more on video podcasts

I decided to do a new posting on video podcasts instead of just updating the old one because video podcasts have become a lot more popular in the last year.

Not surprisingly, there are a lot of technology related video podcasts.

• A number of Tech TV alums can be found on programs from Revision 3. One of my favorites is Tekzilla. It features a half hour program once a week answering questions, reviewing hardware, software and demos. There are also daily quick tips.
  
• Cranky Geeks - features discussions of tech news.
• Lab Rats - my favorite Canadian geek duo. Plus, Andy has a couple of cute cats - Biff and Boo.

More general interest

• Montana Fish Wildlife and Parks Video Library - you can watch these as streaming videos from the FWP website or you can subscribe via iTunes.
  
• Rick Steves' Europe Video
• NASA produces a number of audio and video podcasts
• PBS has a lot of video of its programs available from its website. In some cases, you can watch streaming video. There are also audio and video podcasts available of some shows.
• Link TV offers video podcasts of some of its programs including Mosaic - news from the middle east.
  
• KNHC Vodcasts - produced by Nathan Hale high school students in Seattle. Nathan Hale was my neighborhood high school. If they can do it, why can't your students?

If you browse iTunes, in particular, you'll find a lot of video content produced by National Geographic, Discovery channel, etc. Sometimes these are shorts or promos for tv programs but they're well produced and appropriate for children and adults.

A couple of things to be cautious about RE: video podcasts. There's still the issue of formats. Cranky Geeks offers the following choice of formats: H.264, iPod/PSP, MPEG4, Windows Media, iTunes 320x240, iTunes 640x480. These are generally only going to make a difference if you're planning to use a media player to watch. You'll also find Quicktime formats on occasion. Those require Apple's Quicktime software. Just be sure that you match the format with your player(s).

I'd also be a bit cautious about video podcast directories. One that I looked at showed the top searches as all adult-related. While that's not surprising, these may not be the programs you want to highlight for library use.