Mediafly Blog

Popcorn Hour powered by Mediafly -- best audio/video podcast integration yet

Mediafly.com | Chicago, IL - On September 30th, Popcorn Hour launched Mediafly on all Popcorn Hour devices (A-100, A-110, etc.) today as part of their Popcorn Hour MSP. 

If you are not familar with Popcorn Hour, it is an incredible device and in many ways far superior to the Apple TV (and more flexible, extensible).

Popcorn Hour integrated the Mediafly engine to deliver personalized audio and video channels from podcast sources onto the device (free). See the full Mediafly experience by way of flickr slideshow here.  More detailed information is below.

To launch Mediafly, go to the Popcorn Hour

On your Popcorn Hour go to home screen > Media Services > MSP

You will see the Mediafly dragonfly as shown below

You will then see your default list of channels -- your Hot Channels as shown below. Once you personalize your device (i.e. link it to your Mediafly profile) you can customize your channels by selecting specific video and/or audio shows and episodes which you want. The instant you change something on Mediafly.com it is changed on your Popcorn Hour channels (as well as your other linked devices, such as Chumby).

See all the screenshots here.

Show off your podcast on your website with Mediafly's "easy media" presentation technology (free)

PodcastPickle.com recently updated their feed pages to use Mediafly™ Presentation Engine™. You can see this technology in action on all PodcastPickle.com show pages, such as their display of This Week in Tech (one of my personal favorites). Mediafly is allowing partners to use this technology but will be releasing to the public soon. But you can get to it now if you want to try it out. It is about 4 lines of code and allows your to display any podcast on your website (i.e. make your own podcast look/function great or show off your favorite(s).

Here is how it would look:

Here is how to do it:

Here is an example snippet of code to render the podcast above. To get your personalized code to display any podcast you desire, visit www.mediafly.com/MyFeedWidgets.aspx

  <script type="text/javascript"> var mediaflyEmbeddedFeed = new Object(); mediaflyEmbeddedFeed.code = '4UtjbcvSKMMyJmSM'; _mediaflySource = 'mediafly-typepad'; </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.mediafly.com/widgets/embedfeed.js"></script>

Get all your Podcasts on your iPhone OTA via Mediafly.com (even over Edge)

Mediafly Mobile: Video + Audio Podcast Edition is now available in the iPhone app store

Mediafly Mobile is the premium app for finding, playing, & managing subscriptions to audio and video shows available on the net. 

Powered by Mediafly.com - this app delivers on-demand personalized channels of your favorite shows enabling you to watch/listen to what you want, when you want it. 

Enjoy popular channels such as news, sports, business, technology, science, celebrity gossip, comedy & much more… Or create your own channels.
Select from over 20,000 shows – everything from your favorite network news program to award-winning original web programs. 

FEATURES:

+ Play audio and video shows on-demand 

+ Play video shows via WiFi or preload and play offline

+ Play audio shows via Cell, WiFi, or preload and play offline

+ “Continuous Play” channels that let you just “tune in” and relax.

+ Organize your shows into easy channels, such as News, Business, Sports, Technology, etc. Fresh updates from your shows will automatically be delivered for you to enjoy! 

+ Manage all of your shows and channels from the iPhone app or from Mediafly.com

+ Link your app to a Mediafly account and get the same channels on your iPhone and at home or office on your other Mediafly enabled devices.

+ Search and browse over 20,000 audio and video shows from major networks and independent creators… play and episode or two or add them to your channels for easy access in the future

+ Link multiple accounts to one iPhone (one for you and one for the kids perhaps)

+ Access all new episodes via the “New Stuff” channel

+ Browse current and past episodes from any show with the swipe of your finger

+ App detects if you are have WiFi, Cell, or no signal and adjusts your “playable” content automatically.

START DOWNLOADING PODCASTS TO YOUR IPHONE WITH MEDIAFLY MOBILE

Mediafly Syncs podcasts to ANY media player (almost)

If you use iTunes then podcasts are pretty easy. You can use the iTunes podcast manager. Or you can use Mediafly's SyncClient. 

