Video Podcasts

I've been listening to and enjoying podcasts for awhile now and what first attracted me was it's simplicity, the plethora of podcasts with something of interest to me, convenience taking it with me wherever I went (especially while commuting) and no commercials unlike commercial radio.

Now that prices on high def video cams is rapidly decreasing, more podcasters are switching to video and this has me upset. I like to listen to my podcasts not watch someone recording the show. Unless you're showing me something compelling like a demo or lesson with props, I really don't care to see you.

I can easily glean the information I want by simply listening. That was the beauty of early podcasts. I would download a small file, plug my MP3 player into a FM transmitter and listen as I ran errands or commuted to work. I didn't have to deal with sluggish downloads and hoggish file sizes eating up hard drive space because the podcast is in hi-def video.

The podcasts that have switched to video should've remained in audio format, because they're not doing anything that requires me to see them to enjoy them. Maybe podcasters are becoming narcissitic, but I listen to podcast for the edutainment value and not because I have an obsessive need to know what the podcaster looks like. Isn't that what the label art is for?