[solved] podcasting support

[drsceifers]

we are using CMSms for our CMS and are trying to decide the best way to  support podcating, both audio & video. I started working with the News module, which apparently suuports RSS feeds out of the box.

Then today, I found the PodcastManager Module. Has anyone used these modules to support blogging, podcasting & vidcasting? If so, which is the best to support these needs:

1) I need multiple podcast suport, we already have about 4 shows we are working to get out (audio). Each would have it's own page.
2) I must have RSS support for itunes, etc so that I control the feed, but can distribute it elsewhere.
3) I need to simplify the upload to its most basic point. I am competing against people who use wordpress exclusively.
4) it would be nice to have the possibility of supporting a different site (url, maybe different look) using the same cms db. We want the shows to have pages available from our menu, e.g. www.abc.com/index.php?page=HowdyBob or they could go to www.HowdyBob.com ( I realize I might have to use a subdirectory to make this work).

I am just trying to see how far people have pushed CMCms in these areas. It seems like it should be able to handle it, but I am still pretty new at it.

I am a developer, so if I need to modify modules or write PHP I could, it just is more effective to use what is there.

Don

[drsceifers]

Is anyone using CMS MS for podcasting?

Which of these modules are you using? Or perhaps another?

Don

[docomo]

Hi Don,

I have been delevoping the PodcastManager module, and I have also used to to generate podcasts. Sorry i missed your post until now, I often scan the forums for 'Podcast Manager' but not normally 'podcast' by itself.

To answer your questions:

1) I need multiple podcast suport, we already have about 4 shows we are working to get out (audio). Each would have it's own page.
The module can be used to support multiple podcasts (seperate rss feeds). Files in the module can be added to groups (groups can be analogous to shows or albums).

-In your scenario you could create a channel for each of the shows e.g. show1, show2, ...
-Groups need to be created to add files too. Groups can be created such as 'Talks', 'Music' etc. Groups can then be assigned to channels.
-Create a cmsms page template, that supports rss output. e.g. called 'Podcast Page'.
-Create a template in the PodcastManager module that outputs xml output. e.g. called 'howdybob_podcast_output'.
-Create a cmsms page for each of the show podcasts, using the cmsms page template (that supports rss output) you created. In the content block this page will need to call the PodcastManager module
{cms_module module='podcastmanager' groups='show1' template='howdybob_podcast_output'}

2) I must have RSS support for itunes, etc so that I control the feed, but can distribute it elsewhere.
- A link can be provided on one of your content pages with a link to the podcast content page you created using the 'itpc' prefix (e.g. itpc://www.howdybob.com/index.php?page=show1.html). Note - the itpc prefix is recognised by the itunes service, and prompts the user to subcribe to the podcast in itunes.

3) I need to simplify the upload to its most basic point. I am competing against people who use wordpress exclusively.
- PodcastManager allows people to upload/add files into groups. It supports multiple uploads (up to 4 at a rime).

4) it would be nice to have the possibility of supporting a different site (url, maybe different look) using the same cms db. We want the shows to have pages available from our menu, e.g. www.abc.com/index.php?page=HowdyBob or they could go to www.HowdyBob.com ( I realize I might have to use a subdirectory to make this work).
- Podcasts created in one site instance, can be reference from a different site. The url can be pasted into the seperate site. CMSMS doesn't support to the best of my knowledge, 2 sites using one db.

I realise the first time you go to set this up it's quite complex. This is because the module is supposed to be quite flexible, and support alot of different scenarios. also, the help file for the module hopefully should assist you. I will try and provide some more detailed info soon. Let me know if you need more assistance.

Michael

[docomo]

Hi Don,

Here is some more detail about the Podcast Manager module:

- Creating a cmsms page template, that supports rss output (e.g. 'Podcast Page') should look somthing like:

Code: Select all

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<rss xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" version="2.0">

{content}

</rss>

- When you create a page based on this template the 'content' block should contain a call to the podcast manager module, e.g.:

Code: Select all

{cms_module module='podcastmanager' groups='show1' displayfiles='true' template='allfiles_podcast'}

- The sample template 'allfiles_podcast' loaded when the module is installed, is a good e.g. how to structure a module template for podcast/rss output:

Code: Select all

{* Example of how this template can be called using the module:
{cms_module module="podcastmanager" channels="Music" displayfiles="true" 
sortdesc="true" sortfield="published_date" template="allfiles_podcast"}
*}

<channel>
		{assign var=name value=''} 
		{assign var=author value=''}
		{assign var=description value=''}
		{assign var=summary value=''}
		{assign var=comment value=''}
                {assign var=subtitle value=''}
		{assign var=category value=''}
                {assign var=link value=''}
	
		{foreach from=$channels item=achannel}
		{if ($name == '')}
			{assign var=name value=$achannel->name|escape:'html'} 
			{assign var=author value=$achannel->author|escape:'html'}
			{assign var=description value=$achannel->description|escape:'html'}
			{assign var=summary value=$achannel->summary|escape:'html'}
			{assign var=comment value=$achannel->comment|escape:'html'}
                        {assign var=subtitle value=$achannel->subtitle|escape:'html'}
                        {assign var=category value=$achannel->categoryname|escape:'html'}
                        {assign var=link value=$achannel->link|escape:'html'}
		{else} 
                        
		{/if}
		{/foreach}

        <title>{$name}</title>
        <link>{$link}</link>

        <language>en-us</language>
        <copyright>℗ & © 2008 </copyright>
        <itunes:subtitle>{$subtitle}</itunes:subtitle>
        <itunes:author>{$author}</itunes:author>
        <itunes:summary>{$summary}</itunes:summary>
        <description>{$description}</description>
        <itunes:owner>
            <itunes:name></itunes:name>
            <itunes:email></itunes:email>
        </itunes:owner>
        <itunes:image href="www.link.com" />
        <itunes:category>{$category}</itunes:category>

	{foreach from=$files item=afile}
		<item>
			<title>{$afile->title|escape:'html'}</title>
			<description>{$afile->description|escape:'html'}</description>
			<channel></channel>
			<itunes:author>{$afile->author|escape:'html'}, LVAC</itunes:author>
			<itunes:subtitle></itunes:subtitle>
			<itunes:summary>{$afile->description|escape:'html'}</itunes:summary>
			<enclosure url="{$afile->file|escape:'html'}"
		               length="{$afile->size}" type="audio/mpeg" />
		    <guid>{$afile->file|escape:'html'}</guid>
			<pubDate>{$afile->published_date|date_format:"%a, %d %b %H:%M:%S"|escape:'html'}</pubDate>
			<itunes:duration>{$afile->duration|escape:'html'}</itunes:duration>
		    <itunes:keywords>{$afile->description|escape:'html'}</itunes:keywords>
		</item>
	{/foreach}

</channel>

Regards

Michael

[drsceifers]

Thanks Michael,
That is exactly what I was looking for!

I will let you know how it works for me!

Don