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How do I get podcasts that are on the Manager Tools page to my ipod?

I get the itune manager tool podcasts automatically downloaded but there are older podcast that I found on the 'Manager Tools' page that I want.

Thanks,

wendii's picture
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You can find the answer here: http://www.manager-tools.com/forums-638

Wendii

jrumple's picture
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This is a bit off the original question, but knowing that there are days worth of previous episodes out there, I wanted to share something that has really simplified podcast management from iTunes to my iPod: Smart Playlists.

This is also a great way to get the most of a less expensive or older iPod which has less storage space. In iTunes there is a Podcast tab for your iPod that will let you select options like the 3 most recently added unplayed episodes. However this is a global setting and I may want more Manager Tools than Tekzilla. Smart Playlists give you many more options, which also adds a level of complexity. In iTunes 9.0 uncheck this option at the top of the Podcasts tab and scroll down to the bottom where you can select specific playlists of podcasts.

Start with the tutorial available from Apple: http://www.apple.com/itunes/tutorials/#playlists-smartplaylists. They give a much better introduction. You'll find the option to create a Smart Playlist under the File menu in both Mac and Windows versions of iTunes.

Now consider setting up the following Smart Playlist rules named Early Manager Tools:

  • Match all of the following rules:
  • Album contains Manager Tools
  • Kind contains audio
  • Play Count is 0
  • Limit to 500 MB selected by least recently added

Now in the Music tabof iTunes 8 or Podcasts tab of iTunes 9.0 for your iPod. Place a check next to the Early Manager Tools playlist for synchronization with your iPod.

Okay if you have iTunes set to sync each time you plug in your iPod, it will automatically remove the episodes that you've listened to from your iPod and replace them with the next set of unlistened to episodes. This also limits the playlist to only audio episodes so you can play them in your car and don't have to look at the screen for the video episodes. Play around with the "Limit to" settings next to that check box. You may find that you'll be able to sync your iPod before you can get through 200 MB of unplayed episodes. You may want to work from latest episodes to oldest episodes, so you select by most recently added.

I just noticed in the comments of the link Wendii posted there were some questions about combining downloads from the regular feed, the Basics feed, and the Members-Only feed. Using this Smart Playlist all of those podcasts contain "Manager Tools" in the Album attribute, so they will all get combined into this playlist.

Most people get an iPod to listen to music and then find that they have a larger music library than space on their iPod. For music playlists I use something like the following set of rules:

  • Match all of the following rules:
  • Podcast is false
  • Rating is greater than 3 stars
  • Last Played is not in the last 3 weeks
  • Genre does not contain Spoken
  • Limit to 500 MB selected by random

This creates a block of songs that I've rated either four stars (I would turn up the volume if this song came on randomly) or five stars (I would search through the library to find this song). The blocks are only 500 MB so I still have plenty of room for other types of content, like Manager Tools. With the Last Played rule in there as soon as I listen to a song, it gets taken off the iPod and a song I haven't heard in a while replaces it. This creates a rotating mix of my favorite songs without overplaying any particular song.

I use my computer as the primary way of recharging the battery for my iPod, which means as long as I have enough fresh content to last me between battery charges, I'm set. Each day when I get home, I plug in the iPod and then change clothes and eat dinner. When I'm done with that iTunes is done moving old content off and putting fresh content on, hands free. You can also plug in your iPod when you wake up in the morning and by the time you finish getting ready, the iPod is set with the latest fresh content.

Start with these two example Smart Playlists and then tweak them to your liking.

One note, if you want video specific playlists, you need to know more about the Kind attribute. There are four values for this: audio, PDF, video, and movie. Without going into the set theory on this set up two rules: Kind does not contain audio and Kind does not contain PDF. This will get you either movies or videos.

Jack
Colorado

mauzenne's picture
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Jack,

Based on this response and your others, you're now the official Manager Tools podcast subscription go-to guy.  Congratulations!  ;-)

Seriously though, thanks for the help here on the forums!

Best Regards,
Mike

jrumple's picture
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The recent release of iTunes 9.0 has changed some of the Smart Playlist functions. This started as a failure post, but after a 20 minute discussion with the Apple Support team, I have some answers. It turns out things aren't necessarily broken, just different.

I started a thread in the forums with what I've learned so others can add what they have learned as well: http://www.manager-tools.com/forums-4296

Jack
Colorado