Managing your podcasts can be a complicated thing.
Shows and episodes can exist in different states and use cases. Do I listen to every episode of this show? Most episodes? Just dip in and out every once in a while? How can a UI accommodate this?
Do I download? Stream? Per episode? Per show? Sometimes one, sometimes the other? What about tools to manage my download queue? Maybe I have lots of bandwidth at the office, but I have 1mpbs at home. I've yet use a podcast app (I think I've used them all) that has a playlist setting to exclude certain shows. I've been unable to to create a playlist that has the "All Shows" feed from popular networks, doesn't make other playlists (based on episode state) unmaintainable.
Settings at the global level. Settings at the playlist level. Settings at the show level. Settings at the current playing episode level...
Downcast, with it's Windows-like feature set and UI, has given me the most power. I have complaints with it (Bloated UI; I want PocketCasts's playback speed slider and "skip first X seconds" feature), but every other app seems to go in the "less is more... until it's not enough and I go back to downcast" direction.
Overcast has some smart features. (What about an "alert me of any appearance of my favorite guest, whatever the show" feature)? I hope it convinces people that there is still room to grow.
I've also found that Downcast has given me the most control over my podcasts.
One thing I haven't found yet, though, is a client that offers a playlist or podcast level setting where I can say I want to download the oldest unplaced episode for a show. iTunes has such a sync setting for TV shows, for example, and it would be very handy for podcasts where I'm working my way through an archive.
There is probably a limited audience for such a feature, however, so I'll probably have to keep waiting.
Agree with your comments on Downcast except its Mac version. It's somethings that is unusable for me - high CPU usage, sync problems (iOS version has them too), app freezing, etc.
Hope Overcast will make other clients better. I'm going to migrate to Overcast for the time being.
Why doesn't everything just stream as with music and video? I hate the "subscribe" concept. I just want to browse around an listen stuff here and ther. Maybe bookmark some favorites.
I wish everyone would write such clear and concise FAQ. I especially love the answer to question 'Why is the app free?'
I loved the Instapaper app and will definitely buy this app. The current podcasts app on iOS platform are terrible. The only app I am able to tolerate is 'Downcast'.
Is the iOS version of PocketCasts as bad as the Android version? The Android version does fundamentally work, but isn't robust. For example it will randomly stop playing mid podcast for no reason, forget that it is playing a sequence of podcasts, play two hours after pressing the play button, forget play position and revert to an earlier one, not sync play status between devices reliably and the list goes on. None of these are a big deal if you have the app in your pocket but are awful if you are driving since they require interaction to fix.
On the Android side I used PocketCasts as well. I certainly can't call it awesome - more like limited and unstable, but still better than the alternatives.
Be sure to check the FAQ[1] and the Privacy Policy[2], which clearly explain the design of the app, the reason for the data that's collected as well as how the data will be used. I'll be buying the full license right away just to reward the good behavior. Thanks Marco!
Smart Speed - here is what I thought it was, or what I wished it was: The app knows how long your commute will be and it attempts to shorten or lengthen the podcast in an unnoticeable way so that you can fit whole episode(s) into a single drive/bus ride. I have an annoying habit of sitting in my driveway waiting for a natural break in the podcast so that I can turn it off with a clear conscience.
Great idea. To start, why not have the app find episodes that match the user's commute time? For other episodes, an app like Overcast could first apply SmartSpeed and then speed up the entire episode (ie 1.1x) to match the commute time. I'm finding myself looking for good (financial) news podcasts that are < 20 mins per episode.
That's the only word I can use to describe the experience. Creating an account and adding my favorite podcast was accomplished in less than a minute. It is unbelievably polished for version 1. A must buy if you enjoy podcasts.
In my first 5 minutes of use it:
- Complained no podcasts could be played.
- Crashed on opening the second time.
- Once I could start playing then (post crash?) complained that there was no space left on the device when there was.
Glad to see this is out, it looks nice. If you look at Federico's review/interview [1] you can find clips of the voice enhancer and gap shortener, they sound quite good. I know a few people who will probably jump on this.
I fight with the Podcasts app (and podcasts in iTunes) on a weekly basis. I would love to replace it with something by a developer with a good track record like Marco, but I do about 80% of my podcast listening on my Mac and I don't think the annoyance factor is high enough for me to switch to using only my iPhone yet.
At the end of Federico's interview Marco says he's considering an iPad or maybe Mac app in the future, I can only hope.
I saw that, but I'm not sure it will fit my needs. More than anything else, I want to be able to use the "play/pause" key on my keyboard to pause the podcast. I also really like the idea of the voice booster and I'm guessing that the web site won't get that (being 'basic' and all).
The lack of streaming is a bummer. I subscribe to quite a few podcasts and pick-and-choose which episodes to listen to by streaming them on-demand instead of downloading everything.
That's good to hear. Thanks for pointing it out. I wonder if streaming will be a "free" feature or a "premium" feature? For now, it's back to Pocket Casts.
