A while ago we asked the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation if they had an online OPML directory of their podcasts. They replied they didn't but would make one, and true to their word it has just gone live. You can now browse and subscribe to all CBC podcasts by adding the directory address http://www.cbc.ca/podcasts.opml We will be publishing a more detailed article about this later, but for the moment see our previous article on how to add directories to the S60 Podcasting application (the link also has the URLs for the BBC and NPR podcast directories).
Read on in the full article.
i highly recommend checking out The Hour with george stroumboloupoulos podcasts. he interviews celebs, politicians, activists, authors, you name it he interviews them. i usually dont watch that kind of thing but he does such a great job and has such interesting guests that i watch it several nights per week. i actually watched a live taping here in toronto and he spent an hour after the show was done taping just talking to the audience. he waited until every question was asked before leaving. really nice guy
When I saw the "CBC Television" subdirectory, my heart jumped, but I later realized that it's just the MP3 audio from their TV programs. Sigh.
Has anybody compiled a list of S60-friendly video podcasts? I know of the MSNBC ones (which work flawlessly), and The Phones Show (which on my N82 displays an annoying "video may not be playable on the device" warning, while on the 5800 does not - why?). By "S60-friendly" I mean video podcasts where (a) the episodes can be downloaded on the phone (some video podcasts don't download, staying at 0% for a long time and then giving a "transfer failed" message) and (b) once downloaded, they can be played by the builtin player (some video podcasts cannot be played at all, for some others only the audio portion can be played). And finally - maybe I'm asking for too much - are there any S60-friendly widescreen video podcasts, so to take full advantage of the 5800's screen? Steve, any plans to make a widescreen version of the Phone Show, once the Omnia HD goes on sale in the UK?
There are four video podcasts in the CBC listing.
CBC Radio 1
CBC Radio 3
- R3TV - CBC Radio 3 Video Podcast (m4v)
CBC TV
- The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos Video Podcast (mp4)
- The National: At Issue Video Podcast (mp4)
I've indicated the file extensions. Perhaps you can check those out and let us know if they work
It may seem counterintuitive to list a video podcast under Radio 3 but R3 is the "content unit" which is producing the video.
:icon2:Music fans, be sure to check out all the great content from Radio 2 and Radio 3.
It looks like I spoke too soon - there are indeed 4 video podcasts in the directory - I have egg on my face.
I've tried two episodes of each. For two of these (The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos, R3TV) the video part don't work with the Nokia builtin player (this seems a frustratingly common trend in all the video podcasts I've tried). However the other two (Q TV, The National) work fine. And, to my surprise, Q TV is widescreen (exactly 640x360, so it plays perfectly on the 5800)!!!
The picture quality on the Q TV video is absolutely amazing! Really sharp picture, you can see every detail.