Podcast downloading software?

[RobertRathbone]

I don't know if SageTV has scheduled downloading of video podcasts on the list of future features or not, so in the mean time, does anyone know of a suitable lightweight rss podcast aggregator?

Ideally I would like to see a program that would run as a Windows service in the background and during a preset time (like overnight) check all the subscribed rss feeds for new material and download the video podcasts and drop them into a designated folder. I'd like to put them in the same folder SageTV uses when you manually save the video podcast you're watching. Then SageTV could play the videos just like it does now. I would like to see the new videos appear in the imported videos section when available instead of having to check online and wait for them to download. Some feeds are slow downloading (like the Revision3 shows) so you usually can't watch them in real time as they download.

I'm aware of Neilm's rss feed reader import (http://forums.sagetv.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13539), but reading the description leads me to believe that the downloads are on-demand much like Sage's current podcast feature. Plus, I'm not interested in reading news, just downloading the video podcasts so that Sage can play them.

So, know of any lightweight software that might fill the bill?

Thanks,
Robert

[Jimb50]

I use Juice. It free and does a pretty good job. It doesn't run as a service, but in the system tray. I tried Miro, but found it to be too system intensive. Juice is a light weight compared to Miro.
Jimb50

[Addict]

I've been using PodPuppy because it allows you to dynamically name files and folders much better than any of the others out there. Many of the others put these unreadable file names out there and it's useless when navigating.

However, it appears PodPuppy might be no-more... Website's been down for some time now.

I've been doing this for a good while now...much better than the built-in PodCast stuff IMO. Subscribe and watch it when you want without having to wait for downloads.

[RobertRathbone]

Thanks for the comments, guys.

I Googled both programs... Apparently the PodPuppy web site has moved. I found it at:
http://www.fwatts.info/podpuppy/index.html

I was hoping for a program that ran as a service so that it would run whether I was logged on or not. I run Sage as a service on the server and use extenders throughout the house, so the server stays logged out most of the time. I use remote desktop to connect to do maintenance as needed. So I'd like to have something that would run at boot without having to be logged in.

I noticed that PodPuppy has an "Launch PodPuppy when Windows starts" but (correct me if I'm wrong) I suspect enabling that option only loads the program in the system tray once you've logged in.

Thanks,
Robert

[Polypro]

Start>Run>control userpasswords2

Will auto log you in. I use it for Hamachi and YAC on my WHS box.

P

PS. Thanks for the Podpuppy link. Juice is what I use (run in XP Compatability mode for Vista) but having another is good.

[RobertRathbone]

Yes, I used to have the server auto-login and auto-start the SageTV interface before I got the HD100 extender since it was driving our HD TV. Now I use the extender to drive the TV and leave the server on the lighter duty of just having to record and transcode to the 2 MVPs in the house.

The problem I see in having it auto-login and stay logged in is what will happen when I remote desktop into the box. Will it allow me to take over the session already logged in, or will it force it to log off in order to log on my remote session? This is Windows XP Pro, which I believe only allows one session logged in at a time (not counting Fast User Switching). But I may have to resort to doing as you suggest until Sage allows you to add podcasts as favorites, if they even have plans to do it.

Thanks for the comments...
Robert

[Addict]

Originally Posted by RobertRathbone

Thanks for the comments, guys.

I Googled both programs... Apparently the PodPuppy web site has moved. I found it at:
http://www.fwatts.info/podpuppy/index.html

I was hoping for a program that ran as a service so that it would run whether I was logged on or not. I run Sage as a service on the server and use extenders throughout the house, so the server stays logged out most of the time. I use remote desktop to connect to do maintenance as needed. So I'd like to have something that would run at boot without having to be logged in.

I noticed that PodPuppy has an "Launch PodPuppy when Windows starts" but (correct me if I'm wrong) I suspect enabling that option only loads the program in the system tray once you've logged in.

Thanks,
Robert

Yeah, that link works...but you'll notice there's been zero forum activity since the other domain went down. I'm a big believer in Podpuppy and it's potential, I just wish the coder (Felix) would either take it seriously or release the source code so someone else could...

Just be careful...make sure you do an export of your feeds every time you make a change (close the program and re-open it as well!) There are a few bugs that have rendered all my feeds missing. Getting in the habit of making the backup and starting/stopping the app after a group of changes.

As for running as a service, Podpuppy won't do that. But, I leave a personal PC running most of the day and just have it download to my NAS that Sage is connected to. Works pretty well for me. As far as the auto-login, you should be able to do that just fine with XP and still connect to that session via RDP. You can set the screensaver to lock after 1 minute to assure the console is secure...

[Polypro]

I know RDP is built in, but I use a free app called TeamViewer for remote work (LAN or Internet). I set it up with a GRC 64 character password (in a notepad file on each computer). For internet work, Hamachi handles that, for the LAN its a direct 192.xxx address. It's super simple and you don't have to worry about RDP logging you off.

http://www.teamviewer.com/index.aspx

P