1) Didn't import all of my subscriptions. Specifically The Patch from Roosterteeth. Considering the opml file contains the URL, I don't see why this happened.
2) At least one or two podcasts I deleted a long time ago got imported. I haven't examined the opml file but Downcast doesn't show them anymore. So either Downcast is doing something wrong or the import is.
3) I read the Skeptics FAQ. That's really helpful.
4) Despite the FAQ I still don't see why the account is needed. I very nearly didn't create an account. If not for knowing who Marco is I never would have. I feel very strongly about this with apps. Unless there is a clear and compelling reason to need to signup for a service then I don't.
The design is nice. But there's nothing compellingly different about this app compared to Downcast. It also has voice speed. It has lots of fiddly bits if you want to tinker with individual settings. Pay a couple dollars and get Downcast and you don't need an account.
> 2) At least one or two podcasts I deleted a long time ago got imported. I haven't examined the opml file but Downcast doesn't show them anymore. So either Downcast is doing something wrong or the import is.
Would you care to hazard a guess as to how Overcast could be getting that data if it's not in the Downcast export :p
Re old podcasts - I found something similar with Instacast. It imported things where I just had a single episode imported but also a few things I just have no subscription to at all.
Feels like more like a glitch in Instacast and what it's sending to the OPML rather than Overcast though.
Readit News
Shows and episodes can exist in different states and use cases. Do I listen to every episode of this show? Most episodes? Just dip in and out every once in a while? How can a UI accommodate this?
Do I download? Stream? Per episode? Per show? Sometimes one, sometimes the other? What about tools to manage my download queue? Maybe I have lots of bandwidth at the office, but I have 1mpbs at home. I've yet use a podcast app (I think I've used them all) that has a playlist setting to exclude certain shows. I've been unable to to create a playlist that has the "All Shows" feed from popular networks, doesn't make other playlists (based on episode state) unmaintainable.
Settings at the global level. Settings at the playlist level. Settings at the show level. Settings at the current playing episode level...
Downcast, with it's Windows-like feature set and UI, has given me the most power. I have complaints with it (Bloated UI; I want PocketCasts's playback speed slider and "skip first X seconds" feature), but every other app seems to go in the "less is more... until it's not enough and I go back to downcast" direction.
Overcast has some smart features. (What about an "alert me of any appearance of my favorite guest, whatever the show" feature)? I hope it convinces people that there is still room to grow.
One thing I haven't found yet, though, is a client that offers a playlist or podcast level setting where I can say I want to download the oldest unplaced episode for a show. iTunes has such a sync setting for TV shows, for example, and it would be very handy for podcasts where I'm working my way through an archive.
There is probably a limited audience for such a feature, however, so I'll probably have to keep waiting.
Hope Overcast will make other clients better. I'm going to migrate to Overcast for the time being.
I wish everyone would write such clear and concise FAQ. I especially love the answer to question 'Why is the app free?'
I loved the Instapaper app and will definitely buy this app. The current podcasts app on iOS platform are terrible. The only app I am able to tolerate is 'Downcast'.
[1] https://overcast.fm/skeptics_faq [2] https://overcast.fm/privacy
Smooth.
That's the only word I can use to describe the experience. Creating an account and adding my favorite podcast was accomplished in less than a minute. It is unbelievably polished for version 1. A must buy if you enjoy podcasts.
In my first 5 minutes of use it: - Complained no podcasts could be played. - Crashed on opening the second time. - Once I could start playing then (post crash?) complained that there was no space left on the device when there was.
I fight with the Podcasts app (and podcasts in iTunes) on a weekly basis. I would love to replace it with something by a developer with a good track record like Marco, but I do about 80% of my podcast listening on my Mac and I don't think the annoyance factor is high enough for me to switch to using only my iPhone yet.
At the end of Federico's interview Marco says he's considering an iPad or maybe Mac app in the future, I can only hope.
[1] http://www.macstories.net/reviews/overcast-review/
https://overcast.fm/skeptics_faq
https://twitter.com/OvercastFM/status/489448132556509184
1) Didn't import all of my subscriptions. Specifically The Patch from Roosterteeth. Considering the opml file contains the URL, I don't see why this happened.
2) At least one or two podcasts I deleted a long time ago got imported. I haven't examined the opml file but Downcast doesn't show them anymore. So either Downcast is doing something wrong or the import is.
3) I read the Skeptics FAQ. That's really helpful.
4) Despite the FAQ I still don't see why the account is needed. I very nearly didn't create an account. If not for knowing who Marco is I never would have. I feel very strongly about this with apps. Unless there is a clear and compelling reason to need to signup for a service then I don't.
The design is nice. But there's nothing compellingly different about this app compared to Downcast. It also has voice speed. It has lots of fiddly bits if you want to tinker with individual settings. Pay a couple dollars and get Downcast and you don't need an account.
Would you care to hazard a guess as to how Overcast could be getting that data if it's not in the Downcast export :p
Feels like more like a glitch in Instacast and what it's sending to the OPML rather than Overcast though.