How do you like the podcast support in the Zune software?

Well, I think the default is "Keep # episodes of this podcast" as it is now.
Then you could change to "Keep episodes for # days" just like you can change playback order (newest/oldest).
I think you could use the slider for "# of days" as well.

 x264movies wrote:

Well, I think the default is "Keep # episodes of this podcast" as it is now.
Then you could change to "Keep episodes for # days" just like you can change playback order (newest/oldest).
I think you could use the slider for "# of days" as well.

I think this would work quite well...  The logic should give preference to number of days over number of episodes though.  For example, I could set a podcast to download newest first, keep 2, and keep for 3 days.  It would start by downloading the newest 2, and continue to download more day by day.  When the oldest episode hit 4 days old, it would be removed both from the device (assuming it wasn't already removed by the 'keep unplayed' series setting) and the software.  This way, the number of episodes could climb higher than the series setting (if the podcaster inserted extra episodes...  'breaking news' for example) and the user would not miss those extra episodes until they expired from the keep # days setting.

I like the Zune Podcast support.  I use both video and audio podcasts frequently.   

One feature I would like to see added is the ability to save individual podcast episodes.  Sometimes I see a podcast episode on a podcast that I delete episodes after watching that I want to keep.  If I forget to mark it as not watched, it gets deleted.  I would like the ability to mark individual episodes as "Keep Until I Delete".  The other podcast settings should remain in affect and ignore that episode, until I un-mark it as "Keep Until I Delete".

I would also like to see the software changed to allow a non HTTP XML feed.  I make podcasts out of my own audio books and television series, it would be helpful to be able to subscribe to those feeds without having to put it on my personal web server.  For example, if I try to subscribe to an xml feed called C:\TheSopranos.xml it gives the error. "The URL you entered is invalid.  Make sure it's a valid http address".

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think I can help with the first issue.  If you go to your COLLECTION > PODCASTS and right click on an AUTOMATIC episode you'll see a context menu option called ADD TO COLLECTION.  Go ahead and select that.  Now that episode won't be deleted from the Zune software unless you delete it manually. 

I like your second suggestion.

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 bfreeburn wrote:

One feature I would like to see added is the ability to save individual podcast episodes.  Sometimes I see a podcast episode on a podcast that I delete episodes after watching that I want to keep.  If I forget to mark it as not watched, it gets deleted.  I would like the ability to mark individual episodes as "Keep Until I Delete".  The other podcast settings should remain in affect and ignore that episode, until I un-mark it as "Keep Until I Delete".

As tmis said, "Add to collection" is the option.

 bfreeburn wrote:

I would also like to see the software changed to allow a non HTTP XML feed.  I make podcasts out of my own audio books and television series, it would be helpful to be able to subscribe to those feeds without having to put it on my personal web server.  For example, if I try to subscribe to an xml feed called C:\TheSopranos.xml it gives the error. "The URL you entered is invalid.  Make sure it's a valid http address".

I use OverDrive Media Console and ScotchtapeLoser's program for audiobooks. It's quite easy and works well though I'd like to see the Zune software directly supports audiobooks in the near future.

FYI: http://forums.zune.net/437292/ShowPost.aspx#437292

For TV series, now you can edit and organize videos; so you don't have to make fake feeds (though I think that may be quite useful if you record TV shows regularly).

 tmis wrote:

I think I can help with the first issue.  If you go to your COLLECTION > PODCASTS and right click on an AUTOMATIC episode you'll see a context menu option called ADD TO COLLECTION.  Go ahead and select that.  Now that episode won't be deleted from the Zune software unless you delete it manually. 

 

That's perfect.   I dont' know why I didn't notice that before.    Thanks!

 x264movies wrote:

I use OverDrive Media Console and ScotchtapeLoser's program for audiobooks. It's quite easy and works well though I'd like to see the Zune software directly supports audiobooks in the near future.

FYI: http://forums.zune.net/437292/ShowPost.aspx#437292

For TV series, now you can edit and organize videos; so you don't have to make fake feeds (though I think that may be quite useful if you record TV shows regularly).

I use Audible now for books I purchase online.  I don't purchase many that way, because I would like to use just the one program, so I mainly use CDs.  I did check out your suggestions.   Thanks.

The TV Series playback on Zune is much better now, but it doesn't delete the watched episode and download the next the way podcasts do.  I have the entire series of some shows, and only a 30Gig Zune, so making podcasts work better for my use.

Wish I had seen this question four months ago... but, cross-posted from the software wish list: I am still not sure why or how there is no podcast playlist support for the Zune. By which I mean the ability to sort different podcasts (not just different episodes of the same podcast) into a playlist, so that one isn't bumping into people on the sidewalk trying to scroll down from the New York Times front page to the NPR hourly update and then back up to the Bugle podcast.

What's worse is that this really doesn't seem like an obscure or intricate feature. "Playlist technology" isn't really a new and exciting idea.

Of course, you could make it as exciting as you wanted, from a development standpoint. Instead of calling it a "podcast playlist", call it "you radio" or something like that. Give people the options to have their Zune insert a random snippet of a favorite song to use as "bumpers" for in between each of the podcasts--not unlike a radio station. If you wanted to get really complicated, you could give lots of options to set up the Zune itself to automatically update the playlist, based on what podcasts just came in.

Or, again: you could just do it the simplest way possible, give us the basic ability to set up podcast playlists in the software and the player. Is there any light at the tunnel for the next iteration of software?

As noted by another post, there really should be a way to view playlists. Alot of podacts have them in the description.

It seems the up and down buttons dont do anything while in description view, why not let them scroll the description content?

What support?  Is there really some kind of support?
Please enlighten me..??????


Ted Randall
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tedrandall@tedrandall.com

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Seconded for nsilmike's 'auto-podcast-sync' idea. Music lives on my home desktop, but I travel with my tablet PC. I just got back from a two-week-long trip and started REALLY missing new podcast updates. Why can't we update them from a public wi-fi hotspot, or even a guest connection on a PC running Zune software? I'd rather not use the tablet for the Zune's home machine, because the desktop is much, much faster with video transcoding.

I find it great, only thing you guys need to work in is reviews on the software as well, most people are using the software so its the best place to actually see those