I'm happy to announce that frankramblings.tk is now frankramblings.com! This is actually my first .com domain and I'm really excited about it. I've been building websites (of varying quality) since about 1998 or 1999 and I always wanted a .com, but I could never afford it. But now thanks to GoDaddy.com, it's really affordable and completely worth it. I even got a promo code to make it amazingly inexpensive. So the .tk domain will still redirect here, but let's face it, .com is just cooler! I expect to be making some changes around here and start updating more often, so stay tuned.
Enhanced AAC Podcasts in Windows?
Yes, it is possible. Not easy by any means, but possible. I've tested it myself and it works. Enhanced AAC is becoming increasingly popular among podcasters because it allows for a more interactive audio/visual experience. AAC allows for chapter divisions and changing artwork throughout the course of the podcast. This is especially useful for podcasts about TV and film because the host can include screen shots to accompany their commentary.
AAC has always been an option for Mac users only. Until now, the only way to create Enhanced AAC podcasts was by using Apple's GarageBand, which has no Windows equivalent. After lots of Googling, I ran across a little command line application called SlideShow Assembler. SSA makes it possible, if a bit confusing, to create Enhanced AAC podcasts in Windows. The principle is this: there is a text file (with the file extension .pod) that you edit in Notepad or another plain text editor. You type in the location of the audio you wish to use for your podcast, the desired name of the output file, the timestamps where you would like chapter breaks, and the locations of the images you would like to accompany those chapters. Once the .pod file is edited to your satisfaction, you simply drag and drop it onto the SSA.exe file (or a shortcut to it), and your Enhanced AAC file (it'll have a file extension of .m4a) will be generated automatically.
It sounds easy enough, but the hardest part is editing that .pod file. Not fun. It takes forever. Granted, it gets easier as you get used to it, but it's still very time consuming. There is a GUI Beta release available, but it doesn't allow for chapters or changing artwork. It pretty much defeats the purpose. It just lets you apply static cover art to an AAC file, a function that iTunes already has covered. So the only option is to do it manually. When you download SSA, there is an included PDF file with instructions, but it is written in a horribly confusing way that assumes you already know how the program works. I had to figure it out for myself, using the PDF manual for occasional assistance to verify that I was on the right track. Once I had it figured out, the pieces fell into place and the ouctome was great. The two gripes I have with the results are relatively minor ones. First, you have to create a separate chapter for each individual image. I regularly listen to podcasts that have multiple changing images within a single chapter. This might not be a big concern for some, but it could prove to be a pretty big inconvenience for others. If, for example, you want to discuss an episode of TV and include changing screen captures, each screen cap would need to be its own chapter. This means a lot of post-production work for the podcaster. My other minor concern is about links. You can embed a hyperlink in each image, but the problem SSA poses is that once you move on to the next chapter, the link from the previous chapter lingers. There might be a solution that I'm missing, but it seems like once you insert a link, it stays there for the rest of the podcast. The easy solution is to avoid links all together and just include the address to which you want to refer your listeners in the images you use.
So that's it. AAC in Windows is possible, but tricky. I recommend you give it a shot. If enough people use it, maybe they'll improve it or come out with a better GUI. I really want someone, be it Apple or some random college student, to come out with Windows software that functions similarly to GarageBand. A Windows version of GarageBand would be great, but that seems almost impossible at this point. If someone could build a small, simple piece of software for the sole purpose of drag-and-drop Enhanced AAC podcast creation, I'd be more than happy, and I'd even pay for it if the price was right. But for now, SSA is pretty darn good!
AAC has always been an option for Mac users only. Until now, the only way to create Enhanced AAC podcasts was by using Apple's GarageBand, which has no Windows equivalent. After lots of Googling, I ran across a little command line application called SlideShow Assembler. SSA makes it possible, if a bit confusing, to create Enhanced AAC podcasts in Windows. The principle is this: there is a text file (with the file extension .pod) that you edit in Notepad or another plain text editor. You type in the location of the audio you wish to use for your podcast, the desired name of the output file, the timestamps where you would like chapter breaks, and the locations of the images you would like to accompany those chapters. Once the .pod file is edited to your satisfaction, you simply drag and drop it onto the SSA.exe file (or a shortcut to it), and your Enhanced AAC file (it'll have a file extension of .m4a) will be generated automatically.
