Frequently Asked Questions
Or at least, questions answered so they are not asked frequently...
What equipment/software is used to produce the podcasts?
Audio is recorded on an Apple Powerbook G4 using Garageband 3. MP3 encoding is done using iTunes, and then the podcast is created using Podcast Maker. (Also testing Cast Easy.)
Why are the files encoded so crappily?
I originally encoded all my shows at 80kbps which sounded pretty good, but had to go back and scale everything down 64kbps to make the downloads smaller. This makes them quicker to download, and saves me bandwidth.I'd like to go back to 80kbps but the more popular these podcasts get, the less likely I will be able to do that.
How are the 3-D videos made?
I use an old (1999) Sony Digital8 camcorder with a NuView 3-D adapter. The video is edited using iMovie, then the interlaced (field sequential) video is then split into two movies files (odd san lines and even scan lines) using JES Deinterlacer. These two files are then combined into a color anaglyph using StereoPress DV (Mac OS Classic). The resulting video has no sound, so it is brought back in to the original iMovie clip where the original audio is detached and synced with the new red/blue footage. Lastly, the video is compressed into h.264 iPod-sized video using a freeware program.
Yes, it's time consuming.
Does anyone actually listen/watch these things?
No, not really. My server stats show my most downloaded file for November 2005 was just over 1500 hits, but I think the actual subscriber count is closer to 2. Or 3.
Do you think your shows are actually good?
Yes, they got your attention, didn't they?
But seriously... It's been said that people who don't like Howard Stern actually spend more time listening to his show than the fans, so good or bad doesn't seem to matter. It's a matter of catching attention.
I year ago, I would not have considered listening to a show like mine, nor most of the other podcasts I subscribe to. And if said show was on the radio, I doubt I would have paused on that station very long. But podcasting is something new and different (even if it's fundamentally nothing new or different), and at least for now, we are enjoying it. Will it last? We'll see...
P.S. - I think my Rencast is good. And now that we are producing the Pirate Comedy Show weekly, it's got it's moments.