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Downcast - Podcatcher app for iOS devices

Download in Background: Yes or No?

The first post on this forum lists background downloading as one of Downcast's features.

My experience with this otherwise excellent app is it cannot do this.

Other forum members seem to agree with me.

What is the truth? If so, how? If not, when (if ever)?
 
Mulgagodfree said:
The first post on this forum lists background downloading as one of Downcast's features.

My experience with this otherwise excellent app is it cannot do this.

Other forum members seem to agree with me.

What is the truth? If so, how? If not, when (if ever)?
Click to expand...

It does background downloading if you open the app and refresh the feeds. If that refresh finds say three podcasts and starts downloading them, you can close the app and it will finish the download and notify you with a sound and badge alert when the DL is done. I just tested it and this works.

What the app will not do, and apparently is not permitted by iOS, is refresh the feeds in background with the app closed.
 
Weaselboy said:
It does background downloading if you open the app and refresh the feeds. If that refresh finds say three podcasts and starts downloading them, you can close the app and it will finish the download and notify you with a sound and badge alert when the DL is done. I just tested it and this works.

What the app will not do, and apparently is not permitted by iOS, is refresh the feeds in background with the app closed.
Click to expand...

This is exactly right.
 
Weaselboy said:
It does background downloading if you open the app and refresh the feeds. If that refresh finds say three podcasts and starts downloading them, you can close the app and it will finish the download and notify you with a sound and badge alert when the DL is done. I just tested it and this works.

What the app will not do, and apparently is not permitted by iOS, is refresh the feeds in background with the app closed.
Click to expand...

To add to this, Apple's rules only allow 10 min of backgrounded downloads. So if your queue of downloads will take longer than 10 minutes, it won't finish while backgrounded. It will resume if you open the app.

It won't start downloads on a schedule.

If you are open to jailbreaking there are options that would get around these restrictions. Backgrounder would prevent the app from sleeping after 10 min while backgrounded, ischeduler will open apps on a schedule.
 
Downcast is awesome - its now one of my daily apps - great job on it. Is a Mac OS X version in the works? I hope so!
 
Great app, I stopped using Pocket Cast as Downcast was just that much better.

Two features I'd like to see.
1 auto delete finished podcasts
2 sort episodes with newest first (not last)
 
Last edited:
blueroom said:
Great app, I stopped using Pocket Cast as Downcast was just that much better.

Two features I'd like to see.
1 auto delete finished podcasts
2 sort episodes with newest first (not last)
Click to expand...

Same here (Former PocketCast user). As for #1, isn't that handled by the Episodes to Keep setting?
 
blueroom said:
Great app, I stopped using Pocket Cast as Downcast was just that much better.

Two features I'd like to see.
1 auto delete finished podcasts
2 sort episodes with newest first (not last)
Click to expand...

#2 is already implemented, too. In Settings, scroll down to "Local Episodes Sort" and choose sort by date, duration or title, each allowing ascending or descending.

Regards,
Tom
p.s. Downcast is the one I highly recommend.
 
JNGold said:
Same here (Former PocketCast user). As for #1, isn't that handled by the Episodes to Keep setting?
Click to expand...

That's exactly right. The "Episodes to Keep" setting is applied at two distinct times:

1. After a podcast feed is refreshed
2. After an episode from a podcast feed is downloaded
 
Weaselboy said:
It does background downloading if you open the app and refresh the feeds. If that refresh finds say three podcasts and starts downloading them, you can close the app and it will finish the download and notify you with a sound and badge alert when the DL is done. I just tested it and this works.

What the app will not do, and apparently is not permitted by iOS, is refresh the feeds in background with the app closed.
Click to expand...

Just discovered this App and think it is a great app. However, one of the things I had hoped for was auto downloads of podcasts without any manual intervention on my part.

Reading what you posted, sounds like (thanks to Apples wonderful rules) that cannot be done. So even if I set "Refresh Feeds" to "Every Hour", it won't actually refresh the fees unless Downcast is actually open. Is that correct? If so, too bad.
 
robjulo said:
Just discovered this App and think it is a great app. However, one of the things I had hoped for was auto downloads of podcasts without any manual intervention on my part.

Reading what you posted, sounds like (thanks to Apples wonderful rules) that cannot be done. So even if I set "Refresh Feeds" to "Every Hour", it won't actually refresh the fees unless Downcast is actually open. Is that correct? If so, too bad.
Click to expand...

