iTunes Podcast FAQ’s

Our new podcast graphic

Now that we have begun adding archives of our old shows, the cue in iTunes®  is filling up.  This could mean that, depending on your own personal iTunes® settings, you could get just one or 181 new podcasts downloaded in a single session!  We’re providing some tips on this page in case you are confused or experiencing problems.

One of the most important things you should know is that the link to subscribe to all of our podcasts (old and new) will be changing in the next few weeks. If you are a current subscriber, you will need to search iTunes® for “The Satellite Sisters,” where two results will show up. The podcast that you want to subscribe to is listed under “Comedy” is labeled as “Clean” and has the image you see to the left.

For those of you who want to use the actual link to search for the podcast or subscribe through your browser, it is: http://satellitesisters.libsyn.com/rss.

There have been a lot of updates to iTunes® lately. They are currently on version 10. If you haven’t updated to the latest version, we strongly urge you to do so as things have changed slightly.

• Your first line of defense if you’re having trouble subscribing to or downloading from our new podcast location,  is to go to Apple’s FAQ page at Apple.com by clicking this link.
• Second, we’ve pulled some salient points from Apple’s iTunes® overview page that should also prove quite helpful and posted them below.
• Finally, if you are still having problems subscribing to or downloading our podcast, you can always email a specific question to us at sisters@satellitesisters.com and we’ll get you an answer as quickly as possible.

The following are ©Apple Inc. and can be found at:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/

Playing Podcasts
Listen up.

iTunes provides you with flexible options for enjoying your podcasts. For instant gratification, you can stream podcasts directly in the iTunes Store by double-clicking on an episode. Or you may choose to download an episode to enjoy on any of your Apple platforms simply by clicking on the “Free” button associated with that episode. Like what you hear and want more? Then subscribe to the podcast by clicking on the “Subscribe Free” button and automatically download future episodes.

Save it for later.

If you can’t finish a podcast in one sitting, never fear. You can always pause playback in either iTunes or on your iPod, iPhone, iPad or Apple TV and resume playback later from the point you left off. Listen to the first half of a podcast on your way to work, and on your way home, pick up right where you left it.

By default, podcast files are set so that iTunes and all Apple hardware platforms will remember playback position. You can turn the feature off by clicking on a podcast file, choosing “Get Info” from the contextual menu, and unchecking “Remember Playback Position.” You can even turn the same option on for non-podcast files, letting you resume playback on any track in your library.

Trouble? Shoot.

iTunes podcast error message

When iTunes encounters a problem downloading a podcast episode, it displays a small “Exclamation Point” icon to the left of the episode title. Click on the point to reveal more detail about the error. Generally, such errors are related to the feed set up by the podcaster. In many cases, the episode will be available again in about a day.

Play it again (and again).

Once an episode is finished downloading, a blue dot appears to the left of the podcast, indicating that there is a new episode that has yet to be played. As soon as you begin to play the episode, the blue turns into a half circle, indicating partial playback of the episode. After completion of the episode, the blue dot disappears completely. Through iTunes, you can customize the settings on your Apple hardware to keep or remove podcasts once they have been played.

Managing Podcast Subscriptions
Get smart playlists.

When a podcast finishes playing, iTunes does not play the next podcast episode in your Source List by default. To keep a steady stream of episodes playing, consider creating a podcast playlist. By creating a smart playlist, you can even customize playback based on artists, genre, episode length etc. For example, you might create a smart playlist for news podcast episodes longer than 40 minutes.

To build an all-podcast smart playlist, Choose “New Smart Playlist” from the file menu. To include only podcast episodes you haven’t yet listened to, choose “Plays” from the first drop-down menu, “is” from the second, and enter 0. Add additional filters to further refine your smart playlist.

Keep podcasts forever (or just for a day).

It’s easy to tell iTunes how long to keep podcasts in your library. When browsing the podcasts you’ve downloaded, you’ll see a Settings button at the bottom of the jukebox window. Click it, and iTunes will open your Podcast Settings window. See the “Episodes to keep:” drop-down menu? It lets you decide exactly how long to keep podcasts, helping you keep your library neat and tidy.

Expand or collapse.

Once you subscribe to a podcast, iTunes checks for new episodes at regular intervals. In time, the list of available episodes could grow out of control. To hide or reveal all available episodes, click on the display triangle for that podcast. You can also hide or reveal all of your podcasts at once by pressing cmd+] or by holding down the command key and clicking on one of the display triangles.

Links to share.

When you find a podcast you love, you may want to share it with others. Luckily, iTunes makes sharing easy! You can send an email with the link directly through iTunes by clicking on the triangle to the right of the Subscribe Free button and selecting Tell a Friend (requires an iTunes login). Or, select Copy Link and paste the link into a chat, blog or website of your choosing! Use the same process to get links for podcast episodes as well (except, use the triangle to the right of the Free button for the episode).

Love social media? iTunes allows you to share your favorite podcasts via Facebook and Twitter. Simply follow the same process above, but select Share on Facebook or Share on Twitter.

Or, if you already subscribe to a podcast you want to share, simply drag it from your podcast’s source to your desktop. That creates a standalone .pcast file that you can email to friends as an attachment. If they have iTunes, clicking on the .pcast file will automatically subscribe them to the podcast, and iTunes will immediately begin to download the most recent episode.