A podcast is a digital media file or files that is available for streaming or download over the Internet. When someone subscribes to a podcast, the digital files can be automatically downloaded to the users computer for their listening convenience or they can stream the files over the Internet. Podcasts can be weekly sermons, non-copyrighted music, Bible studies, and any other type of recorded audio.

First, sign up for Extend streaming media.

Before you can make use of Podcasting, please contact your Extend Sales Representative and purchase Streaming Media & Podcasting. You can also email Extend Sales at extend@acstechnologies.com. Once your account is set up, you will receive email instructions providing the FTP Server information needed to continue.

Second, upload your audio file to the ACS FTP server.

Before you start creating podcasts, you must upload your media file to the ACS FTP server. FTP (file transfer protocol) is the way most people send files to the company that hosts their website. It's an access point between you and Extend. You must do this every time you make an addition or an update. To be able to upload media files to the ACS FTP server, you must have special software installed and point it to the correct server. In the instructions below, we recommend a free program you can use.

To upload your files

Install a program like Filezilla FTP Client. You can download it at http://filezilla-project.org/download.php?type=client.
Start your FTP program.
Enter the path for the Host. Depending on the FTPclient software, the Host varies. The Host for Filezilla is acstechnologies.streamsvr.com. The Host for the FTP software in Windows Explorer is ftp://acstechnologies.streamsvr.com.
Enter your Username and Password. These were e-mailed to you by ACS Technologies.
Note that two directories display once you successfully log into the server: Streaming and Downloads. Podcasting files are housed in the Downloads folder.
To add your media file to the Downloads directory, drag and drop it from the desktop to Downloads.

Organizing Your Files
You can create sub-folders within the folders in the Downloads directory for organization purposes. For example, you can create a folder titled Bible Study, then have sub-folders for Young Adult bible study and Singles bible study.

Third, create a podcast in Extend's Media Manager.

Now that you have uploaded your media file to the Media Streaming Server, you can create your podcast in the Media Manager.

To create a podcast

Point to Site, then click Media Manager.
Under Actions, click Create Podcast.
On the Attributes tab, enter a Title, Description, and Search Keywords for your podcast.
If you want a picture to display with your podcast, click for the image size you want to upload.
Click the Episodes tab.

Attributes Tab

These are fields to associate with your church. An example of Title would be First Baptist Church.

Title	Enter the title of the podcast. This is a required field.
Description	Enter information about the podcast. This is a required field.
Author	The name associated with the user logged in displays in this field. This is a required field.
Author Email Address	The e-mail address associated with the user logged in displays in this field. This is a required field.
Subtitle	Enter an alternate title for the podcast.
Search Keywords	Enter words for search criteria you to associate with the podcast. Separate keywords with commas. Enter as many keywords as you want.
Category	Select a category from the drop-down list.
Small Image	Click to select a small image to display with the podcast. Click to select a small image to display with the podcast. Click to delete the image.
Large Image	Click to select a large image to display with the podcast. Click to delete the image.
Save	Click to save the attribute values.

Fourth, add episodes.

Once you enter the attributes information for your podcast you can add episodes. You select episodes for your podcast from the media files you uploaded to the ACS FTP Server.

To add episodes to your podcast

On the Episodes tab, click .
Enter a Title, and Description for the episode.
In the File Url field, select the media file you want to add to the podcast from the drop-down list. The File Type and File Size (bytes) fields automatically populate.
If necessary, you can enter a Subtitle, Search Keywords, and Duration for the episode.
Click Save.
On the Episodes tab, click Save.

Your podcast file displays in the Media Manager as an XML file.

Episodes Tab

Associate these fields with your podcast episode, a sermon, for instance.

Title	Enter the title of the episode. This is a required field.
Description	Enter information about the episode. This is a required field.
File	Select the specific media file on the ACS FTP server from the drop-down list.
File Url	The URL of the media file on the ACS FTP server automatically displays after you select it in the File field.
File Type	The media file type automatically displays after you select it in the File field.
File Size (bytes)	The media file size automatically displays after you select it in the File field.
Subtitle	Enter a secondary title for the episode.
Search Keywords	Enter descriptive words to associate with the episode for search purposes. Separate keywords with commas. Enter as many keywords as you want.
Duration	Enter the total time of the episode. The format is HH:MM:SS.

To edit an episode

Point to Site, then click Media Manager.
Click the podcast with the episode you want to edit to select it.
Under Actions, click Edit Podcast.
Click the Episodes tab.
Click the episode you want to edit to select it, then click Edit Episode .
Make the necessary changes, then click Save.

To delete an episode

Point to Site, then click Media Manager.
Click the podcast with the episode you want to delete.
Under Actions, click Edit Podcast.
Click the Episodes tab.
Click the episode you want to delete, then click Delete Episode .
Click Save.

Finally, publish your podcast.

Copy the XML file URL for the podcast

To select the podcast, click the XML file.
Under Actions, click View/Edit Properties.
In the Information box, copy the Media Item URL. You need this URL to publish the podcast.

Publish your podcast to iTunes

Log into the iTunes store.
Click Podcast from the iTures store menu.
Scroll down the page until you see Submit a Podcast.
Enter the Media Item URL you copied earlier.
You only need to run this setup once. Each time you update the episodes in Media Manager, your podcasts are updated for you.
iTunes is only used as an example of a podcast distributor. There are others that you can use.

Streaming and Podcasts