MP3 Podcasting - MP3 Players With Video Playback

MP3 players are everywhere these days and it would seem that nearly everybody is listening to their own personal play lists while going about their normal daily life.

Now that everybody has transferred their collection of CD's across to their MP3 player, the time has come to start over but this time in the form of MP3 player video.

In fact, video is already here with many MP3 players having video capability. The next new generation of portable devices are built around video storage and playback.

The Apple iPod is one of the leaders of the MP3 - video hybrids, although there are a number of other MP3 players that are designed for video. Due to the popularity of the iPod together with it's market share, it is seen as the leader in the video field. The fifth generation iPod is fully integrated with video and video content can be purchased from the iTunes Music Store.

Just as with audio, video content is accessible for download from numerous sources. The big distinction, of course, is the size of most video files. Even though video can be compressed (similar to MP3 or WMA) the file size of a 90 minute film can be in the area of 700 MB. That effectively means that video playback is only suited to MP3 players with hard drives rather than flash memory players.

Video content is not just about feature films as TV shows, cartoons and home videos are all suitable for watching on MP3 players. There is also a certain type of video practically designed for portable audio players called Podcasts.

MP3 Podcasting

Podcasts can be either audio or video - they are similar to radio or TV broadcasts except that they are available for watching or listening anytime. You can subscribe to Podcasts so that they are automatically downloaded to your computer when a new one is produced. From the computer the podcast can then be transferred to your MP3 player for listening or viewing.

Podcasts are frequently amateur productions with a wide range of subject matter. Users of Apple iTunes can browse through Podcasts to pick which ones to subscribe to, and they are automatically transferred to the iPod when it is connected to the computer.

Even though the name 'Podcasting' is a hybrid of 'iPod' and 'broadcasting, Podcasts can be viewed on any MP3 player that supports video and of course audio Podcasts can be heard on more or less any MP3 player. The 'broadcasting' part of Podcasting is really the wrong analogy as Podcasts are archived rather than being streamed in real-time .

Adding video capabilities to MP3 players seems like a great idea, but imagine for a moment how you are going to use it. If you use your MP3 player while driving the car, for instance, how useful can video be. Similarly, if you own a portable audio player for jogging, you cannot watch videos and run at the same time.

Obviously, if you spend a lot of your time commuting on buses or trains, a video player could be a great way to pass the time. Just bear in mind that video takes a lot more battery power than audio, so you will need to recharge your batteries more frequently. Frequent recharges also means shorter battery life, so using your MP3 player for video playback will be more costly than audio.