But, what if you use a SanDisk, iRiver, Cowon, Creative Zen, Mobile Phone, etc.? Well.... Mediafly has the solution (of course I am biased as I work at Mediafly).

You can now manage all of your podcasts on Mediafly.com and then automatically sync your podcasts to any USB player -- or at least any player which supports Microsoft MTP (which most do).  The SyncClient copies files directly to your player without any action by you, bypassing any clunky software in the middle, such as Windows Media Player, Yahoo!, etc.  This new version is still in Beta (testing) but it is now available on the Medaifly SyncClient download page (You must select the Beta link)

How to download the Mediafly SyncClient Beta

1. Goto www.mediafly.com/syncclient (You must select the Beta link)
2. Create a free Mediafly account (if you do not already have one).
3. Select the beta download link which is located below the production SyncClient download button.
4. Follow the installation instructions and launch the Beta SyncClient
5. Attach your USB Player and it will automatically be detected and synced.  

How does it work?
It is pretty simple... The SyncClient runs in the background downloading your podcasts during the day while you work.  And, as soon as you plug your device in, the SyncClient adds all of your new podcasts and organizes them into playlists for easy access. And, almost as valuable, the SyncClient removes any expired files.

Tell me how it goes

We want to hear from you. If you have any thoughts, ideas, or trouble running the new SyncClient,  just email us at www.mediafly.com/contactus

Mediafly widgets (or are they called gadgets these days?) to Share your favorite shows...

This is not live to the public yet but if you're a mediafly user and you want to share your favorite podcasts, or let's say you want to put the entire mediafly News area on your site, now it's easy. You can actually see the widget on this blog (probably on the left or right side depending on how I'm feeling that week).

We've built the system to be very easy. Here are the steps.

1) Visit www.mediafly.com/mywidgets.aspx

2) Select the content you want to see on the widget (see the first image below). You can select from options such as your personal channels, mediafly areas, or a search query.

Or if you have specific podcasts you want to showcase just enter the mediafly "slugs" in the box. The slug is the last part of the mediafly url, such as:  http://www.mediafly.com/Podcasts/Feeds/Buzz_Out_Loud_from_CNET

3) Click the "Add Widget" button. This will take you to a list of your widgets. Select "view widget" to see your creation. You can change it right there. pressing the "update widget" will cause the displayed widget to change.

4) Copy the HTML code and put it into your blog.

If you have any questions, post them here or email us at www.mediafly.com/contactus

Here are some pretty visuals:

The Add Widget interface

How the widgets look on my blog.
These are my favorites widget and a widget or NBC5 Chicago's podcasts (some of my favorites).

 

Personalize the Podcasts on your Chumby (beta)

Secret Sneak Peak at Mediafly SyncPoints... You can now personalize the podcasts on your Chumby.  As you change your shows and channels on Mediafly they are immediately changed on your Chumby.

Here are the steps to personalize your Chumby (and a nice little visual below to show you).

1) Create a Mediafly account if you have not already and create your channels. You can always add/remove/modify them later. Your Chumby will adjust automatically.

2) Login to the Chumby website with your Chumby user id and password.

3) Find your Chumby ID. It is the long number that appears to the left of your Chumby (see below).  Copy that full ID.

5) Go to www.mediafly.com/mysyncpoints.aspx, Click on the add a Chumby link

6) Paste your full Chumby ID into the box provided (shown below).  Press Save.

7) Reboot your Chumby by pressing the little on/off button on the back.

8) Your Chumby is now synced with your Mediafly account. You should now see all of your Mediafly Channels in the Mediafly audio source on your Chumby.

If you have any questions, you can email me at www.mediafly.com/contactus.

Good luck!

Connect any mp3 player to an iPod Dock

If you are like me and you have an mp3 player other than an apple you know the feeling of feeling like a second class citizen when it comes to connecting your device to accessories which only support an iPod.

My car, for example, has an an iPod connector into the factory stereo head unit. So, that meant I could only ever use my iPod or iPhone to listen to my podcasts on my 1.5 hour commute into Chicago every day.

Then I discovered this little number and it worked great. It allows you to plug any mp3 player into an iPod dock. Very cool little device.