Today A couple of old friends approached me asking how to set up a podcast. This is basically what I told them!

Firstly Some software:

Now there are many pieces of software for capturing and editing audio but by far the best open source program out there in my opinion is Audacity which can be downloaded here for free. It has many great functions including some useful audio effects and functions but above all else it is very simple to use. There are many applications out there that it take hours of practice and reading to create the same sort of results as I have seen with this program. Of course it is not as powerful as applications like Adobe Audition 3 so you can expect some limitations but lets face it you are trying to create a pod cast not an audio masterpiece so Adobe Audition 3 would be like swatting a fly with a nuke.

Now for some Hardware:

I have a Logitech Internet Chat Headset which is not a great microphone but serves its purpose for me. Also as it would be slightly boring listening to someone talk to them self I got out an old lapel clip mic that I got a while back with a webcam for my mate.

Now to set the mics up. This next part will depend on what sound card you have so don’t complain if it doesn’t work, you most probably have a different card! My card is made by RealTek and I have the RealTek HD Audio Manager set up.

I need to set the RealTek HD Audio Manager to see both my mics and then I need to set Audacity to receive both mics simultaneously.

As you can see I have three jacks set up to take input. Now two of the jacks are labeled on my PC casing as microphone jacks but the other is a headphone jack. This is were the RealTek HD Audio Manager and the sound card come into their own. It makes no difference which jack you use, they can all be setup to do a number of input/output functions.

I’ll be looking for your comments on your specific sound cards as I know that the card on my laptop does not support this so many older cards may not. If you are unable to do this you are going to need to get a multi audio jack input device or use a couple of USB mics its up to you.

Back to the software:

Now we need go back to Audacity and test out the setup. If it worked the defaults in Audacity are working if not you need to go to edit -> Preferences and then check that Microsoft Sound mapper is selected under Audio I/O.

There you go just hit record and you are away!

Getting it out there:

Now you have an MP3 file that you are happy with you are going to want to get it out there. Its a bit boring if you are the only one that listens to it don’t you think. You mean although we don’t like to admit it we are all a little vain and like to know people are listening to what we have recorded.

I suggest you use wordpress to get your podcast out there. I suggest this becuase there is a very good plugin called podPress which automatically sets up an iTunes RSS feed which is normally the chosen method of delivery for most podcasts. Not only this it also is a great platform for interacting with your listeners and allows you to create a good looking site with no technical expertise.

If you don’t have hosting or a domain I suggest you get an account on one of the free podcasting services which use wordpress with the plugin.

Now we need to get the iTunes RSS setup the plugin makes this very simple giving you a preview of what to expect to see on iTunes.

Take a look through all of the settings and set them to the apropriate values for your feed then just save the changes. Then upload your podcast using wordpress and make sure that the path you used is the one set in the podPress General settings tab and away you go. Give iTunes a few minutes to update and then go check out your podcast!

I hope this has helped. I am looking forward to your comments and questions so get them rolling in.

Thanks

Andrew