Using Podcast-specific Software : Podcast Station

Using Podcast-specific Software
Assume you're using a standard audio-editing program to record and edit your podcast. However, a number of podcast-specific software packages include audio-processing capabilities, along with other capabilities that may be of use to you. This section discusses a few of these solutions. By the time, even more will be available.

Podcast Station
Podcast station, from Audion Laboratories, is based on its VoxPro software, which is a professional broadcasting package designed for recording and editing radio programs. Although it's priced at a fraction of the cost of VoxPro, it still offers a host of features that podcasters will find valuable. The Podcast Station interface is simple and intuitive. A sample screen from Podcast Station is shown in Figure 1.


Figure 1: Podcast Station offers radio station functionality in a single screen.

All your recording and editing takes place on the main screen. A large "button block" contains oneclick buttons for just about every operation you'll need. You can record from any soundcard input directly to the video time line and then insert songs, sound effects, or any pre-recorded files using the cart and deck buttons. After your program is on the time line, you can apply audio effects like EQ and compression.

Podcast Station is a well thought-out product with lots of nice touches. For example, if you rightclick any of the faders (Podcast Station calls them sliders), the fader does a nice quick fade out, for example if you need to cough or you want to quickly fade out from an interview. Right-click the fader again, and it is restored to its previous level.

Another great feature is the ability to undo. This is similar to the undo abilities of other audio-editing programs, but Podcast Station goes one better — you can undo days or weeks later. Podcast Station keeps track of everything you do and stores it in the file along with your audio, so you can undo all the way back to your original if you need to.

Podcast Station also has a nice wizard-driven publishing feature, shown in Figure 2. It automatically generates your XML file, compresses your program to MP3 format, and sends your files up to your Web site. On top of all this, the folks at Audion Labs have a good sense of fun that is reflected in the documentation and tutorials that are provided. This is hard to beat for only $59.


Figure 2: Podcast Station also offers encoding, RSS authoring, and FTP through its wizard-driven publishing interface.