Individual Podcast sync settings

Question

Here's a dilemma: From what I can figure so far, if you choose a Sync option (from the Podcast tab for your iPod when it's connected to iTunes), that option will apply to ALL of the podcasts you are sync-ing to your iPod - whether that's one, several, or all your podcasts. Well, what if you want different sync instructions for different podcasts?
For example, is there a way to have iTunes do the following, all at once, on the same iPod:
Sync "all" episodes from Podcast A
AND
Sync "All New" episodes from Podcasts B and C
Would this require setting up a Smart Playlist for each show, or am I overlooking some other (obvious?) way of achieving separate sync instructions? Anxious for your insights.
Some are Vodcasts that fill up ipod. 4GB Model ipod nano 3rd gen.

Answer 1

Hi,
I was probably less than clear and I'd assumed you would have your iPod configured a particular way.
When you connect your iPod I would recommend you make sure there is a tick in the check-box on the Summary tab that reads "Sync only checked songs and videos". This allows you to manually exclude individual files from the iPod (too big, incompatible or you just don't want them) while generally letting everything else get synced. Some of the podcasts I subscribe to come with occasional video episodes that are not iPod-freindly. To avoid getting error messages when I sync I simply uncheck these specific episodes.
Using this method you would elect to sync all episodes of selected podcasts and then manually uncheck certain episodes in the main Podcast source to reclaim space on the iPod.
The second idea which I mooted earlier is probably best explained with an example. I subscribe to the "In Our Time" podcast which recently had series of episodes on Darwin. I just created a smart playlist with the rule "Podcast is true AND Name contains Darwin" which matched just these episodes. On the iPod/Music tab I put a check mark against this playlist, on the iPod/Podcast tab I removed the check for "In Our Time" and then I synced. Once sycned the podcasts menu of my iPod reports just the four selected episodes of "In Our Time" that match the smart playlist criteria.
This gives you the option to create a tailored set of rules to determine exactly which episodes of any given podcast series you would like to have synced to the your iPod.
tt2