How to Upload Lecture Videos as Podcasts on iTunes

Since the end of 2017, we started uploading our lectures to iTunes Podcasts instead of iTunes U

Creating a podcast for a new course

  1. Download needed tools: Put 'Copy Podcast Enclosure URL' Service in your computer's /Library/Services/, and download Feeder 3.
  2. Create a course folder in afp://oliver.informatik.rwth-aachen.de/WebServer/Lectures/. The naming convention for the course folder: DIS1/2017_18_ws/.
    • This folder will eventually contain (a) all lecture videos, (b) podcast artwork, (c) podcast RSS Feed (xml file).
  3. Copy lecture videos to the course folder.
  4. Create podcast artwork: Edit the course's logo to have the following specs: size 1400*1400 - 3000*3000px in RGB color space (sanity check). The naming convention of the course logo: dis1_17.png. Store the logo in the course folder.
  5. Create a podcast RSS Feed: Open Feeder app.
    1. Choose 'Apple Podcast' and fill the details. All fields are mandatory (example).
    1. For 'Artwork', go to the course logo, select it, right click on it, select 'Copy Podcast Enclosure URL'. Now in Feeder app, right click on 'Drag Artwork Here' > 'Open From URL', and paste the course logo url there.
    1. For 'File Name', set it to, e.g., dis1_2017.
    1. Click 'Create'.
    1. For each video,
      1. select 'New Item',
      1. enter video 'Title',
      1. enter video 'Enclosure URL': Go to the video file in the course folder, select it, right click on it, select 'Copy Podcast Enclosure URL', paste in 'Enclosure URL',
      1. click on 'Fetch Attributes From File...', and select the video file in lecture videos (the app will calculate its size),
      1. (other fields in this dialog are optional), close the dialog and select 'Save'.
    1. Copy the RSS Feed file from Application Support/Feeder 3/Feeds to the course folder.
  6. Validate and Submit RSS Feed: Go to Podcast Site Manager (milton credentials). Select 'Podcasts', then the + sign to add your RSS Feed URL, e.g., http://hci.rwth-aachen.de/public/Lectures/dis1/2017_18_ws/dis1_2017.xml.
    • If the URL fails to validate, read the error message. Refer to Nur if you need.
    • Once the URL is validated, you should see the newly added podcast at the end of the page, with a red star indicating it has been submitted, but yet not published.
  7. Publish: In Podcast Site Manager, go to 'Publish' tab, and click 'Publish'.


Uploading new lecture videos

  • Repeat step 5.5 for each new video. Then do 5.6. New videos should appear directly in the RSS Feed (xml file) and after ~1 day in iTunes.


Naming Convention

Lecture videos folder: DIS1/2017_18_ws/
Artwork: dis1_17.png
RSS Feed: dis1_2017.xml

Example RSS Feed

Blue highlights the header. Red highlights a new item, a video.

Contact: Nur Hamdan

FileDescriptionFile sizeDownloadsLast modified
Download this file (Copy Podcast Enclosure URL.workflow.zip)Copy Podcast Enclosure URL.workflow.zip 46 kB1462017-12-05 01:36
Download this file (Screen Shot 20171128 at 11.28.36.png.png)Screen Shot 20171128 at 11.28.36.png.png 257 kB2642017-12-05 01:07
Download this file (Screen Shot 20171128 at 11.31.15.png.png)Screen Shot 20171128 at 11.31.15.png.png 34 kB2632017-12-05 00:57
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