About to Take Podcasting to the Next Level!!

I now have a microphone, mixer, headphones and HD webcam on the way from Amazon. I’m planning on doing podcast related recordings on a more regular basis now that I have some better equipment.  Based on my own interest in other people’s podcasts, I can see the potential of audio/video as a means of delivering information.  It’s easier to absorb the information and it frees up people’s eyes/hands to do other things.

Up until now, I was using my computer’s built-in webcam and built-in mic and I didn’t want to create a whole lot of material with such relatively low-quality equipment, so I figured it was time to get something basic, yet much better, to improve the sound/video quality and open the door to possible co-hosts, interviews, etc.

Hopefully I made the right choices. I have no experience with any of this kind of stuff; but I was able to find some good info, such as theaudacitytopodcast.com and some various other reading/research.

I must say, I was a bit shocked at how silent any existing podcasters were about their equipment when I asked, only one person got back to me.  I only asked 4 podcasters; but I figured they’d feel more like helping out an up-and-coming podcaster. Maybe they’re just too busy. I’ll give ’em the benefit of the doubt there.

Maybe one day my podcasting thing will be so popular that I won’t be able to get back to everyone. One can only hope that their creativity is that interesting, their material of high enough quality and their presentation so good, that people will actually want to listen to it on a regular basis.

Anyways, I’m going to use the following equipment, if I can get it all to work.  Otherwise I’d have to send certain things back if they don’t work out.  We’ll just have to wait and see.

• Behringer Xenyx X1024USB 12-input 2/2-bus Mixer with Xenyx Mic Preamps and Compressors British Eqs, 24-bit Multi-fx Processor, Usb/audio Interface
• MXL V87 Low-Noise Condenser Microphone
• Harman AKG K 77 Binaural Headphone
• Logitech HD Pro Webcam C910
• Samson SAMD5 MD5 Desktop Mic Stand
• Planet Waves Custom Series XLR Microphone Cable, 10 feet

I’m excited about having these new possibilities.  It’s been ages since I put any resources into my computer setup, so I think its about time and I think there are loads of possibilities I can venture into now.

Here are my first thoughts on what I may end up doing.  If you have any feedback, I’d love to hear it.

• Use this MyStrangeMind.com site for any solo podcasts, with no co-hosts; but have a dedicated section of the site, possibly not just a category, for podcasts only.  This part of the site would be streamlined for podcasts and it would give you access to the mp3 and the video (if available) of any podcasts you want to see.  I’d do whatever needs to be done to allow people to pull in the podcasts via feeds, for services like iTunes and others too.
• Use one of my other domains, that I’ve had for some time, OpenMindSpace.org, for podcasts with co-hosts and possibly even for some solo podcasts under certain specific categories, possibly even with guest hosts where possible.
• Use my new Vimeo Plus account to host the video version of all of the podcasts.  For only $5 per month I am able to upload up to 5 GB of video, so I think that will be more than enough to handle all of my content.  I like the idea that I am paying for it, so they are a service provider and I am a customer, unlike sites that utilize advertisements alone.
• I also want to do some cleanup and redesign work on this site.  I think even a little graphical work and cleanup would go a long way to make this site better.