The Scottish Parliament is currently trialling podcasting services by making the monthly Holyrood Highlights package available for downloading. This is available in video format and is around 43.3 Mb in file size.

To subscribe to or download our podcasts - please follow the steps below:

1. Get some podcast software

You need to install a piece of software which will search the web to find the latest episode and automatically deliver it to your computer. You need to use a program that supports m4v video as well as audio podcasts.

This software is usually free, some popular programs can be found at:

iTunes

podcastingnews.com

2. Subscribe to podcasts

If you have iTunes

You can subscribe to some podcasts through the iTunes Podcast Directory.

If you can't find the podcast that you want in iTunes then you can follow the same method as outlined below for other podcast software.

If you have other podcast software

You need to add the "feed" of the podcast to your software. The feed is really just the address of the podcast, which the software will go to each time it wants to check for a new film.

You can find the feed for any Scottish Parliament podcast by clicking on the 'subscribe' link. The feed address will appear in the address bar of your web browser.

You will need to copy this feed address and paste it into your podcast software. How you do this will depend on your software, but you should look out for buttons, links or menu options that say "Add" or "Subscribe".

3. Watching/listening to the podcast

When a new video becomes available for the podcast you have subscribed to, your software will automatically download it. You can then watch the episode on your computer or transfer it to your portable player to view later.

You may want to check the settings of your podcast software for details including how often it will check for new episodes, whether it will keep old episodes for you etc. This will vary depending on the software you have chosen, and your personal preferences.

If you decide that you no longer want to receive podcasts then it should be very easy to unsubscribe. Again, how you do this will depend on your software, but you should look for "Clear" or "Unsubscribe" options.

4. Downloading podcasts from website

If you do not wish to subscribe, you can also download individual podcasts you wish to view from the Parliament’s website which saves a copy onto your computer.

The way that you experience downloading will depend on your personal computer; which operating system and browser you are using; and the setup options you've selected.

Although there may be slight differences in the way you can download, you should be able to do this by right clicking on the Download link and choosing "Save Target As...", "Save Link As...", or a similar option.