[Libuff]

would you guys suggest any particular piece of software that could fetch and play podcasts, I'm currently using my Ipod for this feature, but I'm trying for an all-in-one approach with my 8830...

[stephen72]

I would suggest getting mediamonkey...it doesn't manage videos, but it's a champ for syncing music/podcasts and so on. It will actually work for both your ipod and phone.

[dlgus]

would you guys suggest any particular piece of software that could fetch and play podcasts, I'm currently using my Ipod for this feature, but I'm trying for an all-in-one approach with my 8830...

I just use Itunes.....they download the podcasts to my computer, and I then put them on my Pearl.

[Libuff]

i was hoping to find a phone based solution to download the new file from the RSS feed provided by most podcast sites...

[orle8050]

I am having a time getting Video podcast to work on my 8130.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

[orle8050]

I got it figured out.

Just in case others are having the same trouble.

I used ITunes to subscribed to Video Podcast (in my case CNN rocks!)

Then once downloaded, I used the converter from the Roxio built into my desktop manager. It takes a bit of time but works.

[marwatk]

Hi,

Just in case you were looking for a better solution, I have an app called PodTrapper that allows you to download and listen to podcasts on your blackberry (while keeping bookmarks and such).

You can check it out at http://www.versatilemonkey.com/

-Marcus

[lisavel]

I am having a tough time with ROXIO,
maybe its my PC?

[myt_mouse]

Hi,

Just in case you were looking for a better solution, I have an app called PodTrapper that allows you to download and listen to podcasts on your blackberry (while keeping bookmarks and such).

You can check it out at VersatileMonkey.com - Podtrapper blackberry podcatcher and podcast player

-Marcus

PodTrapper looks very interesting...going to download the trial now...

[mojosingle]

PodTrapper looks very interesting...going to download the trial now...

Please don't forget to give us an update on the results.

[myt_mouse]

Please don't forget to give us an update on the results.

I've been trying all day to add feeds and they just don't want to work. It says it has downloaded but when I click play nothing happens.

I have to tinker with it a bit more...really like how they implemented everything but if it can't do its core functions (well for me at least on my device) it is useless to me.

Will report back when I had some more time with it.

[Kalifornia]

I've been trying all day to add feeds and they just don't want to work. It says it has downloaded but when I click play nothing happens.

I have to tinker with it a bit more...really like how they implemented everything but if it can't do its core functions (well for me at least on my device) it is useless to me.

Will report back when I had some more time with it.

I was able to add podcasts no problem but you do have to make sure you find the right RSS URL to add which can be tricky. As an example:

http://thisweekintech.com/node/feed

works for me so hopefully that will help in your testing.

[myt_mouse]

I was able to add podcasts no problem but you do have to make sure you find the right RSS URL to add which can be tricky. As an example:

TWiT.TV - Netcasts you love from people you trust

works for me so hopefully that will help in your testing.

Funny thing is that was one of the feeds I was trying to download. Will see if that works, thanks.

[myt_mouse]

OK so I tried adding a podcast again and this time it worked!

However it only worked after entering the APN info and then rebooting my device.

Does any body know if this app stores the podcasts on the memory card?

It doesn't seem like it stores it on the device as my file free is still the same.

Very liking this app now that I was able to get it to work. However its going to be a hassle initially trying to find out the correct link to download.

[myt_mouse]

I decided to give up on this product for now.

Don't get me wrong its a great idea but it is almost impossible for me to find the exact url to use to setup a feed.

For most of my podcasts I have tried all the feed options and it still wont download the podcasts properly.

I am going to wait and see if they improve the product in the future and might go back to it then.

For now I am just going to use media sync to sync my podcasts.

[marwatk]

Serves me right to make a post plugging my product and then go on vacation

Let me see if I can answer everything...

The storm UI is.... different I have it on my todo list to make a storm specific build of podtrapper, but I have some base functionality I want to get in there first (the main one being the ability to play and bookmark any file on the device, not just podcasts it has downloaded). So, right now, (from what I hear) the UI on the storm for podtrapper is horrible, so sorry for that one, but it will be fixed eventually, I promise.

The playback issue also appears to be storm specific, I'm working with some users to try to figure that out, it seems to happen sporadically for no good reason (and no error message :/ ).

