What’s the difference between a webcast and a video podcast?

A webcast is usually a presenter speaking over a phone line and presenting PowerPoint slides to an audience while the audience listens and watches real-time via the internet. There is no live video, only static slides. The disadvantage is the presentation can be boring because it doesn't use full motion video and the sonud quality is poor. Video podcasts and online video use full motion video and high quality audio, creating a much richer experience. Podcasts do not require proprietary plugins and can be viewed on the go.

Production standards can be cinematic in quality, delivering the maximum impact, where you see the presenter and hear them in full fidelity. Because video podcasts are downloaded off-line versus streamed live, they can be very high quality, even high definition. The advantage is video podcasts can better engage an audience hold attention because of their high production values. At MobileCast Media, we can record your webcasts or earnings call and while you can still release them via the traditional methods, we can capture them in high quality and can make high impact video productions out of them.

Can you take webcast sessions and convert them into Video Podcasts?

Yes, and we recommend having an audio engineer on site to capture the voice live versus over the phone line. We can also integrate live video into the production that the audience can see the presenter while we cut back and forth between the presenter and their slides. Finally, the slides need to be modified so that users of iPod/iPhone will see the text of the slides on the smaller screen.

Why do you shoot in HD if this is for web video?

Actually, most people are not aware that a lot of the content you see on the web now is high definition. Standard definition is fairly small when shown on a web page (640 x 480) and looks dull on today’s sharp LCD computer screens. The average computer screen is now 1280 x 1024, which well exceeds the requirements for 720p high definition. Even if you are intending to show on a smaller screen size, the video will look much sharper if we shoot in high definition and later render to the final small size. Besides, a good number of our clients end up using the footage we shoot for unforeseen purposes which require HD. They didn’t realize it up front, but were later very glad that we shot in HD.

HD also allows us to pull still photos from the footage. Because we shoot at full resolution and in progressive mode (most cameras can't do this) we can get high quality still frames which can be used for web or high resolution print. The technology in our Sony CineAlta cameras was developed in part by George Lucas and used to shoot Star Wars II, Attack of the Clones.

What is a podcast? 

Unless qualified as “video podcast” a podcast frequently means audio podcast. You can think of a podcast as a downloadable radio program. By definition, it is free, downloadable as opposed to streaming, in MP3 format, and is distributed (syndicated) via a programming language called RSS (really simple syndication) for consumption on computers, set top boxes (such as AppleTV) and mobile devices (not just iPods and iPhones). Since Podcasts are in MP3 format, which is an open standard, they can be burned to audio CDs and played in CD players. Some people when starting out incorrectly spell it as "pod cast" because their spell checker doesn't recognize the word.

What is a video podcast?

Think of a video podcast as a downloadable TV program. It is a free video file (usually in MPEG-4 and/or H.264 format - can be both), distributed over the internet via RSS (really simple syndication) for consumption on computers, set top boxes (such as AppleTV) and mobile devices (not just iPods and iPhones). Some use the less common terms vodcast, vidcast, videocast, or video blog which all tie back to video podcast.

What is subscribing and how do people interact with Podcasting?

Let’s take a step back. First of all the iPod started as a music device and the only way to get music onto the iPod is by using the iTunes client to connect to the iTunes store to buy music. Purchased tracks are downloaded in the background and automatically synchronized when the user connects the iPod to the computer. The tracks are then ready to be listened to on the iPod. These tracks also remain on the computer, so the user can listen to them there as well. From here they can be easily burned to CD. Many people never buy an iPod, but use the iTunes client to purchase and download music, then listen on their computer or burn to CD.

Downloading podcasts is very similar to the process above. Instead of buying podcasts (podcasts are free by definition) users search for podcasts of interest and subscribe to them by clicking the
"subscribe" button in iTunes. The first episode is downloaded with an option to download the rest of the episodes. Subsequent episodes are automatically downloaded when they become available. In this way, the iTunes client is the most ubiquitous “podcatcher.” People can listen on their computer, or if they have an iPod, new episodes can be automatically synchronized (pushed from the computer to the iPod) for on-the-go listening. Conversely, some users don’t have the iTunes client at all (or an iPod) but listen just by clicking on the mp3 link of the podcast’s landing page. Users have listened to audio this way on Macs and PCs since the early 1990s.

As stated above, you can listen just by clicking on the audio file from a web page, but many users don’t like downloading files off of web sites because of virus fears. Podcast listeners can overcome this placing the podcast in a flash player, which runs as a widget on the webpage and doesn’t download the file (it actually does in the background, but it is a much safer way of doing it). Most of the animated websites and media players on the web are flash based. Flash is interoperable and ubiquitous enough to cover 95% of market for Mac and PC. No other multimedia solution works as well.

Some companies develop media specifically for their website and place in flash players, leaving out the podcasting component. The solution is called online audio and online video. In addition to audio and video podcasting, both online audio and online video are core offerings of MobileCast Media.

Can you record audio podcasts over the phone?

Yes, we can, but relying too much on phone recordings (or skype) makes for low production standards which make the production boring for your audience because the production glitches are irritating. It's already hard to hold an audience so phone recordings should only be used in a pinch.

Many companies are unaware of how quality affects their image and they use phone recordings. Other companies are more media savvy, they maintain quality and brand consistency and chose not to use phone recordings or any low quality footage. Regional news channels use phone recordings, but only when they can’t get a reporter to record live. Network news outlets go to extraordinary expense to get live, high quality recordings from remote locations world-wide. There is no excuse for the host of a program to be recording their voice over the phone.

MobileCast Media has a network of stringers in most major cities that can record your guests via “tape synch.” This is a high quality but inexpensive solution where the host and guest talk over the phone, but they are recorded on both sides with good equipment and later synched up, making it sound like they are both in the studio.

Can’t I create my own podcast or video podcast? 

If it is for your personal hobby then the average person can usually figure out how to do it; however, if it is for commercial purposes, the average person usually won’t have the skill or the time to create a program that is of sufficient quality to make a good impression with a customer or prospect. For example, if you're not a webmaster, would you try to create a corporate website on your own?  There's nothing to stop you, but if you want it to be presentable to your customers, you'll need the proper expertise.

The big complaint by podcast listeners is that the content is poorly designed and the audio quality is low.  It is very difficult to design and produce an effective program unless you understand the market, the medium, techniques and the technology. 

What value does MobileCast Media offer?

The value we offer at MobileCast Media is:

• Knowledge of the market and how to reach consumers with these media
• Deep domain expertise in RSS, an XML based standard for syndicating content over the web
• Mobile recording facilities for highest quality audio and/or video capture
• Legal expertise and processes in place for contracting content rights
• Talent search
• Distribution, hosting, RSS syndication, and promotion
• Quality assurance. We test your media on the major devices such as iPod, iPhone, AppleTV, iTunes client on PC and Apple, and on the web site (if online video).

We've thought about podcasting our corporate training. Does everybody need to buy an iPod to listen to podcasts?

This is the big myth – an iPod is not required. Users can listen at their computer (PC or Mac) or listen with a mobile device. We have found that people don’t like to sit at their computer at the end of the day to listen to a training session, but they do like to listen to a podcast during commute or while they perform other tasks. 

What’s the ideal length of a podcast?

Audio podcasts can be from 30 seconds to over an hour, depending on the audience and the message. There is a lot of debate about this and there is no one right answer. If the content is good, you can go for an hour. One minute is a popular length and iTunes even made a special showcase for audio podcasts in the one minute category. MobileCast Media had one of our podcasts featured on the iTunes homepage in this category. News radio stations commonly play one minute segments on financial news, health, science, etc. Some lectures go for an hour, and this is also a good length for the lecture format.

Video podcasting is a slightly different story. If you’re going to incur the expense to make a video, making very short doesn’t necessarily save money. Also, the viewer sought you out, so you’re not interrupting them with a 30 second spot. You have enough time to make your point. There are no rules, but we find that 5 to 10 minutes is a good length for video podcasts. You can go longer, but it frequently costs a lot of money to do the research to create a one our program that is going to hold people's interest. PBS makes a number of discovery programs that are repurposed as video podcasts and these start at $1M for a finished hour long show.

File size is something to consider when making a long program, but don’t let that stop you. We have gone up to 45 minutes when showing full length interviews, and employ some special compression tactics to keep the file size down. It is common for a 45 minute program on iTunes to be 500 MB in size and viewers are accustomed to this.