Subscribing to Podcasts

Search for a specific podcast topic

You can find specific podcast topics using the Home page in the Podcast Directory.

1. In the navigation pane, select the Podcasts category in your library.

2. Click the Add a Podcast button.

3. Type a specific search term in the search box, such as "photography." The Podcast Directory presents a list of podcasts containing your search term in the title or description.

4. For more information about a podcast, click either the More Info button or the podcast title. To return to the previous view in your search, click Back in the bar at the top of the Podcast Directory.

5. Click the Subscribe button to subscribe to a podcast. Media Go automatically downloads the latest episode of the podcast.

6. To close the Podcast Directory, click the Close button .

Browse available podcast categories

The Media Go Podcast Directory provides a wealth of available podcasts already categorized for you to browse and subscribe to new content.

1. In the navigation pane, select the Podcasts category in your library.

2. Click the Add a Podcast button.

3. Click Browse Categories in the bar at the top of the Podcast Directory window. The Podcast Directory presents a list of categories to browse.

4. Click a category to view a list of available podcasts.

5. For more information about a podcast, click either the More Info button or the podcast title. To return to the previous view in your search, click Back in the bar at the top of the Podcast Directory.

6. To subscribe to a podcast, click the Subscribe button. When you subscribe to a podcast, Media Go automatically downloads the latest episode of the podcast.

7. To close the Podcast Directory, click the Close button .

Subscribe by URL

You can also subscribe to podcasts using the URL or path of the podcast feed. For example, the URL for the Sony Online Entertainment podcast is http://community.station.sony.com/podcast/SOE_cast_lrg.xml.

1. From the File menu, choose Subscribe to Podcast.

2. Click Subscribe to URL at the top of the dialog.  

3. In the box provided, type or paste the URL or path of the podcast feed to which you want to subscribe.

4. Click the OK button to subscribe. Media Go automatically downloads the latest episode of the podcast.

To locate a downloaded episode on your hard drive, right-click it in the Podcasts pane and choose Explore Containing Folder from the shortcut menu.

When you subscribe to a podcast, Media Go automatically downloads the most recent episode. You can download episodes of the podcast to your Media Go library manually as they are available, or you can have Media Go download episodes automatically as they become available.

At any time during the download process, you can view and change the status of the download from the Downloads pane. Click here for more information.

Downloaded podcast episodes are saved in your default downloaded podcasts folder.

To locate a downloaded episode on your hard drive, right-click it in the Podcasts pane and choose Explore Containing Folder from the shortcut menu.

Once you have downloaded episodes, you can synchronize your library with your device to transfer the episodes.

Downloading episodes automatically

Use the Podcasts tab of the Preferences dialog (accessible from the Tools menu by choosing Preferences) to set up your podcast download preferences. Media Go will check for new episodes the next time you restart Media Go or at the interval you specify and download them to your library.

When items are downloaded, an indicator displays the number of new, unplayed podcasts downloaded in the navigation pane:

Downloading episodes manually

To download episodes manually, select an episode in the Podcasts pane and click the Download button (or double-click the episode). Episodes that you have not downloaded appear grayed out in the list:

Once an episode is downloaded, it appears in black in the list and can be transferred to your device.

An indicator in the navigation pane also shows the number of new, unplayed podcasts downloaded:

You can use ratings to help organize your podcast episodes. Once you have assigned ratings to your episodes, you can search for episodes based on your rating.

1. Select the Podcasts category in the library navigation pane.

2. In the Podcasts pane, double-click a podcast to display the available episodes.

3. Select the episode you want to rate and click the Properties button. The Properties dialog appears.

The Properties button is only available for episodes that have already been downloaded.

4. In the Rating area, click the stars to give the selected episode a rating from one to five stars.
   
   

To clear a rating, simply click the highest star in the rating again.

If your Media Go preferences are not set up to automatically check for new episodes for your subscribed podcasts, you can manually refresh your podcasts at any time. In the Podcasts pane, perform one of the following actions:

• Select the podcast and click the Refresh button at the bottom of the pane.

• Right-click the podcast and choose Refresh from the shortcut menu.

Media Go checks the podcast for new episodes and makes them available for download.

1. In the navigation pane, select the Podcasts category in your library.

2. In the Podcasts pane, double-click a podcast. A list of available episodes for the podcast are displayed.

Episodes that you have downloaded appear in black in the list, while episodes you have not downloaded appear grayed out.

3. Select the episode(s) you want to delete.

Press the Shift key and click to select a range of files. Press the Ctrl key and click to select individual files.

4. Perform one of the following actions:

• From the Edit menu, choose Delete.

• Press the Delete key.
   

5. Click Yes to confirm the deletion of the files from your computer. The episode will still appear in the list of available podcast episodes and can be downloaded again at any time.

You can choose to unsubscribe from a podcast and delete all associated episodes from your library, or you can simply unsubscribe from the podcast and keep your  previously downloaded episodes.

Unsubscribe only

1. In the navigation pane, select the Podcasts category in your library.

2. Right-click the podcast in the Podcasts pane and choose Unsubscribe from the shortcut menu.

Your subscription to the podcast is cancelled, but downloaded episodes remain in your library. To delete individual downloaded episodes, see the heading titled Delete a podcast episode in this topic.

Unsubscribe and delete all episodes

1. In the navigation pane, select the Podcasts category in your library.

2. Right-click the podcast in the Podcasts pane and choose Delete Files from the shortcut menu.

Your subscription to the podcast is cancelled and all downloaded episodes in your library are deleted.