Okay To Play - Comparison Charts

The Right Player For Your Podcast's Site

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A good podcast player should just work. No one should have to create an account, download software, install plugins, or subscribe to an RSS feed in order to listen to (or just get a taste of) your podcast.

Players made in Macromedia Flash are a nice option because most computers already have the necessary software installed. The best flash players look nice, work well, automatically update with new content, provide additional information about each episode of your show, and don't distract with unnecessary branding and advertising.

There is no perfect one-size-fits-all player. Try to find (or create) a player that fits your show:
Player Description Screenshot Embed Popup Reads RSS Reads ID3 Multiple Episodes Shownotes Images Cost Rating
1PixelOut Audio Player A Wordpress plugin for embeding MP3s into posts and pages. Can be automated using enclosure information. Highly customizable colors. Expands to display ID3 information and a navigation slider. Easy to install (if you run Wordpress). Yes No No (but reads WP db) Yes No No No Free, Donation 3 / 5
Big Contact Feed Player Displays shownotes and links within player. No images. Lets listeners subscribe to podcasts. Lets listeners share the player, put it on their MySpace, etc. Integrates with Big Contact's other services. Customizable, available in multiple sizes. Easy to install. Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Free, Paid custom design / features 5 / 5
EMFF Player Small simple flash player. Flash / Actionscript source code available for modification. Great for designers. Very skinable. Designed for playing single tracks, not podcasts. Yes No No No Yes No No Free 3 / 5
Jeroen Wijering Flash MP3 Player Customizable. Well designed. Easy to install. Integrates with Typo3, Mambo, and WordPress. Supports RSS and XSPR playlists. Built in javascript API for tracking statistics (complete vs partial listens). Separate modes for playlist vs. single MP3. Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Free non-commercial, Paid 15 Euros commercial 4 / 5
MySpace Player Integrated into one of the most popular social networks on the internet. Designed for bands, not podcasters. Requires MP3 to be uploaded, not linked to. Only displays 4 MP3s at a time. Yes No No No Yes, limited No No Free 1 / 5
Odeo Multiple Episode Player Easy to install. Customizable colors. Displays album art. Can play most recent episode, specific episode, or a random episode first. Auto-play is optional. Copy code from the bottom of a show's Odeo page to install. Show must be on Odeo. Yes No Yes No Yes No Yes Free 4 / 5
Odeo Single Episode Player Easy to install. Multiple skins. Copy code from the bottom of a show's Odeo page to install. Show must be on Odeo. Odeo allows you to quote a specific portion of a podcast. Links to Odeo and contains branding. Yes No Yes No No No No Free 3 / 5
Pickle Player Multiple Episode Easy to install. Players includes Podcast Pickle branding and links to Podcast Pickle. Yes No Yes Yes Yes No No Free 3 / 5
Pickle Player Single Episode Very easy to install. Choose between standard or compact size. Customize background color. Customize if media loads instantly. No track / episode name. Player includes Podcast Pickle branding and links to Podcast Pickle. Yes No No No No No No Free 2 / 5
PupuPlayer FREE Easy to Install. Plays multiple episodes. No shownotes. Includes Pupu's branding and advertisments. No Yes Yes No Yes No No Free, with advertisments 3 / 5
PupuPlayer Pro Easy to Install. Plays multiple episodes. Displays shownotes on "dark" and "pink" skins. Can also display images, slideshows, video. Can play M4A files. Classic and Dark themes. Includes Pupu branding. Email links. Integrates with MySpace. Custom designs available. Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Paid, $15 + $5 per additional feed 5 / 5
Quoteplay Allows allows others to link to specific bits of your audio files, ideal for letting weblogs quote from podcasts. MP3 preloading time required. Still in development. Easy to install. Yes Yes Yes Yes No No No Free, Donation 3 / 5
Sonr Allows you to track when listeners play, pause, fast-forward, rewind, etc. Allows you to include flags, which act as a table of content for listeners to skip to a specific time-mark. Require registration. No Yes No No No No No Free 3 / 5
Wimpy Button Small simple button. Plays individual tracks. Wimpy's Button Maker tool allows you to easily customize the look of your button. Yes Yes Yes (via non-RSS XML) No No No No Paid, $19.95 2 / 5
Wimpy MP3 Fully skinnable and customizable podcast jukebox. Generates RSS feeds based on non-RSS XML feeds. MySQL administration utility. No shownotes. No images. Integrates with Wordpress, Moveable Type, Joomla, and PHPnuke. Built in e-commerce tools. Built in security tools to prevent flood attacks. Yes Yes Yes (via non-RSS XML) Yes No No No Paid, $29.95 4 / 5
XSPF Music Player Button Small button sized flash player with dropdown menu. Plays single MP3s, XSPF playlists, and RSS feeds. Easy to install and customize. Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Free, Donation 4 / 5
XSPF Music Player Extended Easy to install and customize. Plays single MP3s, XSPF playlists, and RSS feeds. Displays artwork. Built in ecommerce tools. No shownotes. Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Free, Donation 4 / 5
XSPF Music Player Slim A more compact version of the Extended player. No track / show listing. No images. Yes Yes Yes No Yes No No Free, Donation 3 / 5
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