It sounds easy enough, but the hardest part is editing that .pod file. Not fun. It takes forever. Granted, it gets easier as you get used to it, but it's still very time consuming. There is a GUI Beta release available, but it doesn't allow for chapters or changing artwork. It pretty much defeats the purpose. It just lets you apply static cover art to an AAC file, a function that iTunes already has covered. So the only option is to do it manually. When you download SSA, there is an included PDF file with instructions, but it is written in a horribly confusing way that assumes you already know how the program works. I had to figure it out for myself, using the PDF manual for occasional assistance to verify that I was on the right track. Once I had it figured out, the pieces fell into place and the ouctome was great. The two gripes I have with the results are relatively minor ones. First, you have to create a separate chapter for each individual image. I regularly listen to podcasts that have multiple changing images within a single chapter. This might not be a big concern for some, but it could prove to be a pretty big inconvenience for others. If, for example, you want to discuss an episode of TV and include changing screen captures, each screen cap would need to be its own chapter. This means a lot of post-production work for the podcaster. My other minor concern is about links. You can embed a hyperlink in each image, but the problem SSA poses is that once you move on to the next chapter, the link from the previous chapter lingers. There might be a solution that I'm missing, but it seems like once you insert a link, it stays there for the rest of the podcast. The easy solution is to avoid links all together and just include the address to which you want to refer your listeners in the images you use.
So that's it. AAC in Windows is possible, but tricky. I recommend you give it a shot. If enough people use it, maybe they'll improve it or come out with a better GUI. I really want someone, be it Apple or some random college student, to come out with Windows software that functions similarly to GarageBand. A Windows version of GarageBand would be great, but that seems almost impossible at this point. If someone could build a small, simple piece of software for the sole purpose of drag-and-drop Enhanced AAC podcast creation, I'd be more than happy, and I'd even pay for it if the price was right. But for now, SSA is pretty darn good!
Best. Promo. EVER!
You have to watch this. You don't have a choice. Period.
Announcing Echo Alert: A Dollhouse Podcast!
So apparently not even two podcasts are enough for me. My addiction for podcasting and my interest in a particular new TV show brought me to the realization that it was time to start a third show. My friend Andrew and I have teamed up to bring you Echo Alert, a podcast devoted to Dollhouse, Joss Whedon's new FOX series starring Eliza Dushku and Tahmoh Penikett. Dollhouse looks like such a promising new show that Andrew and I know we'll love it. Each week, we'll discuss the show at length, giving you a recap of the most recent episode and providing our own commentary while speculating on what twists and turns the show may take in the future. At the very end of each episode, there will be a spoilers discussion. Don't worry, there will be plenty of warning before we start talking spoilers. So please, if you have any interest in Dollhouse, or even if you just want to find out what the show is all about, download our Episode 0 Part 1 entitled "Activated." It's a Dollhouse joke. You'll get it eventually.Echo Alert Website
Download Episode 0 Part 1 "Activated"
Echo Alert on iTunes
Echo Alert RSS Feed
Podcasts Own My Life
Wow. I have been -- to put it in my friend Andrew's words -- " a podcasting fiend" lately. Seriously. My name is Frank and I'm a castaholic. Listening to them, recording them, I just can't get enough. It's an exciting medium that I think has amazing potential.
For two and a half years now, I've run Frank's Music Free-For-All. About three weeks ago, I teamed up with my friends Tim, Ky, and Faith to create the Obiter Dictum podcast, a TV fan commentary show. And most recently, the aforementioned Andrew and I have started Echo Alert, a podcast devoted to the upcoming Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku series Dollhouse.
