How to register downloaded podcast mp3 in Banshee?

I just upgraded to Natty and trying to start using Banshee instead of Rythmbox.

I noticed that Banshee put downloaded podcost under Podcast folder. I have a bunch of previously downloaded podcasts by Rythmbox which I would like to keep. I can move those files easily into Podcast folder for Banshee, but how can I associated those file to Banshee so Banshee recognized it as downloaded podcast?

I don't mind going down to nitty gritty changing config/meta file or database update if Banshee use database to store those info.

Solution 1:

Thanks to information from MichaelMS, I google Banshee database and found out it is using sqlite. So I opened it up with Squirrel Client and to register downloaded podcast to Banshee, you need to update PODCASTENCLOSURES table.

The columns you need to update are:

• LocalPath - this point to where the physical location of where the downloaded podcast
• DownloadStatus - I set it to 3, assuming this meant downloaded..as that is what other downloaded podcast value that I'd seen.

Solution 2:

Unfortunately, there's currently no good way to import previously downloaded podcasts into Banshee's Podcast library. There's an open bug report requesting this, but it's been around for awhile, so I wouldn't hold your breath. In the meantime, you have a couple options:

1. Re-Download Everything

   If your podcast collection is fairly small and all of the podcasts are still available online, the preferred method of importing them would simply be to subscribe to the feeds in Banshee and re-download the episodes you want. There are plenty of reasons that this might not be a realistic solution, but I thought I'd mention it for completeness.

2. Create your own feed

   If you're familiar with xml (m3u or pls playlists might work too) and you have access to a webserver -- a local, private one would probably be best if you're dealing with copyrighted material -- you could create a custom feed with only the podcasts you want to import. Simply import that feed into Banshee, and you should be able to get all of the episodes correctly grouped with the rest of your podcasts. This came up on the mailing list recently, so that would be a good place to turn if you have questions.

3. Dig around in the database

   Banshee's database is stored in ~/.config/banshee-1/banshee.db. If all else fails, you could try to open it with a database viewer and manually insert your podcasts. There are 5 tables related to Podcasts, but without being familiar with the database structure for podcasts, I can't tell you with any certainty how the tables are related and how much of the information is critical. That's definitely "make a backup copy first" and "do this at your own risk" territory. :)

Based on the mailing list discussion, #2 should be a pretty promising option. Hopefully you'll get something working.