Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting...
by Sam Mallery
on
Apr 30, 2009 at 2:18:41 pm
Hi,
I'm in the process of starting a video podcast. The first episode is almost finished, and I've built a website for the show using Wordpress. I pay for web hosting with a company called Bluehost. The annual service I pay for allows for unlimited bandwidth (or a lot of bandwidth anyhow), so it seems like it should be a decent platform for hosting my video podcast.
I helped some friends create an audio podcast a couple of years ago, and they used Libsyn for their show. I know Libsyn well, and it's a really nice service they offer, but I don't want to pay for additional hosting. It'd be nice to use Libsyn, but I'd feel a lot better about it if I can figure out how to get this puppy running on what resources I currently have available.
Jonathan Miller's workflow sounds exactly like what I want to do. I like how the XML file is already established, and he just copy and pastes and changes a few bits of text to update the file.
As far as creating the first XML file, what is the best way about going about it? I found this feed generator at podcastblaster.com:
Okay, it doesn't seem like creating the XML file is that difficult. As far as making it live on my hosting service, I'm not sure where to start. I host a couple of different websites with my host. The site I created for the podcast is new. Geeze. I'm not even sure what the terminology of this stuff is. Hmmm...
Let me put it like this. Say my website is http://www.samscrazypodcast.com (which thankfully it is not). When I go to my host to update the site, I would first click on the "public html" file. That opens up and I scroll down to the file for the site which is named "samscrazywebsite." In that file there's a bunch of stuff, my Wordpress theme and its content, among other things. Where do I stick my newly generated XML file? Does it not even go into "public html"?
Forgive my ignorance with hosting terminology. I'm sort of self taught in this area.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Franklin McMahon on May 1, 2009 at 6:15:59 pm
It does not matter where the RSS feed goes. You can use a service like Feedburner which sets up as your main feed and then points to your actual feed. That way you can always move your actual feed and nothing will "break"
For free hosting of podcasts I recommend Mevio.com, they have stat systems and can generate RSS files automatically.
For pay Libsyn (now Wizzard) would be an excellent choice. They have advanced stats and lot of features and can also automatically generate the RSS feed from uploaded shows.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Eric Susch on May 6, 2009 at 5:11:31 pm
We use Bluehost to host our blog at http://LetsKnit2gether.com and we've had very good luck with them. It's definitely a bad idea however to host video at a place like Bluehost. If your show gets any viewership at all they will definitely cut you off.
For free video hosting I would recommend blip.tv. We use them and their features are geared toward video.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Sam Mallery on May 7, 2009 at 7:10:23 pm
Eric - thanks so much for the info.
I took a look at Blip.tv last week but I couldn't determine if you can host there for free or not. The information on their site steers you toward paying for a "gold" account or something like that. Is the paid membership on Blip unnecessary?
You don't need to explain the whole process of working with Blip. Just answer these two questions, if you will...
1) You can upload and host video podcasts for free on Blip
2) You can create RSS feeds so people can subscribe to your show through iTunes for free on Blip
If the answer is yes and yes, then I'll figure out how to do it.
I met the team behind Blip.TV last year in Pittsburgh at Podcamp, they are great people.
I did not see any options for automatic RSS generation.
Keep in mind there are companies focused on web video hosting and those specializing in podcast hosting. Podcast hosting sites usually have more detailed stats, RSS generation, unlimited bandwidth, etc. Web video hosting is more geared toward just showing shows on the web and driving traffic to their website.
My advice is to focus on a podcast hosting company (most have rates that are fairly reasonable) so you can syndicate through RSS (including the very large iTunes audience) and then supplement that with also hosting your shows on Blip, Vimeo, YouTube or some (or all) of the others.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Eric Susch on May 9, 2009 at 12:44:57 am
I should clarify that every show on blip.tv is also set up as a podcast with detailed download stats.
But Frank is right. Not all web video hosts do that and you'll be missing out on a very big chunk of your audience if you only offer video on your website. 75% of the Let's Knit2gether audience downloads the show through iTunes, Miro, and the Zune marketplace.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Eric Susch on May 9, 2009 at 12:30:46 am
[Sam Mallery]"1) You can upload and host video podcasts for free on Blip"
Yes
[Sam Mallery]"2) You can create RSS feeds so people can subscribe to your show through iTunes for free on Blip"
Not sure what you are asking but, yes. Blip automatically creates an RSS feed that you can submit to iTunes. You can also create your own feed (which is what we do) and submit it to blip. Your own RSS feed then appears in the blip embedded player. You can do it either way.
Since an account at blip is free you should set one up and check out all the features. The dashboard is extensive.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Sam Mallery on May 11, 2009 at 3:34:51 pm
Thanks guys, your advice has been really helpful. I'm going to have a chance to hack away it this extensively tonight, and I'll see what I can brew up at Blip.
For a minute there I was convinced that I would have to pony up $10 a month for Libsyn hosting, but it seems like Blip may be the money saver I'm looking for.
Re: Starting a video podcast & I don't want to pay for more hosting... by Franklin McMahon on May 11, 2009 at 3:46:17 pm
Another thing to keep in mind, most all sites that offer free video hosting also have in their terms that they can repurpose and use the content for other things, you still own the copyright but they can use the content as well. Its kind of the trade-off for free hosting. I am not sure of Blip's terms, but look into it.
So say your show takes off and you leave the service, they can keep running it and promoting it and grabbing traffic.
Sites that you pay to host don't usually have this stipulation, you are just renting space.
