Podcast subscription problem

[Owyn]

I have to add my vote to downloading arbitrary enclosures in a feed. I have seen video, PDF, and EXE(which I excluded in Juice) in feeds. I don't have a video PMP so not concerned about transferring video enclosures, but, I can see where others would like/need the function. Have to see how 4.0's design works out.

This get's more important as the the podcast publishers make arbitary decisions to include non-audio items in a feed.
e.g. Search Engine now publishes audio and video in the same feed.

FWIW, my current solution is to dual subscribe in MM and Google Reader for podcasts which:
- Have video enclosures (either in a primary or a combo feed)

- Have show notes that I want quick access to, e.g. KCRW's Guest DJ Project

[Earthlark]

I'd also like to see some way of being able to download non-music files from feeds. There I need to be able to download videos and PDFs in one of my feeds. As syndicating content becomes more popular, more feeds will have multimedia available.

How extremely confusing would it be for users to be able to download and see video files in MM, but then not be able to play them? Surely they would think something is wrong with MM, NOT expect that it would be able to see these files but not play them!

Perhaps this could be available in the options menu. That way, it wouldn't be confusing for those not "in the know".

[allecmendax]

New to MediaMonkey. Like most features, but... Podcasts will NOT update at all. Eight different ones, all of which work/update fine in iTunes, simply don't in MM. I don't really know what to do. I set the check frequency to hourly, I tried manually selecting "update all podcasts." What else can I do?

[nohitter151]

New to MediaMonkey. Like most features, but... Podcasts will NOT update at all. Eight different ones, all of which work/update fine in iTunes, simply don't in MM. I don't really know what to do. I set the check frequency to hourly, I tried manually selecting "update all podcasts." What else can I do?

What are the URLS?

[Lowlander]

Make sure your firewall allows MediaMonkey to connect to the internet.

[allecmendax]

Turns out MM was trying to connect via a proxy -- no idea why, but when cleared, podcasts work. NOW the problem is that I can't get it to stop displaying ALL past episode links, even though I have unchecked the "show removed episode links" box on the universal podcast settings AND in the individual podcast settings AND restarted the program.

[Owyn]

You have to remove them before they will be hidden. Select all the old episodes you don't want to see and remove them from the subscription episode list.

[allecmendax]

You have to remove them before they will be hidden. Select all the old episodes you don't want to see and remove them from the subscription episode list.

Have done that several times, actually, to no avail. However, discoverd that in Podcast Subscriptions view, only downloaded episodes appear. Links to old episodes only appear when viewing a single podcast. I can live with that.

[Owyn]

Hmmm. That is strange. I usually only see that when I have un-subscribed & re-subscribed to a podcast. And even then, only until I remove them.

[t3chnomanc3r]

Downloading , managing, and playing are distinctly separate processes and nothing "half baked" would be needed to simply parse the enclosure tag & download the referenced file. Given as I said that the support is there already it's clear that we are limited by whitelisted filetypes NOT the ablity of MM to do anything more with the downloaded file.

Sorry, but I disagree. There are plenty of people who come into this forum asking how to get MM to play videos, sync them to their iPod etc. Heck, this very post shows that fact. How extremely confusing would it be for users to be able to download and see video files in MM, but then not be able to play them? Surely they would think something is wrong with MM, NOT expect that it would be able to see these files but not play them! That would reflect badly on the program.

Morons abound, this has nothing to do with supporting RSS enclosures according to standards! It would not reflect badly on the program for non-morons had "whitelists for downloading only" been added with some kind of warning in it's dialog to the effect of "whitelisted filetypes are only supported as downloads blah blah." Nothing is idiot-proof but artificially preventing advanced users from doing this *IS* idiotic!

Saying it would have to be discarded in MM4 seems illogical unless for some unknown reason there is going to be independent RSS code separately handling video DOWNLOADING. Processing & playing I get the delay, downloading I do not!

I don't understand what you mean by "discarded". All I was saying is that video podcasts should work in the next release of MM (i.e. MM4) since video support is being added for that release.

