Mediasite. podcasting user guide

Transcription

1 Mediasite podcasting user guide

2 Using Mediasite podcasting The Mediasite Podcast Generator converts on-demand Mediasite presentations to podcasts. In terms of Mediasite, a podcast is a collection of audio-only presentations in MP3 format that are distributed using RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Mediasite podcasts can be downloaded with software such as itunes, Odeo, or ipodder. You will use the Management Portal to create and manage Mediasite podcasts at a folder level. The Podcast Generator polls podcast source folder(s) at regular intervals, and by default, when a new presentation is available, updates the podcast with a new MP3 file and also updates the RSS feed. At this point, users who subscribe to Mediasite podcasts are notified by their podcast client that a new presentation is available in the podcast. In this guide you will learn how to create new podcasts, prepare presentations that you want to add to podcasts, and make the podcasts available to your audience. For information on installing the Podcast Generator and configuring the Mediasite Server for use with the Podcast Generator, see the Mediasite Podcast Generator Release Notes available from the SmartServe Portal at Podcasting features The Mediasite Podcast Generator includes the following features: Ability to podcast a Mediasite folder. Subscriptions to a podcast are managed at a folder level. The audio component of each Mediasite presentation located in the folder is transcoded to an MP3 format. Each podcast maps to a Mediasite folder, can be named, and can have a description and copyright associated with it. An audio encoding bit rate is also selected for all MP3 files that will be generated as part of the podcast. The Mediasite Podcast Generator can be set up to automatically generate/update a podcast(s) at a fixed interval or can be set up to generate/update a podcast(s) manually using the Management Portal. If an MP3 file cannot be created for a presentation, the Mediasite Podcast Generator reports an error for the file and continues to generate MP3 files for the remaining presentations in the podcast. The subscription link for a podcast is distributed by using the Management Portal. 1

3 Mediasite Podcasting User Guide Creating new podcasts You will create new podcasts using the Management Portal in the same manner that you create presentations and other system components on the Mediasite Server. To create new podcasts using the Management Portal: 1. From the Management Portal, go to Podcasting > Add New Podcast and specify the podcast s details: Source Folder: Select the folder where the presentations that will be converted to MP3 files and added to the podcast are located. Name: Enter a name for the podcast. Description: Enter a description for the podcasts. Copyright: Enter the copyright information for the podcast. The default value is the copyright information specified when podcasting was installed and configured. Audio encoding rate: Select the encoding rate from the drop-down list. The audio encoding rate is the number of bits of encoded data used to represent each second of audio. The higher the rate at which the MP3 files are encoded the higher the quality during playback. However, this also increases the size of the audio file. Automatically update the podcast: By default, the Podcast Generator polls the source folder for on-demand presentations and automatically encodes audio to MP3 and generates an RSS feed. Clear the checkbox if you want to manually encode the podcast. You can manually encode a podcast to make content changes, such as recently added, edited, or deleted presentations, immediately available to your audience. For more information on manually encoding a podcast, see Generate a podcast manually on page 4. Folder Details: If the source folder contains presentations, the presentations are listed in Folder Details along with the folder s name and owner. The total duration, that is the amount of time that it takes to view all presentations in the folder, is also displayed. Click view next to a listed presentation launch the presentation in the Viewer. 2. Click Add Podcast. 2

4 Using Mediasite podcasting Updating a podcast s settings Once a podcast is created, you can update its settings as needed. To update a podcast s settings, 1. Go to Podcasts, click the link for the podcast, and update the settings as needed. 2. Click the Security tab on the podcast s properties page to update the podcast s permissions. 3. Click Save to apply your changes. Preparing presentations To make a presentation available in a podcast, the presentation must be included in the podcast s source folder. Use the Management Portal to include new presentations in the source folder when you schedule (add) them for recording on the Mediasite Server or to move existing presentations to the source folder. Prepare new presentations To include a new presentation in a podcast s source folder, launch the Management Portal, go to Presentations > Add New Presentation, enter the presentation settings, click the Folder browse button, select the podcast s source folder, and click Save. Once the presentations are recorded and published to the Mediasite Server, they will be converted to MP3 files by the Podcast Generator and added to the podcast. To prepare new presentations for conversion to podcasts, it is useful to create a presentation template with the podcast s source folder selected and use the template to schedule presentations on the Mediasite Server. Move existing presentations to folder You can move existing presentations to the source folder before or after they have been recorded and published to the Mediasite Server by updating the presentation s folder location. Only presentations that have been recorded and published to the Mediasite Server will be converted to MP3 files and added to the podcast. To update a presentation s folder location: 1. Launch the Management Portal, go to the Presentations tab, select the presentation, and click the Information tab. 2. Click the Folder browse button and select the source folder for the podcast. 3

5 Mediasite Podcasting User Guide 3. Click Save to apply your changes. For more information on preparing presentations, publishing on-demand presentations, and creating presentation templates see the Mediasite EX Server User Guide. Generate a podcast manually When new presentations are added to a podcast s source folder, the Podcast Generator will detect the new presentations, convert them to MP3 files, and update the RSS feed at regular intervals. However, you can also encode a podcast manually to convert all presentations in the source folder to MP3 files and add them to the podcast, including presentations that have already been converted, to make updated content in the podcast immediately available to your audience. Additionally, you must manually generate a podcast if presentations are deleted from a folder associated with a podcast to delete the MP3 files associated with the deleted presentations. To update a podcast manually, go to Podcasting and click the Encode this Podcast button on the same row as the podcast. Expand the podcast to see the status of the update. Entries in the RSS feed for deleted presentations are removed when the podcasts is updated manually or automatically.. Making podcasts available to your audience Subscribing to a Mediasite podcast is similar to subscribing to any other podcast available on the web--users must enter the podcast s RSS feed URL into their podcasting client. You can make the RSS feed URL for your Mediasite podcasts available to your audience by sending an invitation for the podcast or by adding the URL on a podcast site, web page, as a link in a Mediasite presentation, and so forth. Users with certain web browsers, such as Internet Explorer 7.0, can click the RSS Feed URL link to view the RSS feed and subscribe to the podcast. The following information is displayed for each presentation in the RSS feed: title, description (if provided), recording date and time, and a link to the MP3 file that users can click to hear. To view a podcast s RSS feed before making it available to your audience, click Feed Link. 4

6 Using Mediasite podcasting Send invitations for podcasts Use the Management Portal to send an invitation for a podcast that contains the podcast s title, description, and RSS Feed URL. Users will copy the enclosed RSS feed URL into their aggregator or podcasting client software to subscribe to the podcast. To send an invitation for a podcast, go to Podcasting and click Send an invitation on the same row as the podcast. See the documentation included with your podcasting client for specific instructions on subscribing to a podcast. Copy the RSS feed URL To copy a podcast s RSS feed URL, go to the Podcasting tab, right-click the RSS feed link on the same row as the podcast, and select Copy shortcut Sonic Foundry, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied and/or redistributed without the consent of Sonic Foundry, Inc. Additional copies may be obtained by contacting Sonic Foundry. Sonic Foundry, the Sonic Foundry logo, Mediasite, and the Mediasite logo are registered trademarks of Sonic Foundry, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Sonic Foundry, Inc. 222 W. Washington Avenue Madison WI For more information, please contact [email protected] 5