Abbot Videos

Subscribe with RSS 2.0

RSS is a language for representing information about resources in the World Wide Web. It allows the syndication of lists of web links — along with other information, or metadata — that help you decide whether you want to follow a link or download a file. RSS allows your computer to fetch and understand the link information so that all of your lists can be tracked and personalized. It is a format that’s intended for use by computer programs on behalf of people, rather than being directly presented to you in web pages.

We publish an RSS list of videos that are available on the Abbot web site. Whenever a new video is posted, it will be added to the list; your iTunes program will check the list every once in a while and automatically alert you if a new video is posted. This means that you don’t need to search this site manually to find new videos, not that we post that many of them.

You don’t need use iTunes (there are dozens of good RSS readers out there) but it’s free from Apple and it is easy to use, so that’s what we support here. We use RSS version 2.0, which is well suited for posting videos and sound clips.

First, have a look at the types of videos that we post on the Abbot web site:

About the video formats

Abbot videos are offered in several Quicktime-compatible formats.

Quicktime MOV or MP4 Large/Medium: Large frame and high-quality sound, for newer computers on high-speed Internet connections. Suitable for downloading.

MP4 Small: Small frame, similar to the iTunes/iPod format, but included for older computers or those on slow Internet connections.

iTunes/iPod: Formatted for small screens and requires Quicktime 7 or newer to play. Although intended to be played in video-enabled iPods or on iTunes software, it is also fine for viewing on line.

iPhone/Mobile Phone: A few of the videos are in 3GP format, which is designed for play on newer cellular telephones that have multimedia (also known as 3G) capabilities. We offer no technical advice about getting files onto a mobile device, but each video has been tested on a 3G phone. Turns an expensive mobile device into a real tin can!

For slower Internet connections, try downloading the videos before viewing. A download link is provided for each film under the video display frame. PC users can right-click the link to save the file to the hard drive; Mac users can press the Option key while clicking on the link.

If you have iTunes 7 (or newer) or a video-capable iPod — or if you know how to use RSS software — you can download all Abbot videos at once and get automatic notification of any new videos. We have easy-to-follow instructions.

In general, we will only add the iTunes/iPod version to our RSS list. To subscribe to Abbot videos in iTunes/iPod format, follow these steps:

  1. Copy or write down this link: http://abbot.us/DD629/abbot.xml
  2. Start iTunes. You must have version 7 or newer to view videos.
  3. Choose Advanced→Subscribe to Podcast…
  4. Paste or type http://abbot.us/DD629/abbot.xml into the subscription box.
  5. Click on OK.
  6. The Abbot video feed will be added to the Podcast window.

Depending on your preferences, the videos will either download automatically, or you can click on Get to retrieve selected videos. They will be in iPod format; to view larger formats, visit the appropriate Abbot web page.

To move the file onto a video iPod or other portable video player, follow the instructions provided with your iPod or player.