For over the air downloading, it's largely carrier and BIS/BES specific. Most carriers will allow for unlimited size downloads over WAP (APN settings and such), but most BIS/BES servers limit files to 5mb. (This is why wifi is the primary download mechanism to use). Some carriers block all large downloads, regardless of BES/BIS settings or WAP. For these, hopefully they have wifi (which is always unlimited), but there's another option: desktop downloading. Podtrapper comes with a desktop app that sits in your system tray and acts as a bridge to the internet through your desktop/laptop. This way, whenever your blackberry is tethered, podtrapper has a path to download its files regardless of carrier/device capabilities. It's not a perfect solution, but the only one I've found that will work in all cases. I have another solution to try for OTA, but it won't work for all podcasts.

For getting urls into the device, what I have now isn't really ideal. I'd love to add a podcast browser in the app, but haven't found a good comprehensive source of podcasts to use (If anyone has one, let me know). An additional option I'll be adding is the ability to import the list of podcasts from other podcast software.

Though if you're syncing currently with podcasts already on your desktop, does whatever software you're using to download them allow you to view the urls? I've found that the easiest way to get the urls on the device is to email them to myself from the desktop, the blackberry email viewer automagically highlights them for easy copying and pasting into podtrapper. (And you can paste more than one at a time into the entry screen).

I hope I answered any questions you had, it's definitely a work in progress and I'm always looking for feedback to make it better. Let me know if there are any improvements I can make to make it better for you...

-Marcus
VersatileMonkey.com

[Kalifornia]

I'm becoming a big fan of this application. One question however, does it support video podcasts at all? I thought I saw reference to this but when I tested it, all I heard was the audio portion of the podcast but no picture.

Thanks in advance!

[marwatk]

I'm becoming a big fan of this application. One question however, does it support video podcasts at all? I thought I saw reference to this but when I tested it, all I heard was the audio portion of the podcast but no picture.

Thanks in advance!

It does and it doesn't. It's on my todo list to make this work on as many devices as possible, but right now that seems to be only the Bold and possibly the Storm. It may be possible with other devices, but at the moment that's up in the air. Once I have more of the base functionality solid I'll be working on the video side of things, so it should improve from where it is, I'm just not sure by how much.

-Marcus

[Kalifornia]

Thanks. I have a Bold phone which is where I experienced only the sound and no video. Is that currently within your expectations of what I should be seeing (or not seeing) right now?

Not trying to press for anything, I'd just like to see if I'm doing something wrong and should be expecting video to show up.

Thanks!

[marwatk]

Thanks. I have a Bold phone which is where I experienced only the sound and no video. Is that currently within your expectations of what I should be seeing (or not seeing) right now?

Not trying to press for anything, I'd just like to see if I'm doing something wrong and should be expecting video to show up.

Thanks!

No problem. On the Bold some podcasts will work on some won't. One thing you can try is to try to play it in Podtrapper, pause it, then look for it in the regular media player. Sometimes the regular media player can play it when podtrapper can't. This is the issue I hope to resolve in the future (to figure out why the bb media player can play stuff that podtrapper can't). If bb media player can't play it, then it's likely podtrapper will never be able to either.

Hope this helps,

-Marcus
VersatileMonkey.com

[Kalifornia]

That does, I will check it out. Thanks for the help!

[gage006]

Just installed it and I think i'm in love. This might just make me stop carrying my Zune around.

How often does it check for updates? I'm just wondering, if I plug it in at night (with the download only while charging option enabled) if I will have my new episodes in the morning. If so, i'm sold.

[marwatk]

Just installed it and I think i'm in love. This might just make me stop carrying my Zune around.

How often does it check for updates? I'm just wondering, if I plug it in at night (with the download only while charging option enabled) if I will have my new episodes in the morning. If so, i'm sold.

Hi gage,

It checks for updates every hour or so when it has coverage (ie, if charging if set to only download when charging, if on wifi if set to download on wifi, etc). So if set to download when charging and you charge at night in the morning you should have all of your new episodes...

-Marcus

[gage006]

Works exactly as it should. LOVE IT! I woke up this morning with both of my feeds downloaded and ready to go. Tried to do a video podcast (wmv) and although it downloaded the 200mbs just fine (through the cellular connection even!), the video stuttered like crazy and was completely unwatchable. I'm sure this is more of a Blackberry issue though.

[marwatk]

Works exactly as it should. LOVE IT! I woke up this morning with both of my feeds downloaded and ready to go. Tried to do a video podcast (wmv) and although it downloaded the 200mbs just fine (through the cellular connection even!), the video stuttered like crazy and was completely unwatchable. I'm sure this is more of a Blackberry issue though.

I'm glad you like it, let me know if there are any features you'd like to see added.

On the video side, it is a blackberry issue, there's not much I can do about it unfortunately

-Marcus