By now, many of you are probably familiar with podcasts, available through iTunes and other podcast software. No, you don’t need an ipod to listen! Unlike streaming radio, podcasts are downloaded to your computer. But when you search for “Harry Potter”, there’s usually a vast array of podcasts to choose from. What’s hot? What’s not? What’s worth subscribing to? HP Warcry is here to help. We have put together our crack team of listening experts (note: to be an expert you need iTunes, a sense of humor, generally anywhere from a couple minutes to a half hour, and an opinion) to help sort through the Podcasts and share impressions with our reading audience.
As an indication of what our criteria will be, we’ve put together a short guide that should prove handy for podcaster and reader alike to ‘get behind our thought process’.
General information: This is where you will find general information about the podcast under review. Each podcast review will include a little bit about the podcast itself, with links to other podcasts by the same broadcaster as necessary. Please remember these reviews are only snapshots, although with interest we may revisit podcasts periodically.
Name of Podcast: The name of the podcast we are reviewing.
Episode reviewed: This is very important, as not all podcasts are alike.
Date episode released: This, like the above is very important, as it gives just a snapshot of our impressions.
Length: More information than most people probably need to know, but as longer broadcasts mean higher file size, you may want to keep this in mind.
Frequency: How often does the show come out? When you subscribe to a podcast, if you don’t finish before the next episode comes out, it may be difficult to find that episode to finish.
Style: News, editorial, etc. While intuitive, not all Potter-themed podcasts are built alike. Some people focus on analysis, others try to hit a wide range of things.
About the episode, in general – this will provide a short summary. As always, for more details you may wish to consult the site or blog the podcast is affiliated with.
Extras, such as music/soundtrack, transcripts available will also be noted where relevant.
And now, on to the criteria.
Sound quality (1-5, 5 being the most professional) – Even volume, clear and static free broadcasts rate really high to us.
Broadcaster quality (1-5, same as above) – Radio voice not required, but a smooth broadcast delivery that sounds well rehearsed is important.
Content (1-5, 1 being ‘the same old stuff’ and 5 being imaginative/varied/interesting) – While self-explanitory, podcasts that have a feature that make them stand out from ‘all the other Harry Potter podcasts’ rank highly here.
Overall score: This is where we add the score up for an overall quick shot look at the podcast.
Other helpful comments: We’re here to help, so if there’s a podcast that’s laden with spoilers, or language that may not be suitable for all audiences, or just things that didn’t fit above, we will note them here.
As always we don’t mind suggestions and tips on how to improve – or let us know about Potter related broadcasts you’d like to see reviewed.
