Comments on: Zune doesn’t support podcasting…or does it?

By: Streaker

Streaker — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 00:39:15 +0000

@ Kevin…

I know this blog post is about a year old, but I wanted to say thanks, anyway. I couldn’t figure out how to get the Zune to resume the file I was playing after it had been paused and left to sit for several hours. That is, until I read your first reply to Nate.

This blog post was the second result when I did a Google search for ‘zune remember where paused’. I suppose that means something. :)
http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&q=zune+remember+where+paused&btnG=Google+Search

By: daedae

daedae — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 13:44:37 +0000

I think the way I’m going to start doing podcasts on my Zune is just to tell the Zune software to monitor my iTunes podcast directory. (I only turn on iTunes to update my podcasts once a week or so anyway, and only start the Zune software when I’m planning on changing/adding files.) But the hard drive organization shouldn’t really matter in terms of playback, as long as the podcast creators set the file tags in a reasonable manner.

By: HSquared

HSquared — Tue, 10 Apr 2007 06:32:32 +0000

But…can you have folders within folders? Or subfolders? So, we can have all of one podcast in one subfolder, and all of another in a different subfolder.

By: Heng-Cheong Leong

Heng-Cheong Leong — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:28:49 +0000

You can’t delete podcasts directly in the iPod either. iTunes in the Mac/PC, however, does have a global preference that one can select to automatically delete all podcasts that have been played, so that one don’t have to do this manually. The other options in this preference item are not to delete, or to only keep the latest or the last 2/3/4/5/10 episodes.

By: John in Norway

John in Norway — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 10:28:21 +0000

Kevin, he certainly doesn’t listen to me!

By: Kevin C. Tofel

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 09:19:49 +0000

Nate, it’s all about the discussion, so for that, I say “thanks!”. :) We’ve learned some interesting things in this discussion, first and foremost that “podcast support” means different things to different folks. I simply wanted to clear the slightly muddy waters so that an ill-informed consumer didn’t say “The Zune looks nice, but I heard you can’t listen to podcasts on it because they’re not supported”. Feel free to replace “Zune” with any other DAP as well….

Based on some of the other great comments and questions, it’s safe to say that the Zune doesn’t provide as positive a podcasting experience than the iPod currently does. Some of the iPods features that Heng-Cheong Leong points out are sadly not supported on the Zune in the current firmware and software. Could that change? Sure, but we’re not guaranteed that.

Gorkon, I completely missed that our MobileTechRoundup show notes are visible on an iPod! These days I do most of my podcast listening on the Samsung Q1 UMPC….thanks for the tip.

John, I don’t see a way to remove a podcast file from the Zune without removing it from the Zune software on a host PC. I might have missed it, so I’ll keep looking but I think we’re out of luck on that for now. One question for you: when you’re walking the dog and listening to podcasts, what does the dog listen to? ;)

Great discussion everyone!

By: John in Norway

John in Norway — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 04:46:39 +0000

I have a question.
I listen to podcasts while I’m out walking the dog. Because I have such a bad memory, as soon as I’ve heard the podcast I delete it from the mobile device. This is fine if I use my pocket PC (Toshiba e800) but I’ve yet to find an MP3 player that allows this. Is there such a one? All the ones I’ve seen here need a PC.

By: Nate Green

Nate Green — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 02:09:51 +0000

Well…it seems that I set off quite a discussion.

Kevin, I apologize for implying that you were not familiar with Podcasts or Podcasting. I am not a regular reader of your blog, nor do I consume any of your podcasts. I found this post (if I remember correctly) linked off of Techmeme and as I do consume audio podcasts daily, I thought I would put in my two cents culled from my experience as a user. “Irrational lust” was harsh and probably inaccurate, but neither am I an iFanboy.

iPods are what most of us are accustomed to, and I don’t think it is out of line to question, when someone is trying to replace our iPods with their devices, whether we are losing functionality. That is why the online community, blogosphere, whatever, has been so negative about the lack of built-in podcasting support in this first Zune. Clearly it was not a technical hurdle and there is obviously nothing keeping the Zune team from implementing it later on or in a new model, but for those of us who love podcasts, it is of primary importance.

Heng-Cheong Leong does a much better job of listing the characteristics I was thinking of than I did. I was specifically thinking of and I use all the time his items 1(keep position), 2(sync position to PC), and 3(skip in shuffle). The podcast directory and the smart playlists are nice, but would not have been deal breakers.

This is not just about show notes. The experience that podcasting fans have become accustomed to at this point has evolved beyond “throw the MP3 on the player.” Podcasts are a unique type of content and specific attention to those unique qualities is what this side of the isle is thinking of in terms of “supporting podcasts.”

By: gorkon

gorkon — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 01:35:21 +0000

While the show note feature is nice on the iPod, it’s not needed to say it supports podcasting. Oh and Kevin…..one podcast you do has that….that’s MoTR! :D It just grabs the text part of the blog post and stores it on the iPod. When you press your center button 3 times when listening you can see the show notes. On the otherhand, I would expect Microsoft to totally bypass podcasting in the Zune software since they are most definitely in the money pocket of big media.

Second, the Zune has WiFi and it’s totally USELESS. If Microsoft was SMART they’d have:

A browser in the Zune. (for authenticating on T-Mobile)
Podcatching BUILT IN….the ZUNE downloads the podcasts itself!

If it had that now, I would buy one. As it is, Microsoft dropped the ball big time. If it just have 2 features, plus MAYBE the show note feature you could use this as a portable podcast listening AND catching device.

By: Mel Buckpitt

Mel Buckpitt — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 23:05:53 +0000

So if I have learned anything from this thread it is that if a MP3 device cannot display the shownotes it does not support Podcasting. Which is the same as saying if it cannot display album art it doesnt support portable music. Sounds daft to me!!

As far as I know all MP3 devices have some form of resume from where you left off function; my 2year old iRiver does.

Is there any portable hardware or software available that integrates the mp3 file and the show notes? I don’t but you could probably could do it with a web browser with an embedded media player running on a UMPC.