Streamcaster is a new application that allows you to subscribe to video podcast feeds and watch them on your iPhone or iPod Touch. When you open Streamcaster, you will get the main menu. To add a podcast’s feed to the application, select the + icon in the upper right corner. This will bring you to a screen where you can enter the feed’s url (don’t forget the http://). Once you have entered the feed url, you will be brought back to the main menu where you will see that your podcast has been added to the list.

The podcast list displays the podcast’s icon and the title of the podcast. If you select the podcast, you are able to see the individual video podcasts for that feed. To watch a podcast, just select it. It will then open in a viewer within the application. And, that is basically it. This is a simple application with no bells and whistles! I did have a few issues with the app crashing and it was also unable to display some of the videos. Also, you can only add 4 feeds on the free version…to have the full version it will cost you $4.00. Personally, I think I would rather use MobileCast, Podcaster or iTunes for viewing my video podcasts! Let me know in the comments what you use to watch your video podcasts.

Side Note: I really like video podcasts! :)

Recent Twitter for Streamcaster:

Screenshots:

Pocaster is an application that allows you to wirelessly download podcasts (similar to MobileCast). When you open Podcaster, you will get a nice splashscreen and then the main page of the application. Here you will see a lower menu bar with the options; My Podcasts, Unplayed and Downloads. My Podcasts is where you can search for a podcast or import a podcast. You can do this by selecting the + icon in the upper left corner of the screen.

If you find a podcast you would like, you can select it and it will be add it to the My Podcasts list. Once selected, you will then be brought back to the main screen where you will see the podcast you just selected from the the search results. From here you can select the title of the podcast to get a list of all the available podcasts. This will bring up a list and another menu bar. On the lower menu bar you now have the option to (from left to right) mark all the podcasts as read, use the build in movie player or Podcaster’s movie player, unsubscribe to the entire podcast and refresh the podcast list.

If you select one of the podcasts from the list, it will open the podcast. You then have the option to (from left to right) view the movie using the built in movie player, mark the podcast as not new or if you tap the icon again you can mark it as new again, play the podcast and download the podcast. I would suggest downloading the podcast before trying to watch it unless you are on smokin fast internet. Other wise it tried to download while you watch it and you end up hearing like one minute and then have to wait another minute while it downloads more of the podcast!! You can also get more info about the podcast by selecting the list icon in the upper right corner. To get back to the list of podcasts, select the arrow icon in the upper left corner.


Once you have selected a podcast from the list it will no longer have a blue circle to the right or it…indicating that it is no longer new. Now, you can select the Podcaster icon in the upper left corner to get back to the My Podcasts list.

Back on My Podcasts, if you select the Unplayed option on the lower menu bar, you will get a list of all unplayed podcasts from all the podcasters in your My Podcasts list. The Downloads option on the lower menu bar will list the podcasts that you have actually downloaded. Just select one to get the play screen.

I did find that if you start a podcast downloading, it will continue to download the podcast while you use the application. Also, if you close the app, it will pause the download and start it again as soon as you open the application back up…which is a nice feature! The application does get a little laggy when it is downloading podcasts but, it isn’t too bad. Overall, a nice application…it does exactly what it is supposed to do and does it well. If you want to purchase the full application, you can do so for $4.99.

The new MobileCast has a slightly new look and feel to it. When you open the application, you will notice three options on the lower menu bar; Favorites, Downloads and Search. The Search option allows you to search for audio and video podcasts. I will say that the search is a little slow and slightly glitchy but, if you can make it past that, you will get a list of relevant options based on your search. You can then select Add next to the podcast you would like to add to your favorites. You will get a pop-up saying that the podcast feed was successfully added.

Now, you can go to Favorites and you will see a list of all the podcasts that you have added. If you do not see any, select the refresh button in the upper right corner. You can also add feeds manually by selecting the + icon in the upper right corner. To see the individually podcasts for each feed, just select the Title of the podcast. You will then get a list of podcasts available (if you do not see a list, select the refresh button in the upper right corner). To download a podcast, select Download and then hit the refresh button. The podcast will start to download. Now, based on what you are connected to Edge, 3G or WiFi…it will determine how quickly the podcasts download. Once the podcast is downloaded, it will say Play next to it. You can select Play to watch the podcast. The podcast is also added to the Downloads section of the application. If a podcast is not showing up in the Downloads section even though it says Play after it, you will need to go into Downloads and selec the refresh button.

If you start downloading a podcast, you can continue to search and use the application and the podcast will continue to download in the background. I did find that I had a few issues with crashing and glitchy while using this application. But, if you are patient and do not try to do too many things at once, it does work. I do hope that we see an upgrade soon but, I still like this application!

Available In: Cydia

Price: Free