Adding a Logo to an MP3 Podcast

If you're at all serious about podcasting, you're going to want a logo. Adding a logo gives your podcast that extra bit of polish and recognition. And after you have a logo, you should embed it in every podcast you produce. However, it takes a few additional steps. Embedding images in MP3 files is a relatively recent phenomenon.

The original MP3 file specification did not include a way to attach metadata, such as the title, author, or copyright information. It wasn't until 1996 and the introduction of ID3 tags that metadata could be included in MP3 files. The original ID3 specification was fairly simple, including fields for title, album, year, genre, and comment. Over the years, the ID3 specification has grown to include much more, such as the track number on a CD, the composer, lyrics, and most important to this discussion, an embedded image, designed to contain album cover art. You can use this ability to embed a logo into your podcasts.

To add a logo to your podcast, you have to use an ID3 tag editor. Many are available, as a quick Internet search will reveal. As luck would have it, you probably already have one installed: iTunes. All you have to do is import your MP3-encoded podcast into iTunes and edit the ID3 tags via the Info window:

1. Open iTunes, and import your podcast by choosing Import from the File menu.

2. Find your podcast. If you're in library mode, you can sort by Date Added. This brings your podcast to the top of the list if you're in descending order.

3. Highlight your podcast, and choose Get Info from the File menu. This opens the Info window.

   Note

   If you're not seeing the Artwork tab, then your podcast isn't yet in a format that supports embedded artwork, for example an unencoded WAV file. This is why it's a twostep process: First encode your file to MP3, and then open it and add your logo.

4. Click the Artwork tab, and then click the Add button to browse for your logo graphic.

5. Select your logo graphic, and click the Open button. You should see your graphic displayed in the Info window. Your graphic can be in BMP, GIF, JPG, or PNG format and any size up to 300×300 pixels. You should make sure that it looks good at different resolutions, because it will be displayed at different sizes on different players. iTunes provides a handy slider bar that lets you preview what your logo looks like at various resolutions. If it doesn't look good when it is scaled, you should consider revising it until it does.

   Caution

   The 300 × 300 image size is not a strict limitation. However, using a larger resolution is not recommended because it may not be supported on portable media players, and it adds unnecessary payload to your podcast file.

6. Click the OK button to save your changes.

Your logo is now embedded in your MP3 file and will be displayed in iTunes, Windows Media Player, and on portable media player screens that display graphics.

Exporting MP3 audio from Audacity | Step by Step

Exporting MP3 files from Audacity is simple, if somewhat limited. You have to set your desired bit rate in the Preferences window before you export, because you aren't given an option to adjust settings when you export. Here's how to set your preferred bit rate:

1. Open Audacity, and open your podcast audio file.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Preferences, as shown in Figure 1. This opens the Audacity Preferences window.


Figure 1: Use this dialog box to configure Audacity's MP3 export settings.

3. Click the File Formats tab.

4. Select your desired bit rate from the bit rate drop-down menu in the MP3 Export Setup section.

5. Click OK.

After you set your bit rate in the Preferences window, choose the Export as MP3 option from the File menu. That's all there is to it. Audacity doesn't offer the ability to do mono MP3 encoding or VBR-based encoding. As long as you don't want to do anything fancy, Audacity is a perfectly good encoding option.

Step-by-Step Encoding Examples | Podcast

Now it's time to actually encode some files. This section demonstrates audio and video encoding using stand-alone encoders, editing platforms, and even iTunes. If your editing application isn't demonstrated, don't worry: It probably works much the same way. Let's start with iTunes, which really isn't an encoder, but it can do the job.

Tip You should always archive the high-quality version of your file so that you can re-edit or re-encode it later.

Encoding MP3 audio using iTunes
iTunes automatically encodes all imported audio. When you insert a CD and iTunes offers to import it, the audio bits are pulled straight off the CD and encoded into whatever format has been specified. The default setting is to encode using AAC. However, iTunes will also convert music in MP3 if you prefer, and will convert any file into an MP3 file. All you have to do is import the file into iTunes, and then convert it to MP3.

Setting MP3 encoding defaults
To use iTunes as an MP3 encoder, you have to set the default encoding to MP3. Follow these steps to set iTunes to import using the MP3 codec:

1. Open iTunes, and open the Preferences window by choosing Preferences from the iTunes menu (the Edit menu on a PC). You also can open this window using the keyboard shortcut Command+, (Ctrl+, on a PC).

2. Click the Advanced icon/tab, and select the Importing tab.

3. Select MP3 encoder from the Import Using drop-down menu.

4. Select your bit rate from the Setting menu. By default, the lowest setting offered is 128 kbps stereo. For most podcasts, this is a perfectly fine setting. If, however, you want to economize on your bit rate, you can adjust the settings by selecting Custom from the Setting drop-down menu.

5. Select a bit rate from the Stereo Bit Rate drop-down menu.

6. You can select a sample rate or leave this set to Auto. If your podcast ends up sounding a little crunchy or distorted, you can try lowering the sample rate to get better fidelity.

7. If you want a mono podcast, select Mono from the Channels drop-down menu.

Note If you select Mono encoding, the bit rate will be half of what you specified in the Stereo Bit Rate drop-down menu.

8. Click OK to close the Custom Settings menu, and then click OK to close the Preferences window. iTunes will now import files using the MP3 settings specified.

Importing and Encoding
To encode using iTunes, you must first import the file, and then convert the imported file. Importing couldn't be simpler:

1. From the File menu, choose Import.

2. Browse to find the file you want to encode, and click Choose (Open on PCs). The file is imported and is listed in your music library.

3. Find the file in your music library. Click it to select it, and then from the Advanced menu, choose Convert to MP3.

That's all there is to it! iTunes encodes it using the settings specified on the Importing tab of the Advanced menu. The iTunes music folder is easy enough to find, but if you want to encode to a specific location, you can change this setting in the General tab of the Advanced settings window.

Caution Be careful when you change your iTunes music folder; otherwise, you'll end up with your music library in two different folders. It's probably a good idea to change the music folder back to the default after you've finished your encoding.

MP3 Encoding Tools

If you're producing an audio podcast, you're probably best producing it in the MP3 format. Although it isn't the best audio codec available, it is by far the most compatible and plays on virtually any computer or portable media device. It may not have all the bells and whistles of other formats, but your audience is far less likely to have technical issues, which means you'll get fewer negative comments on your blog.

Virtually any editing platform you're working on should have built-in MP3 encoding capabilities, but on the off chance that it doesn't, a number of standalone MP3 encoding applications can get the job done; one such application is shown in Figure 1.

iTunes: iTunes isn't really an encoding application, but it converts audio files to mp3 on import if you choose to do so in your preferences.

LAME-based encoders: Despite the ironic origin of the name (Lame Ain't an MP3 Encoder), LAME is an open source MP3 encoding library that is used in almost all free MP3 encoding applications. There are probably hundreds of these available; google "MP3 encoder" and see for yourself.


Figure 1: WinLAME is one of many free MP3 encoders available.

File Formats : MP3, QuickTime, Windows Media, RealMedia, Audible

Knowing about codecs is important, because the codec determines the final quality of the podcast. However, you also have the problem of file formats. The file format dictates how the audio and video information is packaged. Some codecs can fit into a number of different file formats. The problem is that most proprietary systems such as QuickTime, Windows Media, and Real use proprietary file formats to hold the encoded audio and/or video information. File formats are highly guarded trade secrets and the main cause why files are not interoperable between players. However, the file formats also enable the proprietary systems to offer additional functionality. These are the most common file formats you'll encounter:

MP3: MP3 is actually a codec, not a file format. The file format is actually MPEG. (MP3 stands for MPEG II, Layer 3.) MPEG files are almost universally playable and the reason most folks use MP3 to encode and distribute their podcasts.

QuickTime: The QuickTime file format is the earliest multimedia file format and the basis of the MPEG 4 file format. QuickTime files also are almost universally playable, though the codecs inside may not be.

Windows Media: The Microsoft standard, Windows Media obviously plays back on any PC and a large number of portable media devices, but not the iPod.

RealMedia: RealNetworks' file format, this requires the RealPlayer. It is supported on many cell phones.

Audible: The Audible file format was designed specifically for audio books, and consequently supports saved playback position, chapter marks, book marks, and other desirable features. Because it has been around for quite some time, it has lots of support in proprietary players and portable media players.

As mentioned earlier, your choice of codec and file format depend on what audience you're trying to reach and what features you want to use. For most folks, MP3 works well for audio because it plays on virtually every computer system and portable audio player. It doesn't support book marks or chapters, but most podcasts are short enough that they don't require that functionality.

For video, most folks are using QuickTime, again because of the near-universal support and because of the iPod, of course. However, some people are starting to experiment with other formats to see what they can do with the advanced functionalities they offer. Always offer the MP3 and QuickTime versions. If you want to play around with the advanced formats, offer them in addition to your standard podcast versions.