WotC Podcast
- Thread starter Mark CMG
- Start date
Whizbang Dustyboots said:No, it shows that they are. iPods and iTunes dominate the market. (I download via Juice, myself.) For podcasts, MP3s are like the videocassettes sitting in the Blockbuster beside the DVDs -- there for the old folks who haven't yet upgraded to DVD or especially to Netflix.
Anyway, I applaud WotC for getting on the cutting edge of 2005!
I'm going to respectfully disagree. Its more the Sony Beta versus VHS (gods above I'm old). The vast majority of podcasts out there are in the mp3 format (I will qualify this for RPG podcasts since I have no data on ALL podcasts). I'm curious why the m4a format was chosen. I'm not an expert on the different audio formats, but from what I can see, the only difference is that m4a is more DRM friendly. I listened to the mp3 version and then to parts of the m4a...I heard no difference in the audio quality even though the m4a was a larger file...though not by a real significant amount. But don't mind me...I'm one of those nutds running Linux.
I certainly agree on applauding WOTC for getting into the podcast pool. It could be a great tool of communication for them. Especially for us older gamers. I mean, how easy is it to spend an hour reading the WOTC site at work? Not as easy as putting on the head phones and listening to the 'cast!
Regardless of my problem with the format and the ease of downloading mp3's, its a good start to a new podcast. Mike and company should be commended and I look forward to more episodes.
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Cam Banks
Adventurer
I really don't get podcasts. I suppose that since the only thing I listen to on the radio is NPR in the mornings on the way into work, and don't get to listen to music while I'm at work (and rarely do at home), hearing a bunch of guys chat about something in the background from my computer doesn't really curl my toes. That, and I need to turn the sound up if I do, which means all my other applications beep and whistle and make noises constantly.
Cheers,
Cam
Cheers,
Cam
I've actually stopped listening to NPR on the radio, and only listen to NPR podcasts. I originally tried this to avoid the ever annoying fund-raising week, and never went back.
Actually, if I were the local public radio station, I'd be annoyed that NPR releases enough of it's content through podcasts to allow me to skip them entirely.
Actually, if I were the local public radio station, I'd be annoyed that NPR releases enough of it's content through podcasts to allow me to skip them entirely.
Chaldfont
First Post
I listened to this on the way in to work this morning. I'll have to check out those dungeon tiles!
Here are some suggestions:
* Keep it 30-45 minutes at most. That's how long my commute is
* I know you'll want to pimp new WotC products and that's cool, but keep it to a minimum. This podcast was good in that way I think. I wouldn't want much more of that.
* I'd like to hear about cool tricks you guys use in your regular games. You guys are the masters! You play at work! You have access to all the cool D&D toys! So you must do some pretty interesting things with house rules, props, office equipment, etc. Tell us about them.
* Tell us about some cool moments in your office/home games. What made that moment so cool? How can we encourage those moments in our games?
* Tell us about stuff that didn't work. I love to hear stories about player's failed plots, DMs intricate plans ruined by clever players or house rules that sound cool on paper but don't work out in play.
Here are some suggestions:
* Keep it 30-45 minutes at most. That's how long my commute is
* I know you'll want to pimp new WotC products and that's cool, but keep it to a minimum. This podcast was good in that way I think. I wouldn't want much more of that.
* I'd like to hear about cool tricks you guys use in your regular games. You guys are the masters! You play at work! You have access to all the cool D&D toys! So you must do some pretty interesting things with house rules, props, office equipment, etc. Tell us about them.
* Tell us about some cool moments in your office/home games. What made that moment so cool? How can we encourage those moments in our games?
* Tell us about stuff that didn't work. I love to hear stories about player's failed plots, DMs intricate plans ruined by clever players or house rules that sound cool on paper but don't work out in play.
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
Ironically, NPR are one of the pioneers of it.Cam Banks said:
Think of podcasts like TiVo for radio. Listen to what you want to -- even if it's from a station on the other side of the country -- when you want to. I pause and rewind all the time when I'm interrupted at work by, you know, actual work.
NPR listeners who don't check out what KCRW in LA and WNYC in NY and other stations have to offer are really missing out. IMO, KCRW (which plays a lot of music in addition to its talk) is the best radio station in America.
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Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
That's a HUGE controversy within the NPR network. Some stations include the fund-raising stuff in their podcasts. The good news, though, is that podcasts tend to be a lot cheaper than broadcasting, so if the stations shift more and more of their content to the Internet, the fund-raising can be done a lot less often.hexgrid said:
Whizbang Dustyboots
Gnometown Hero
There's probably more Harry Potter podcasts out there than there are RPG podcasts. That's a pretty small sample pool you're going off of there.lrsach01 said:
Again, it's because iTunes is the dominant platform for listening to podcasts, as are iPods. m4a allows bookmarks within a podcast so that someone can skip to just the section they want to hear (which is great for audiobooks, study guides, audio magazines and the like), as well as having a rotating slideshow of images, like a Powerpoint presentation, to accompany the audio. m4a is a much more powerful standard than MP3s.
I was one of those old fogies listening to podcasts before iTunes got on board (and I still find their method of handling podcasts to be somewhat clumsy), but there's no question that podcasts exploded once Apple was on board. A lot of the old time podcasts folded up entirely, since they couldn't take getting 10 times as much traffic (or worse).
I'm not sure if there's a way to run iTunes via Linux, but it's by far the most popular MP3 program on the two OSes that are on the majority of personal computers out there. And just like Microsoft pushing their standards on everyone, Apple's been able to do the same in the podcast universe. Unlike Microsoft's dubious innovations in HTML (the world didn't really need <marquee>), the m4a standard actually offers a lot more than MP3s do, especially if (not coincidentally) one listens to podcasts on an iPod capable of showing the pictures that accompany the audio.
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Whizbang Dustyboots said:There's probably more Harry Potter podcasts out there than there are RPG podcasts. That's a pretty small sample pool you're going off of there.
Aint that the truth!
As for the m4a stuff....that's cool. Were there any pictures associated with the WotC podast? I didn't see them when I listened to the m4a version on my computer. I only got the main graphic. If these extras are going to be the norm, I say go for it. I'm sure there are m4a-to-mp3 conversion tools. If WotC doesn't release an mp3 version, I can rip it. If WotC doesn't take advantage of the capabilities of m4a though, is there a real reason to use it?
As for iTunes via linux....not that I've found. jPodder works fine as a podcatcher. The only thing it doesn't have is a built in "send to player" function. But hey...drag and frop works great.
