Audio player displaying as movie player

[thelonestardiva]

I've just added Blubrry to http://www.cslctx.org/2011/08/16/all-things-must-pass/ to manage their podcasts.

I love how easy it is to use, but there's one problem I've just not been able to resolve!

When I embed the audio player for the podcast, instead of taking up a block roughly 290px x 50px, it instead takes up an entire "movie sized" block 640px x 360px.

I'm not sure if this is a setting in Blubrry of if it's a problem in my theme. I've tried editing several pieces of the style.css file, but to no avail.

All help appreciated!

[angelo]

Page you linked to is 404.

Without a page to reference we can only make guesses.

[jglamar]

I'm having the exact same trouble, though I have configured powerpress to use the 1 pixel out player.
You can see it here: http://jameylamar.com/wp/

[mgdell]

I think it's because you are using the .m4a format.  The mp3 format is MUCH more compatible with devices and players. I would suggest re-encoding as an mp3 file.  This will also make the player be and audio rather then video player. 

m4a is used for enhanced podcasts which have a slide show associated with them.  If you are not using that feature, then mp3 will be your best bet.

-Mike

[angelo]

jglamar: Mike is right, in your case, your media is in m4a format, which does not play in the 1 pixel out.

m4a is an HTML5 format in some browsers, so depending on the browser either PowerPress will use HTML5 player, or use the older apple quicktime embed otherwise.

1 pixel out (and all the other audio flash players currently packaged in PowerPress) support mp3 format only.

[jglamar]

Of course I use the m4a slideshow feature, because who wouldn't want the slides associated with their podcasts if they could have them? Otherwise people are just staring at a stupid little audio player sitting in their browser window. (I realize of course most listeners take their podcast on the go and are not sitting in front of their browsers. But for the few - perhaps older ones - who are, why not show them slides?)
Is there any other player that powerPress supports that will play m4a - one that is not clunky and ugly?
I'm starting to think the only option - after hours of setting up a new website, installing wordpress, installing powerpress, etc., is to go back to the playskool iWeb route I had been using. At least that way I know:
a) the podcast comes across the way I designed it, enhancements and all;
b) it winds up in iTunes like it should, without garbling of metadata, and
c) it's one click to publish.

Only I wanted to do this through wp and powerpress because I wanted *more* control over how things look, how they show up in iTunes, etc. -- not less.
If anybody out there has any guidance for me, I'd love to hear it.

[angelo]

not to burst your bubble, but I don't know anyone listener/audience wise who actually views the "slideshow" or "audiobook" or "chapters" features of m4a, as it requires an Apple product and the intention to sit and read/watch audio in order to work. Based on studies, most audio podcasts are consumed in situations where reading/viewing is not possible (driving/jogging, waiting for an airplane, etc..). I believe there are more podcasters out there who believe it does something than actual audience members viewing them along with listening to the audio. Back in 2005 when this came out there was a huge rush of podcasters who went through the trouble and within about 2 years the whole movement died. It's even worse now that iTunes/Apple dominance in podcasting consumption has been lost.

Before you spend extra hours each night making these chapter episodes with images and text in the audio files, I would recommend you create your own audience survey using survemonkey, ask your audience to fill the survey out and in the survey ask if they use the chapter features. Or better yet, put in random sections of your audio's chapters nuggets that if the user sees this they win a free gift. I would love to know the results of your efforts.

[jglamar]

I appreciate your comments angelo. And I said the same thing in my post, when I wrote "I realize of course most listeners... etc.".
But I for one like this feature, and I really appreciate it in some of my favorite podcasts I subscribe to, and since the technology is capable of it, I'd like *my* podcast to utilize it. I'm only asking for advice on how to get PowerPress to do it.
If it can't, just say so. But it doesn't seem useful to just tell a podcaster not to try because you think no one notices.
Most listeners probably can't hear the inverted retrograde of the second fugue subject hidden in the viola part in a middle movement of a Bach cantata, but it being there contributes to its greatness.

[angelo]

PowerPress can. As long as you don't use HTML5 player then PowerPress will put the Quicktime embed method for m4a.

I'm just giving you a heads up, you can do what ever you want.