Problem with Commentaries podcast

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Starrius

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May 14, 2008, 12:02:42 AM5/14/08
to Doctor Who
Maybe somebody on this list can help:

When I try to subscribe to "Doctor Who: The Commentaries" from iTMS,
the title shows an exclamation point. When I click it, I get an error
message: "Doctor Who: The Commentaries" does not seem to be a valid
Podcast URL. Please check that you have entered the correct URL and
try again.

I noticed that when I try to subscribe from iTMS, the title shows up
as "Doctor Who: The Commentaries." However, when I try to subscribe
from the BBC the title shows up as "http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/
podcasts/bbc7/doctorwho/rss.xml." Is this normal? I get the same error
(see above) when trying to subscribe from the BBC.

I contacted the BBC (the producer of the podcast) and they suggested
deleting and re-subscribing to the podcast. I have tried three or four
times now. The BBC responded that it was working on their end so the
problem must be on my end and to contact Apple. I have done so and am
awaiting a response.

Once, when I had "Doctor Who The Commentaries" in my list of podcasts,
still displaying the warning, I hit refresh and iTunes displayed the
episode "The Doctor's Daughter" but with a warning: There was a
problem adding "The Doctor's Daughter: 10 May 08" to iTunes. The file
might be corrupted, or a file type the iTunes cannot play.

I cannot download the episodes by right-clicking and selecting Save
Link As. I get a 4mb file that won't open. I double-click the file and
it tries to open but closes immediately.

Are we sure this problem is solely on my end or is Apple's problem?
What do I need to do to hear this podcast?

I look forward to hearing your suggestions.

BritTVNut

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May 15, 2008, 10:55:45 AM5/15/08
to Doctor Who
I can totally understand your problem in getting the commentary for
The Doctor's Daughter through iTunes, but since I have never used
iTunes I wouldn't know what you would need to fix that. I did this in
my own way. I used a RSS reader (Feedreader) and added the XML link
to my feeds, and I was able to download that file without a problem.
I'm wondering if the problem is with iTunes and only on that podcast,
but I don't know for sure.

I know there are ways of transferring the MP3 like I did to an iPod,
but I don't know if you can add the file you downloaded into iTunes
which I think you should. Give it a try. Oh I just thought of
another way you can get podcasts without iTunes. I noticed in Winamp
that they've got the capability of obtaining podcasts now (in the
media library). This could also help you out since iTunes might need
something ironed out.

Hope this helps!
Robert

Starrius

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May 17, 2008, 10:13:50 AM5/17/08
to Doctor Who
Someone suggested that I re-install iTunes and that did the trick.
Having never had an issue with an application under OS X, it never
crossed my mind to re-install the software. Now I just need the time
to listen to a 45 minute podcast!

Thanks for the suggestion. It is much appreciated.
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