iLounge

Q: is it possible to get the audio extracted from video podcasts so I can play it on my video-incapable iPod Photo?

- Leo

A: Sure! As video podcasts are unprotected video files, you’re free to do with them as you please. All that’s needed is a piece software capable of extracting the audio track of a video file into an iTunes-compatible format.

As this site deals with many users from both Windows and PC environments, we tend to recommend QuickTime Pro (Apple, $29.99). With this program, here’s how to extract the audio:

1) Drag a file out of iTunes onto your Desktop.
2) Open the file using QuickTime Pro.
3) Choose “Export…” from the “File” menu.
4) From the “Export” pull-down menu, select either “Sound to AIFF” or “Sound to Wave.”
5) Select a file name, and click “Save.”

Next, drag this newly-created audio file back into iTunes to add it to your library. If you’d like, you can then use iTunes’ built-in conversion features to create a smaller AAC or MP3 compressed audio file, so the podcast uses less disk space. Simply choose the format in iTunes’ Importing preferences, and right click on the file to select “Convert Selection to AAC.”