playlist to podcast

November 4, 2009 12:02 PM

I want to turn multiple song iTunes playlists into single mp3 files that preserve the way iTunes crossfades between songs.

I would happily pay for a solution that offers quality and ease. I am on a Mac OS running 10.5.8. Also looking for a good online tutorial for turning a file like this into a podcast.

posted by bonsai forest to computers & internet (5 comments total)

I've never tried this, but this is what I would do:

1) Get Audacity.
2) Record the playlist from iTunes into Audacity. You will have to select "wav out" (not sure if that is the exact name) and will probably have to record at 1x speed.
3) Once you record the whole thing you can split it into individual songs. This will be tricky because you will have the beginning/end of the next/previous song playing simultaneously. Just pick whatever sounds right and cut there.

Just use google for any audacity tutorials. There are a million of them.

Why exactly do you want to do this? I have a few albums that have a crossfade already mixed in and it drives me crazy.
posted by AtomicBee at 1:03 PM on November 4

These 2 threads on iLounge may be of some assistance for your podcast question. I'm also guessing that garageband might work (for at least the crossfade portion if it doesn't give you a save to podcast option, I mean it lets you take mp3's and create iphone ringtones...might be worth a shot)

Topic: How do I convert MP3 to PodCast?

Topic: Making iTunes treat mp3 files as podcast
posted by doorsfan at 1:32 PM on November 4

Yeah, WAV Out (this is the Windows term, I'm not sure what it is for Macs) + Audacity is the way to go. Remember, though, that re-encoding into .mp3 will result in worse-quality sound and inflated bitrate-to-quality ratios. It's like making a photocopy of a photocopy.

If you can, use lossless sources (Apple Lossless) in iTunes, then encode to mp3 after everything is recorded into Audacity.

Also looking for a good online tutorial for turning a file like this into a podcast.

What do you mean by this? Do you mean finding an online service for the files? Do you mean recording voice and editing it into a show?
posted by clorox at 1:36 PM on November 4

Thanks for answers so far - I mean recording voice and editing it into a show, and then finding an online service for the files.
posted by bonsai forest at 3:24 PM on November 4

You might look into Bias Peak. The LE version is about $50. You can tweak the crossfades to your hearts content, and there is some 'auto voice over' settings for podcasting. The learning curve is a bit steep, but it's a pretty sophisticated piece of software. I haven't figured out how to take multiple, crossfaded tracks and make them into a single, podcastable mp3, but I believe it's possible (worse-cast, they bundle a handy little program w/ Peak called Wire Tap, which will record any audio playing on your mac, regardless of the source, so you could grab a single file that way).

(I just realized I built the playlist within Peak and bounced to iTunes, not the other way around, so this may not be what you're looking for)
posted by Bron at 5:22 PM on November 4