Discarded as in your statement above about "half baked... torn out later" in reference to adding downloading support. Am I expected to pay for the luxury being able to download your approved list of extensions? What I want an enclosure that's not audio or video or simply not an a/v format you support?

Again, I understand your desire to have MM be a jack of all trades for podcasts, but there just isn't much value to adding in a half-baked feature like you've described (especially since it would all be torn out when video support is finally added anyway). I apologize if I sound harsh or elite here, but I'm not trying to be a jerk - I'm just trying to be realistic.

No, you're covering ass rather than owning up to an arbitrary decision that once challenged should have simply been reversed rather than argued for!

[nohitter151]

No, you're covering ass rather than owning up to an arbitrary decision that once challenged should have simply been reversed rather than argued for!

You have obviously never worked in customer service or technical support. Implementing what you suggest would be a support nightmare.

[t3chnomanc3r]

I have, for over 20 years, and as I said nothing is idiot proof not even "idiot proof". You clearly misjudge not just the needs but also the intelligence of your userbase!

Do you think I am actually playing files from MM, really? With as bad a player interface as it has vs. Winamp or MPC? No I am managing files and metadata for supported types and, yes despite not being able to catalog or manipulate the file, I would be download podcast content using RSS. It's so moronically simple to just save the enclosures that one would have to be a less than a moron to create an artificial barrier to prevent certain file types.

It's a "mea cupla" moment and instead you argue on as if we dissenters are children unaware of the ways of the world, insulting!

No, you're covering ass rather than owning up to an arbitrary decision that once challenged should have simply been reversed rather than argued for!

You have obviously never worked in customer service or technical support. Implementing what you suggest would be a support nightmare.

[Lowlander]

I still fail to see why some are so adamant about MediaMonkey's player being bad? I'm really missing how WinAmp or MPC (Media Player Classic?) would be a better player. Is it the player or the library component?

[nohitter151]

I have, for over 20 years, and as I said nothing is idiot proof not even "idiot proof". You clearly misjudge not just the needs but also the intelligence of your userbase!

I think you're confusing the needs of yourself vs. the needs of the "userbase".

Do you think I am actually playing files from MM, really? With as bad a player interface as it has vs. Winamp or MPC? No I am managing files and metadata for supported types and, yes despite not being able to catalog or manipulate the file, I would be download podcast content using RSS. It's so moronically simple to just save the enclosures that one would have to be a less than a moron to create an artificial barrier to prevent certain file types.

I fail to see how insulting MM's interface has anything to do with this issue. Just because you don't use the MM player does not mean that other users don't - in fact, I think you'd agree that the majority of MM users do use the internal MM player.

[t3chnomanc3r]

I have, for over 20 years, and as I said nothing is idiot proof not even "idiot proof". You clearly misjudge not just the needs but also the intelligence of your userbase!

I think you're confusing the needs of yourself vs. the needs of the "userbase".

Do you think I am actually playing files from MM, really? With as bad a player interface as it has vs. Winamp or MPC? No I am managing files and metadata for supported types and, yes despite not being able to catalog or manipulate the file, I would be download podcast content using RSS. It's so moronically simple to just save the enclosures that one would have to be a less than a moron to create an artificial barrier to prevent certain file types.

I fail to see how insulting MM's interface has anything to do with this issue. Just because you don't use the MM player does not mean that other users don't - in fact, I think you'd agree that the majority of MM users do use the internal MM player.

I am not the only one here asking why the podcast downloading is flawed so I don't think I am confusing anything! As to the player interface I see nothing about it that promotes it's use over most anything else. The EQ is terrible, the transport buttons leave a lot to be desired and Winamps library is much better for find what I want to play. WA weakness is cataloging & tagging which is why I bought MM. When it comes to video files I've seen nothing better than MPC in terms of functionality.

Moot, I am here to complain that the podcatcher functionality is hopelessly flawed and most recently to respond to your question & statements about fixing it pre-v4.