We lost three shows due to sub-par audio. We upgraded our mic pre-amp with this beauty from Roland.  Reasonable price, high quality.  We will be using this to redo three complete shows. Hang in there for Season 2 coming soon...

Video podcast (sometimes shortened to vidcast or vodcast) is a term used for the online delivery of video on demand video clip content via Atom or RSS enclosures. The term is an evolution specialized for video, coming from the generally audio-based podcast and referring to the distribution of video where the RSS feed is used as a non-linear TV channel to which consumers can subscribe using a PC, TV, set-top box, media center or mobile multimedia device).

From a web server, a video podcast can be distributed as a file or as a stream. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages. Downloading complete video podcasts in advance gives the user the ability to play the video podcasts offline on, for example, a portable media player. Streaming allows seeking (skipping portions of the file) without downloading the full video podcast, better statistics and lower bandwidth costs for the servers; however, users may have to face pauses in playback caused by slow transfer speeds.

A podcasting client may work with a separate, or integrated player. One such example of the latter is iTunes, which is an unusual case of a web feed aggregator being added to a media player rather than vice versa.

Vodcasting (Video Podcasting) took off in the Netherlands, for several reasons. First, over 60% of the Dutch have broadband Internet of 1 Mbit/s and faster so there's a large potential audience for on-demand video services. Second, vodcasting was pioneered and promoted by Dutch streaming specialists at vodcast.nl. Video blogging was promoted by xolo.tv from Amsterdam.

Following suit in August 2005 with the launch of a Philippine-based infotainment program called HIT.

Channeling of on-demand content has major benefits for both publishers and subscribers. Publishers can still bundle content for their audience. Subscribers can consume content on-demand and don't need keyboard or mouse interfaces to choose channels and items, much similar to zapping through regular TV stations, and new episodes show up automatically, so the technology is ideal for on-the-go (portable media players and mobile phones) and living room mass media consumption (TV), as demonstrated by the pioneers at vodcast.nl. Apple's Front Row media center application is the first to support this technology.

Prosumers are using this technology as well, but for completely different purposes: mainly targeting desktop and offline (iPod/Zune) use, and call their efforts video blogs, vlogs, vlogging and vcasts, which are easily mistaken for but are not the same as Video podcasts.

Source: WikiPedia

We have finished our testing on multiple feeds and they are ready for your consumption! You can subscribe using iTunes with the links in the left navigation, or if you prefer, here are the RSS 2.0 valid feeds:

  Feed for iPod Video Podcasts
  Feed for Audio Podcasts

eBiz VodCast is going to be available from three different RSS feeds very soon.  We are trying to keep the current feed the same as it always has been - video podcasts only.  Right now, we are testing adding a second feed that will syndicate MP3 versions of each episode for those wanting only audio.  The third feed will be a combo Video+MP3 in the same subscription - in case you just can't get enough eBiz.

For the next week or so, you may get an mp3 delivered that seems out of order. No worries - we are testing our system and this may just happen - look at it like a M&M you found in your pocket and enjoy.  We will promote the optional subscriptions as soon as they are ready and working.

Hello eBizzers, just thought we would drop a line and let you know Episode 15 is just around the corner.  Ben was travelling on vacation during August and I am on vacation right now.  Needless to say, we have not been able to put together a show, so we took some time off from the video podcast.

Thank you for all the well wishes and email recently - everyone is wondering where our next show is - we love that.  Just know a new show is on the way to wrap up Season One.

As of Episode #001 (not yet published - still in post production) We (Eric and Ben) are using new lavalier microphones (Sony ECM-C115) - this should improve our ability to capture clean crisp audio on our video podcasts.  We still have to "dial them in", but we are confident they will improve the audio quality.  Though our budget is low, we really do want to produce a quality show that is entertaining and  informative.

Well, in the next few days, we will be posting our first video podcasts on this site. We had a lot of discussion about the name - is it "Video Podcast", "VideoCast, "VidCast" or "VodCast"? It seems that all of these are used by other artists, video podcast being the most conservative. I heard an interview on Inside the Net about PodZinger - a sweet new search that allows you to search audio and video content as if it were text. During that interview Alex Laats, president of BBN Delta, used the phrase VodCast - so we are going with that one.

Keep in mind, we are starting with limited gear that consists of a Sony Digital 8 camera that was found while hiking, and a Radio Shack conference room table microphone. So, the audio and video will get much better as we aquire nicer stuff. We are not producers or writers, just ecommerce web designers with a passion for the industry. Hope you enjoy the show.