
I've made a huge amount of progress in a matter of hour following all you've taught me in episode 5, 6 and 7 material. I use the simple dynamic mikes I've had for singing at church, a simple sound board with the output sent to Audacity via USB and don't need much else for now.
Using the Chris dynamic compression and changing to variable and mono have improved sound quality and reduced the file size. I've updated my tags so now my PurelyCatholic.com episode 5 proudly displays its logo on the player. I'll be publishing episode 6 soon and look over to your upcoming suggestions.
Thank you so much for launching this podcast.
Daniel, thank you very much for playing my voice feedback! I will take your advice to heart and try to get started. "Do, there is no try" I hear, well, money is tight and I am not sure my mic quality is good enough. Its an M-Audio XLR (Paid 150$ 3 years ago).
Thank you for your response and as I said in the feedback, keep up the fantastic work!
*** Jumping into the water now ** 🙂
Lee! Your mic is great quality! Much better than the cheap Laptec stick mic that I used when I started.
Daniel, what windows program should I use to queue up music for my show?
I need something that shows how much time is left on the file and so forth.
Thanks for doing this show. I REALLY enjoy it!
Hi, James! I highly suggest PodProducer to do exactly that. It’s free, too! I actually still use it on my Mac via Crossover.
I heard you mention that but when I went to that site it almost sounds like a replacement for Audacity.
I'm downloading it now!
Yes, it can handle the recording itself, which can be handy for hearing your sound effects and recording with the same program. But I use it solely for a sound cart manager. I'm waiting for a bug to be fixed on some Mac software before I stop using PodProducer.
I can't get it to actually play anything out through my speakers. I have the right device selected in the configuration tab.
The level indicator shows high volume being played.
Anything come to mind why I would be having this problem?
Hi Daniel, Podproducer has never been updated since 2008 is it? The latest version is 0.28?
Sadly, 0.28 is that last version, and the publisher hasn't released sourcecode. That's unfortunate, but PodProducer is quite capable and still usable on the latest systems. I still use it on my Mac via Crossover.
Well, I need it to play out through the speakers/headphone jack and it just wont do it. I have that selected in the drop down box.
What is your Windows default audio output set to?
Realtek High Definition Audio – Speakers
For anyone else reading this thread, I gave James the solution by setting his buttons according to this picture:
<img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitpic/photos/full/147259808.png?AWSAccessKeyId=0ZRYP5X5F6FSMBCCSE82&Expires=1282150473&Signature=85bUC17m6%2FHCu4RbPIMf1T3Wrl4%3D" />
Daniel,
I'm revisiting a few episodes, and #7 is one of them. I thought I'd mention the MP3 metatag editors I use under Ubuntu Linux:
1) Puddletag (puddletag.sourceforge.net), which bills itself as "a tag editor for Linux loosely based on the Windows program Mp3tag." When I still used Windows, MP3Tag was my metatag editor of choice, so puddletag's features are welcome and familiar. I tend to rely on this for batches of files.
2) EasyTAG (//easytag.sourceforge.net) comes at things a little differently; nevertheless, I find I use it almost every day for something or other.
3) Kid3-qt. I won't link to this one yet, because I only downloaded it a few days ago and haven't had time to use it or evaluate it.
Hi there! I don't know how I missed this comment, but thank you for leaving it! I'll share this in an upcoming episode.
Hi Daniel, how to interpret the Waveform DB graph? How to decide which is the lowest point and highest point? Because it seems to surround the center line, but the peak level is 0db, quite weird
The "lowest" point is closest to the center. Sound is vibrations through the air. When something vibrates, it doesn't vibrate in only one direction but to either side of a center line. Think about a swing, which goes +30º and -30º from it's point, and then deceases the angles equally as it loses energy.
The "highest" point is the farthest from the center line, up or down. If your audio is offset from the center line, then you can fix that with the Normalize tool, which has a "DC Offest" function.
thanx! helped a lot