What is PodCasting?

"Podcasting" is a web-based broadcast medium in which media files are made available online thus allowing software to automatically detect and download new files (generally via RSS).

A PodCast is comparable to an audio magazine subscription in that the subscriber receives regular programs that he/she can listen to or view at his/her own leisure.  It can also be considered as the internet equivalent of timeshift-capable digital video recorders (DVRs) such as TiVo, which allows users to automatically record and store television programs for later viewing.  Podcasting most often involves audio files in MP3 format but different formats and other types of files, such as video, can also be PodCasted.

WebPod Studio is capable of handling both audio and video recording, eliminating the need to use separate programs to create PodCasts.  It also has the ability to create and publish PodCasts to designated servers, and create and maintain RSS feeds.

The word "PodCasting" is a merger of the words iPod and broadcasting.  The name "PodCast" is no longer specifically related to the iPod but to any software and hardware combination that permits the downloading and playing of files on any device that is capable of playing modern audio and/or video formats.

This technology enables anyone to start-up their own (internet based) radio or television show, without requiring expensive hardware.  It is now easy to create a show without the exorbitant  costs paid to broadcast companies to air the program and where, more often then not, you end up paying for airtime slots which have very few listeners.  PodCasts are subscription based,  which means that listeners/viewers can select what they want to hear or view.  This system has already proven successful as there are countless popular internet programs that draw in listeners by the tens of thousands plus.

Established standard radio shows are also reaching out with PodCasts of their own.  For example; Coast to Coast AM, a hugely popular late-night talk-show program runs PodCasts as a pre-paid subscription service. Another popular talk-show, Rush Limbaugh, also has a pre-paid subscription service.  The BBC and CBC PodCast some of their popular radio programs as well.