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This is part 2 of the How To Series on Podcasts: Download Podcasts.

In Part 1, we’ve discussed first of all, what are podcasts and how to find podcasts that interest you. In Part 2, we will discuss how to download those interesting podcasts or videocasts onto your computer.

Since we’ve been discussing and focusing the topic based on iTunes, I will continue along with regards to doing this in iTunes.

So, we’ve found the interesting podcast at iTunes, what to do next? Well, you need to download the media file so that you can listen to it or view it at your leisure on your computer. Or, even just view or listen to the podcast within iTunes if you wish.

I have already somewhat discussed how to get a particular file in iTunes already in Part 1, but will go through it again since this post is more focused on downloading the actual media podcast file.

You’re at the screen where it provides more details on the particular podcast such as a brief description, the previous episodes available for downloading, as well as its rating and when each episode was dated or released. (Click on the above thumbnail image to view the full image.) You can download a particular episode to get a feel of the podcast material and format and then later decide to subscribe to it, or you can immediately subscribe to the podcast.

In the image above, I am currently in the CNN In Case you missed it (video) webcast. There are currently 6 available files available for download. You can select any (or all) of the episodes to download. Simply click once on the file to select it (the selection will be highlighted in grey). Then, click on the Get Episode button to the right.

If you wish to subscribe to this podcast, click on the Subscribe button near the top.

Once subscribed, you can view all the podcasts you currently subscribe to in a list simply by clicking on the Podcasts button on the top left, under LIBRARY. In my image, you’ll notice the number 30 beside it. The 30 shows the number of podcasts I have downloaded that I have not yet listened or viewed.

After clicking on the Podcasts button, you will be taken to a page similar to what you see above. This page will list all your podcast subscriptions as well as podcasts you have downloaded but not necessarily subscribed. Those that I am not currently subscribed to, you will notice the Subscribe button on the right. In my screenshot, you will notice it besides the New York Times Video: Latest Video Reports.

The files that are downloaded on my computer are indicated by the checkmarked box. Those that I have not yet listened to or viewed yet are indicated by the blue dot on the left. I was currently listening to a podcast when the screenshot was taking as indicated first, by the iTunes player at the top of the page (NPR: 09-12-2007 Technology) and by the speaker icon you see beside that particular file in the list.

Files that have not yet been downloaded on the computer are indicated by an unchecked box and by the GET button to the right. The ! marks on the left indicate that there was a problem accessing or downloading the file. This can usually be fixed by trying again at a later time.

Currently, I have expanded all podcast subscriptions so the triangle on the left is downward pointing. Normally, when it’s in a collapsed mode, the triangle will be pointing to the right and you will only view the podcast title and not all the available files. This can make it easier to navigate around.

Adding podcasts directly into iTunes

You don’t necessarily have to search for the podcasts in iTunes if you already know the podcast link. Those of us who already subscribe to podcasts via a regular feed reader will likely already have that url. You can simply add that particular podcast/videocast by inputting the url. Here’s how.

Go into the Windows menu of your iTunes program. Tap on the top left hand corner of the program’s window. Select Advanced as you can see in the screenshot above. Then, select the Subscribe to Podcast.

A window will pop up similar to what you see in the screenshot above. Enter the url to the podcast in the blank area and then click on the “Ok” button. Done! You now added a subscription to that podcast in iTunes.

Changing where iTunes files are stored

By default, iTunes sets the downloaded files in the Program Files\iTunes folder. If you are like me and would rather keep them in a different directory or in a different drive altogether, you can change it. Here’s how to do it.

Simply go into the menu (located at top left corner. File, Edit, Controls, View, Store, Advanced, Help.

Select Edit. Then select Preferences at the bottom of the Edit menu.

Click on the Advanced tab (click on the thumbnail image to view the full screenshot image). You should see the default directory where all your iTunes files are stored (iTunes Music folder location). To change it, simply click on the Change button. Then, select the drive and folder/directory you wish to change it to. Click all the Ok buttons you see (likely two) and it’s done! All new podcasts and iTunes files will be saved to your new location. Of course, you will want to move all the old files over or else you’ll have two places where the iTunes files are located to confuse you.

That’s it! You have downloaded your first podcasts via iTunes and can now listen to it either with your favorite media player or within iTunes. Isn’t it easy? Don’t you love podcasts?

Now, suppose you don’t want to download your podcasts via iTunes, there are many podcatcher programs available that you can download and install that will do it as well.

Here are a few links to pages that provide a listing of podcatcher programs available:

Podcasting News

German Wikipedia translated in English

Podcatcher Matrix

The only podcatcher program I have tried is ipodder, which is now named Juice.

If you want a podcatcher feature program for your Palm OS Treo, I’d suggest getting Kinoma Player 4 EX as it will accept rss podcast feeds. Simply enter in the url to the podcast feed and Kinoma will accept it and when you need to listen or view your podcast/videocast, just click on the that podcast link. Again, for more information on Kinoma Player 4 EX, please check out my review here.

You can also use feed reader apps for the Treo that will accept the rss feeds and then launch from the feed reader (keep in mind that the Blazer browser in Treo 650 and others may not be able to launch your media player within the web links). QuickNews from Standalone is great feed reader app for your Treo that many people recommend. I own it myself too more as a regular feed reader rather than a podcatcher (since Kinoma does that job so well) and will likely write a review on this program in the future. You may want to try it out with your PDA or smartphone device and see if you can launch the podcast from Quick News. If you don’t want to spend the money, you may want to try out the freeware Plucker program, although that will require a bit more tweaking and time to set up. You will need to read the manual or documentation to understand how it works or you may get lost.

You can also use your favorite regular newsreader like Bloglines, NewsGator and others to get the feeds for you, and then you can simply download them individually or listen to or view them immediately. But most people will likely want to use a podcatcher or podcast client program so that they can schedule a download of all the podcasts they want at a downtime (ie. just before they wake up in the morning) so that it’s ready to go when they need it. A regular feed reader/aggregator like Bloglines won’t be able to do that.

That concludes part 2 of the How To Series on Podcasts discussing downloading podcasts. In the next and final part, we’ll be discussing how to automate (well, sort of) the transferring of the podcast files from your computer (after they’ve been downloaded) to your portable device so that you can grab it and go.

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