Today, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Entertainment Overload podcast and the Geekland podcast at the gracious invitation of my Twitter friend Willie. Entertainment Overload is a podcast reviewing TV, movies, video games and other entertainment. We had a great time talking about this week's TV and movie highlights. Smallville, LOST, Scrubs, and Taken were among the many topics discussed. Check out the guys and listen.
Then, on Geekland, we talked comics. I really had a blast with this one, since comics have been a new passion for me. We covered Superman, Final Crisis, Spider-Man, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Trinity, and whole host of other titles and trade paperbacks that we all read in the past week. If you like comics, please listen to Geekland. I started listening a couple of weeks ago and I honestly think the guys have a great show here.
So that's what I've been up to lately. There should be a new ODTV and FMF out this week, and a new Echo Alert after next weekend. February 6-8 I will be at New York Comic Con with my friends Andrew, Tim, and Vin. It should be a good time. During and after the convention, I'll blog my reactions to the panels and other goings-on. We plan to attend the DC Comics panels as well as a few others, including the Dollhouse panel where show creator Joss Whedon and star Tahmoh Penikett will screen the first act of the show's first episode. So that should give us plenty to discuss on Echo Alert. See you in the podcastverse!
For two and a half years now, I've run Frank's Music Free-For-All. About three weeks ago, I teamed up with my friends Tim, Ky, and Faith to create the Obiter Dictum podcast, a TV fan commentary show. And most recently, the aforementioned Andrew and I have started Echo Alert, a podcast devoted to the upcoming Joss Whedon and Eliza Dushku series Dollhouse.
Today, I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Entertainment Overload podcast and the Geekland podcast at the gracious invitation of my Twitter friend Willie. Entertainment Overload is a podcast reviewing TV, movies, video games and other entertainment. We had a great time talking about this week's TV and movie highlights. Smallville, LOST, Scrubs, and Taken were among the many topics discussed. Check out the guys and listen.
Then, on Geekland, we talked comics. I really had a blast with this one, since comics have been a new passion for me. We covered Superman, Final Crisis, Spider-Man, Green Arrow/Black Canary, Trinity, and whole host of other titles and trade paperbacks that we all read in the past week. If you like comics, please listen to Geekland. I started listening a couple of weeks ago and I honestly think the guys have a great show here.
So that's what I've been up to lately. There should be a new ODTV and FMF out this week, and a new Echo Alert after next weekend. February 6-8 I will be at New York Comic Con with my friends Andrew, Tim, and Vin. It should be a good time. During and after the convention, I'll blog my reactions to the panels and other goings-on. We plan to attend the DC Comics panels as well as a few others, including the Dollhouse panel where show creator Joss Whedon and star Tahmoh Penikett will screen the first act of the show's first episode. So that should give us plenty to discuss on Echo Alert. See you in the podcastverse!
DiggNation and Felicia Day on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon"
So by now, you probably know that this March, Jay Leno will move to primetime, Conan O'Brien will take over The Tonight Show, and Jimmy Fallon will take over Late Night. But what you may not know is that in preparation for his return to TV, Jimmy Fallon has been keeping a video blog with 5 minute entries posted nightly at 12:35 AM ET, the time at which Late Night airs. The best way to follow the show is to subscribe via Hulu and have it added to your queue. I usually let each week's episodes pile up and then watch them all over the weekend.
This week began with a bang as Jimmy practiced his interviewing skills on celebrity guests. Monday night, he welcomed Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht of the popular web show DiggNation to Late Night for a great chat about new technology and communications. Tuesday night, Jimmy hung out with the lovely Felicia Day of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and The Guild for a hilarious little chat about World of Warcraft and online gaming. Watch the clips below!
Alex & Kevin from DiggNation:
Felicia Day:
This week began with a bang as Jimmy practiced his interviewing skills on celebrity guests. Monday night, he welcomed Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht of the popular web show DiggNation to Late Night for a great chat about new technology and communications. Tuesday night, Jimmy hung out with the lovely Felicia Day of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog and The Guild for a hilarious little chat about World of Warcraft and online gaming. Watch the clips below!
Alex & Kevin from DiggNation:
Felicia Day: