Podcast hosting services are very similar to Web hosting services, but with product offerings geared towards podcasters. You generally get a certain amount of storage space and throughput, and depending on the service, you may get a Web site or a blog, tools to author your RSS feed, and statistics regarding your podcast.
The tools that podcast hosting services offer make them a great bet for folks who are not technically savvy. Also, many of the podcast hosting services are using an interesting model where they charge for the amount of storage you use, but don't charge for throughput. This is an interesting approach and a great deal if your podcast becomes extremely popular. However, as mentioned in the preceding chapter, using a podcast hosting service means giving up some of your ownership, because you won't be able to use your own URL for the site.
However, you could use a hybrid approach where you host your Web site at a Web host and your media file at a podcast hosting service. You'd still have access to the RSS tools, and you could either host the RSS feed from your Web site or point to the RSS feed on the podcast hosting service. It's a little awkward in that you're using two separate services instead of one, but you may be able to get the best of both worlds this way.
| Tip | Another benefit to some hosting services is that they may offer the possibility of advertising or sponsorship to help pay for your podcast. For example, Liberated Syndication is partnered with Kiptronic to offer ad placement and sponsorship opportunities. Granted, you don't have to be a LibSyn user to take advantage of Kiptronic's offering, but if you are, the integration is seamless and taken care of for you. |
Box Populi offers an interesting solution for folks who plan on creating a large number of podcasts. It's a two-part solution that takes care of the production and encoding of podcasts as well as the distribution.
To start off with, they have a product called Podcast In A Box that you use to create your podcasts. Plug a microphone into the 1/8″ mic input, and then plug in the USB key that comes with the system. Recording begins automatically. When you're done, remove the USB key, and your podcast is automatically encoded into MP3 format and uploaded to a Web server.
Box Populi's Podcast In A Box automates podcast production, encoding, and distribution.
Box Populi can host your podcast for you, or if you prefer they sell a rack-mountable media server that is tightly integrated with Podcast In A Box. The server auto-publishes your podcasts to a Web page and enables management through a simple browser-based interface. You can host audio or video files using the media server, and you can create multiple user accounts so many folks can contribute to your podcast. If you decide to start using a CDN, the media server can be configured to automatically upload your podcast media files to your CDN.
The entire system is built on open-source software, and Box Populi will do custom development for you if their tools don't already do exactly what you want them to do. If you're looking for an end-toend podcasting solution, check out Box Populi.
2 comments:
Really this is great information Choosing a good hosting provider is really important for a business online success....hosting service
Podcast hosting is done in order to make the content available for the viewers. Well, Thanks for sharing the information about podcast hosting. I made me get more information about this type of hosting for which I was not much familiar before.
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