Basic IPod Podcast Troubleshooting
When subscribing and/or listening to a Podcast, one will need to know where and how to get the appropriate media they are looking for. Not everyone who buys an iPod is a wizard with this high tech device. There is the feature that allows you to get Podcasts through the iTunes Music Store. Even then you will have to know what you are looking for and which sections carry what you are willing to subscribe to. Podcasts are basically audio or video shows that come in many episodes so they can be conveniently watched. These shows are downloaded on to the Internet where others can subscribe to them and watch them using their computer or iPods. There are literally thousands of new Podcasts available each day on just about anything you can possibly imagine. You can find weather, music, interviews, sports, commentaries, and information. It will be hard to not find something through Podcasting. You will be able to go into the iTunes Store and download what ever you will like to watch into your computer. Once the media is on your computer you will be able to transfer it into the iPod to be viewed later on the go if you do not want to watch it right then. Here are a few troubleshooting tips to help get you on your way to listening or watching a new Podcast.
You will want to make sure that your iPod is set automatically to sync. You will then want to the iPod to your computer in order to download your new Podcast. You will open the Podcast tab in the iPod preferences section to select which Podcasts you want to sync to your machine. This will be the place that you will have the option to choose what you want verses what you do not want. If you plan to listen to your Podcast using the iPod shuffle or iTunes-enabled phone then you will need to do a few things first. You want to know that the Autofill feature will not add a Podcast to these two domains. They will need to be dragged there individually to the proper playlist. It is also crucial to know that Podcasts that are.m4b or ACC will not play on the iPod shuffle feature when it is placed on shuffle mode. Therefore, if you are finding that some files are not playing when the shuffle feature is on, then that is the most likely reason. If you would like the hear those missing files, then switch the shuffle feature to “Play in Order”.
A great feature of a Podcast is the book-marking feature. This will allow you to listen to your Podcast on your iPod and bookmark where you leave off to pick right up again later. Sometimes, there just is not enough time to listen to the whole Podcast at once. This will come in handy and be much better than having to start all over again. This saves a lot of time and annoyance for most people. Another thing you should be familiar with is how to manage your Podcasts. Look in the Podcast settings window to see what you have stored in your iTunes. You will want to choose which episodes and how many of them you want to actually store in your iTunes. You have the options of all episodes, all unplayed episodes, or a specific number of them to keep. If you sick of the Podcast episodes you have been subscribing to then to make sure you do not download anymore automatically you will just click the Unsubscribe button in your source list. This will keep any new episodes of a Podcast from coming to your iPod.
Many people who have never seen a Podcast have a hard time locating it on their machine. The easiest way to do this is to go into iTunes and click Podcasts. This will be in the source list of your machine. You will then want to go into the Podcast Directory to see what you have in there and make sure all your downloads are available. Knowing how it all works can really help. Read the manual that comes with your iPod to be sure that you have a clue to how it works prior to trying to just fill it with media.