managing podcasts in itunes 5.0

[axis42]

OK. Maybe I am missing something really basic here, but there seems to be a complete disconnect between how I want Itunes to handle podcasts and how it actually does.

First, never mind the fact that it is totally dumb that you have to drag each podcast from the podcast smart playlist into your libarary to be able to find it anywhere but in that mess of a playlist. That took me a while to figure out and makes no sense... I mean, why would I want 10 different shows all in one playlist? Of COURSE I want to organize each show into it's own list.

So ok, I dragged each show into the library and then made smart playlists for each one so that whenever, say, The Bitterest Pill had a new show, it would get downloaded automatically and there it would be on my Ipod in a playlist called Bitterest Pill.

But now I find that although I have it set to delete each episode after I have listened to it, it does not remove each episode from my library and thus not from my seperate playlists, only from the "Podcast" playlist.

Is it me or is this completely dumb? I am willing to admit that I am being completely dumb and doing something wrong here to keep this from happening. Please, someone tell me that is the case and that I don't have to actually remember which shows I heard today and then search for each one through my library and delete each one by hand (because doing it in the Podcast smart list doesn't take care of this problem).

Thanks!
Charlie
p.s. for the record, I'm on XP and running Itunes 5.0

[cpjolicoeur]

Actually, I find iTunes 5.0 to be better for managing podcasts than iTunes 4.9. In 5.0 you now CAN manage podcasts with smart playlists without dragging them to the library, in 4.9 you couldn't. This was the first thing I checked when 5.0 came out. I have a smart playlist for the genre of "Podcast" and now any podcast downloaded with iTunes automatically shows up in that smart playlist. So I dont know why you are having troubles with the smart playlists and still have to drag each file to the library. It works fine for me on OS X Tiger 10.4

As far as not deleting after you listen, I kind of have the same thought. I have mine set to only keep "All Unplayed Episodes." I assumed that after I had played a show it would be deleted for me on the next sync but I guess not. Maybe It will only remove it if a newer files from that show has been downloaded? I don't know.

[axis42]

I have a smart playlist for the genre of "Podcast" and now any podcast downloaded with iTunes automatically shows up in that smart playlist.

So this means that you have a list in your libarary that is all of your podcasts smushed together in one list (ie: not broken up into seperate shows)?

Anyone have a way of making smart lists withOUT having to drag each podcast subscription from the pre-formed "Podcast" list (the one you click on to subscribe to shows) of individual shows?

Also, anyone have any clue how to make Itunes delete episodes from your library (NOT the preformed Podcast list) after they've been listened to? Because, I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems to be that if the show is subscribed to, but not put into your library, then it never gets transferred to your Ipod. Which is dumb.

Again, hoping I'm wrong and doing something stupid,
charlie

[podcastshuffle]

First, never mind the fact that it is totally dumb that you have to drag each podcast from the podcast smart playlist into your libarary to be able to find it anywhere but in that mess of a playlist.
Huh? First, you can't drag anything into a SMART playlist. You have to setup criteria. This is the criteria I use for a "new podcasts" smart list.

Podcast = "is true"
Play Count = "is less than 1"

This gives me all the new podcasts I haven't listened to. I have another that just the same as the first but it doesn't ahve the second 'less than one' play count so if I want to easily go back to a podcast I've listened to I can.

That took me a while to figure out and makes no sense... I mean, why would I want 10 different shows all in one playlist? Of COURSE I want to organize each show into it's own list.

Interesting. Did you use iPodder lemon before? This was one of the things I hated about iPodder lemon, but its a handy feature if you did like that - although it only created regular playlists. I don't know of any way to do this other then what you described.

But now I find that although I have it set to delete each episode after I have listened to it, it does not remove each episode from my library and thus not from my seperate playlists, only from the "Podcast" playlist.

Add a second criteria to your per show Smart Play list that is Play Count = "is less than 1" - shows you've listened to will fall off once you reach the end of the audio track.

Also, anyone have any clue how to make Itunes delete episodes from your library (NOT the preformed Podcast list) after they've been listened to? Because, I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems to be that if the show is subscribed to, but not put into your library, then it never gets transferred to your Ipod. Which is dumb.

