Do I have to have an account at an iTunes Music Store to get podcasts?
No. However, you do need an account to submit a podcast to the iTunes Store.
A Few Of F.A.Q
A podcast I want to subscribe to isn’t available in the iTunes Store.
It’s easy to subscribe to any podcast using iTunes, even ones that aren’t available in the iTunes Store. To subscribe, find and copy the podcast’s feed URL. In the “Advanced” menu, select “Subscribe to Podcast” and paste the feed URL into the dialog box.
Are there video podcasts?
Podcasts are more than just audio; some of the most popular podcasts in the iTunes Store are video podcasts. Most are playable on iPod with video capability. Additionally, Apple TV supports watching video podcasts on your TV screen.
There are also text-based podcasts. iTunes podcasting supports PDF files, which can be opened on your computer. (iPod cannot display PDF files.)
Why won’t some video podcasts play on my iPod?
Some video podcasts, while playable in iTunes, are encoded in formats that are not compatible with iPods. To convert those videos so that they are iPod-compatible, highlight the video in iTunes, right-click on the selection, and choose “Convert Selection for iPod”. iTunes will automatically re-encode the video for playback on iPod. Go to the Movies section of your Library to find and play the converted episodes.