Converting podcast from mp4 to mp3

The following process works with AAC songs: though I haven't tried it with podcasts it will probably work.

iTunes Preferences>General: click 'Import Settings'. In the pane which opens select 'MP3 encoder' and use the second menu to choose a quality setting. I would suggest a minimum of 196kb/s (stereo).

Now select all the files you want to convert. From the 'Advanced' menu choose 'Create MP3 Version'. Copies of the selected files will be made as MP3 files. You can drag these out to the Desktop or a folder and delete them from iTunes, or delete the AAC versions. Note that you won't 'see' anything - if there are any images they will be removed in the conversion process.

Hhmm! I'm not sure that's correct Roger. MP4 is (usually) a video Podcast, and the option to convert to AAC (which is audio only) will not be available. (I've just checked it.)

I'm not expert with all the variations of mp4 or other video formats, but the mp4 (Podcast) I have in my iTunes will play on my iPod Touch 2G. So the mp4 that the OP is referring to should load onto his/her iPod, assuming that he/she is using an iPod (mention of mp3 player). If it doesn't, there will be a message at Sync saying that the movie <name> has not been added to the iPod because it cannot be played on this iPod.

So, (to the original poster), was there a message about that Podcast? If not, it is probably on the iPod but under a different title to the one you think it should be. So rather than looking for the episode title, you need to check the "Podcast series" title. Alternatively, use the search facility on the iPod to look for the episode.

There is an option in iTunes to convert a video to an iPod version, look under *Advanced/Create iPod or iPhone version,* but it's a tedious process that doesn't always work.

Phil

This conversion can be performed in both Amadeus Lite ($24.99 from the Apple App Store only - requires OSX 10.5.5) and Amadeus Pro which is $40 and will work on OSX 10.4 or higher, including Snow Leopard, and has more facilities. The latter is available in a trial version, the former isn't.

To convert, just drag the podcast episode out to the Desktop and then drag it onto Amadeus's icon. It will open it as an audio file (only) and it can then be saved as an MP3.

(And before anyone mentions the free program Audacity, it won't do this.)