In preferences you can tell iTunes how many episodes to keep (e.g. all, one, two, etc.). You could set it to Keep "All Unplayed Epsiodes" then once you listen they would be gone.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

[Craig]

It sounds like iTunes didn't upgrade properly (other people have had problems upgrading as well). You should still have a special "Podcasts" playlist in iTunes that lists each subscribed podcast separately...not all "smushed together." iTunes 5 has added the ability, as cpjolicoeur points out, to include podcasts in smart lists by specifying "Podcast" as the genre or by using the new "Podcast" criteria, which can be set to true or false. (In other words, you can create a smart lists that only includes songs that are not podcasts by specifying that "Podcast" is "false".)

In 4.9, if you set iTunes to keep "All Unplayed Episodes" it considered any podcast you had listened to even for a few seconds to by played. This now appears to be fixed; podcasts are only removed with this option after you have played them all the way through. They are removed the next time the podcast is updated (not the next iPod sync), which is controlled through the podcast settings (you can access these with the Settings button at the bottom of the podcast subscriptions page). You can also force an update at any time by right-clicking (Ctrl-Click on the Mac) on the podcast in the suscriptions page and selecting "Updated Podcast" from the context menu. On my system the podcasts are removed completely from my hard drive. (I'm using iTunes 5.0 on XP and OS 10.4 and this applies to both.)

Because of the bug in 4.9 where you couldn't rely on the "All Unplayed Episodes" option, and because I still use iPodderX for most of my subscriptions, I also have a smart playlist for "Genre" "is" "Podcast" and "Play Count" "is not" "0". This keeps track of all podcasts I've listened to and I can then easily select them and delete them as a group, which only works on the Mac unfortunately...you can delete tracks from your hard drive from within any playlist by selecting the tracks and then pressing Option-Delete. You'll be prompted for confirmation first.

Something else to bear in mind is that you can sort the contents of any playlist (smart playlists included) by clicking on a column title. This may not seem like a big deal until you discover that the resulting order is what ends up on your iPod. This means that if you want your podcast smart playlist sorted by podcast, for example. just click on the Album column title (assuming the podcasters have set the ID3 tags properly). If you want it sorted so the newest podcast is first just click on the Date Added column title (you may need to click twice to get the right order). If you want to sort by something that doesn't have a column, right-click on the title bar and click on the name of the column you want to add.

Apple hasn't fixed everything with this release; if you want to listen to more than one subscribed podcast in a row you still have to create a custom playlist. At least now you can though! They also haven't fixed the bug they introduced into the iPod firmware with the last release that disabled live updates of smart playlists on the iPod.

For a good overview of iTunes 5.0's new features check this out:

http://www.ipodgarage.com/article.php?id=331

Craig

[audiocollective]

For some reason iTunes 5 is not adding the podcasts downloaded by ipodder.

[mpeacock]

For some reason iTunes 5 is not adding the podcasts downloaded by ipodder.

I'm having this same problem. If you look under the Log tab, it looks like Apple has changed its API again, and so breaking the iTunes/iPodder interface. There's a bug report filed on iPodder's SourceForge page, but there's nothing posted on the main iPodder web site and I can't find anything via Google. I'll give it a couple of more days and then move all my subscriptions over to iTunes.

Regards,

[podcastshuffle]

Heard on DSC code that Curry had the upgrade missing podcast problem too. He mentioned that he reimported his itunes library and it seemed to work out fine. I looked in my library directory and noticed that I had a back up of my library from when I upgraded. I didn't back it up so I'm guessing the iTunes installer did. Maybe if you have that file try importing it and see what happens.

Jeff

[frankmcma]

My suggestion is to upgrade iTunes AND your iPod with the latest iPod software. I also recommend then reseting (erasing) your ipod and starting with the new itunes and ipod software. I recently did this and it seems the ipod software has been improving how it lists and handles podcasts. Keep in mind you may have a version of the ipod OS that was put out before there was even itunes support.

Before I upgraded the ipod OS, podcasts were all jumbled into one big playlist. Now after, they are all listed in their own show playlist.