MM forgets podcast position [#10856]

[doubledoom]

On MM 4.1.0.1636.

When playing a podcast, if you get to a certain point and pause the play and then leave MM, it will not remember the point you have played it to. If you press stop and then leave, it will remember the point you played the podcast to. I can't check it but I suspect the same issue would apply to audio books.

With these often being long and played over periods, you need the ability to remember the last played to point. Knowing that you cant use the pause button but the stop button works means you can get round it but the main MM skin (and some others) have removed the stop button. Ideally, when the audio file is identified as a podcast (and perhaps audio book) the pause button should remember it's position in the same way the stop button would.

There is a second issue I am currently testing. I got to about 85% of a podcast yesterday. Went to fire it up today to finish it off and it was gone. I have my settings to delete played podcasts. It appears that the podcast changes to played not at the end of the podcast but a certain way through it. So, if you have the usual setting to delete played podcasts after x days, you could find unfinished podcasts being removed despite not hearing the end. It appears that they show as being played after around 85% of the play and not 100%. I am testing it today to see if I can replicate it by. I have downloaded it, and forwarded it to around 85% and stopped there. It shows last played date/time. I will check tomorrow to see if it has gone.

[Lowlander]

the main MM skin (and some others) have removed the stop button

Right click on Play/Pause button to access stop.

[doubledoom]

Right click on the icon does indeed work but its not exactly intuitive or an ideal solution.

I can confirm the second point that the podcasts were auto deleted this morning despite not being played until the end.

[Ludek]

Right click on the icon does indeed work but its not exactly intuitive or an ideal solution.

Good point IMHO, fixed as http://www.ventismedia.com/mantis/view.php?id=10856

Neverthless the bookmark position is saved whenever you change the player track or close MM, so how did you find the issue?
I haven't found a situation in which this would be problem unless I killed MM by using task manager.

I can confirm the second point that the podcasts were auto deleted this morning despite not being played until the end.

I cannot reproduce and also by checking the code the 'Last played' and 'Played#' values are increased/updated on track end.
So I don't see a way how they could get updated in 85% of playback.
And the (Played# > 1.0) is the condition based on which the episode is deleted.

[doubledoom]

Neverthless the bookmark position is saved whenever you change the player track or close MM, so how did you find the issue?

I found it when I paused the play and then would exit (I listen in my office and frequently have to pause for phone calls and then exit if the work needs doing). When I went back to playing later it would continue not where I left it but either the start or the previous "saved" point. What may be different is that I have uPnP/DLNA as my player (to SONOS).

Thanks for quick fix on it.

On the podcast showing as played, if I forward to around 89% the "last played " gives me date and time and "played #" count goes to #1. I tried it on two others and got the same. Then I tried it on a third and it didnt happen. After a bit more checking, I found how to replicate it.

When it doesn't occur

If you play the podcast through or forward it to 89% (or anything upto 99%) then it does not show played at 1 until it gets to 100%

When it does occur

If you play the podcast. Then pause it at some point (even momentarily) then forward it to 89% then it shows as played 1 (with date/time for last played).

I wondered if the issue was in some way linked to the pause/stop issue. So, I downloaded another podcast and used the right click/stop. I then forwarded it to 89% (or higher) and the played count did not go to 1. So, it is only if paused during play. Not stopped during play that this occurs.

[Ludek]

Ahh,
I see, you are using UPnP/DLNA as player.

Yes, if you stream a file to DLNA player then the file is considered as played once the DLNA player buffers 90% of the file. It cannot be 100%, because some file containers include additional info/metadata on the end of file and the player could seek the data just because of the metadata and not because of playback.

You seem to be true though that in case of "Play to" functionality MM should be more clever and increase the playcount based on the player's seekbar position.

[doubledoom]

I see what you mean the 90%. It doesnt seem to be a problem is you play something without pausing it. However, I just played a pod cast from start but paused it a few times due to phone calls. It cut the ending off. MM showed the time last played at 15:11 but it switched to next podcast at 15:20 and cut off the last 5 minutes