That's correct. It's currently a limitation on third part iOS apps. See this Help article for more: http://support.downcastapp.com/customer/portal/articles/476090-running-in-the-background
 
Don't want to be a jerk but I got Podcaster for 0.99c on a sale.

Why should I get this app and pay twice as much? Does it have many features over Podcaster?
 
Great app, but slows down

Ive got some problems wth this app, possibly just due to the number of feeds I subscribe to;

I have about 50 or 60 subscriptions imported. I find when I start using the app it often lags when scrolling through the list of podcasts, and occasionally freezes ( as in the screen stops responding to touch) for 5+ seconds at a time, especially when starting to play a podcast or managing the downloads queue.

Apart from the app seems great, but its frustrating to use at the moment so I've gone back to podcaster. That seems much faster, with the exact same subscriptions.
 
wooger said:
Ive got some problems wth this app, possibly just due to the number of feeds I subscribe to;

I have about 50 or 60 subscriptions imported.
Click to expand...

It must be due to the number of subscriptions. I don't see that behavior with my five subscriptions.

You might try emailing the dev. He seems responsive.
 
wooger said:
Ive got some problems wth this app, possibly just due to the number of feeds I subscribe to;

I have about 50 or 60 subscriptions imported. I find when I start using the app it often lags when scrolling through the list of podcasts, and occasionally freezes ( as in the screen stops responding to touch) for 5+ seconds at a time, especially when starting to play a podcast or managing the downloads queue.

Apart from the app seems great, but its frustrating to use at the moment so I've gone back to podcaster. That seems much faster, with the exact same subscriptions.
Click to expand...

I've heard scattered reports of this problem but I've not ever been able to reproduce this problem, myself. However, I recommend you try deleting and reinstalling to see if the problem persists. If you have iCloud sync enabled within Downcast, your settings, subscriptions and playlists should all be preserved.
 
ptackbar said:
I've heard scattered reports of this problem but I've not ever been able to reproduce this problem, myself. However, I recommend you try deleting and reinstalling to see if the problem persists. If you have iCloud sync enabled within Downcast, your settings, subscriptions and playlists should all be preserved.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll try that. Having actually counted the number of podcasts, I subscribe to 83!
 
OSX App possibility?

So I'm curious, I love DownCast, but is there any chance a desktop app would be created to listen to PodCasts through my MBP or Mac Mini and then sync up for when I leave the office?

Typically I don't have my iPod plugged into a set of speakers or headphones on so I can't necessarily play from there, though I am connected to WiFi to sync.
 
danusher said:
So I'm curious, I love DownCast, but is there any chance a desktop app would be created to listen to PodCasts through my MBP or Mac Mini and then sync up for when I leave the office?
Click to expand...

Hm... perhaps the developer will chime in, but seems to me that podcasts backed up by Downcast to iCloud should be accessible by an iCloud-aware player app on your Mac, or simply by using Finder to view the hidden ~/Library/Mobile Documents folder and launching an audio player from there?

By the way, the latest version of Downcast (v. 2.7.2) is working beautifully for me. The location-based automatic updates are flippin' marvelous! It's the one app I could not do without.

----------
robjulo said:
Just discovered this App and think it is a great app. However, one of the things I had hoped for was auto downloads of podcasts without any manual intervention on my part. Reading what you posted, sounds like (thanks to Apples wonderful rules) that cannot be done. [snip]
Click to expand...

I don't see it posted on this thread, but there was big news on this front a release or two ago. The developer created a cute capability for Downcast to auto-update based on geolocation! So, for example, I have it set to automatically update all my podcasts when I enter or leave my home, or (since I travel extensively) when I arrive or depart from one of the airports I use most often. Wonderful!

There's still the iOS-enforced 10-minute limit on how long things can proceed in the background, which is a strategy to maximize battery life. But if Downcast can't complete your downloads in that amount of time, it will send you a notification. You can then, if you wish, open Downcast to complete the job.

Really nice.
 
danusher said:
So I'm curious, I love DownCast, but is there any chance a desktop app would be created to listen to PodCasts through my MBP or Mac Mini and then sync up for when I leave the office?

Typically I don't have my iPod plugged into a set of speakers or headphones on so I can't necessarily play from there, though I am connected to WiFi to sync.
Click to expand...

A Mac version is under development!
 
I downloaded this wonderful app today and was getting my podcasts all set up... But Radiolab isn't working properly. It seems to always download the same distorted file (Well, it plays normally for the first 10 or so seconds, then it's like the codec isn't working properly). I haven't seen this posted anywhere else, and I see this thread got bumped today so maybe someone has some input? I migrated from Stitcher radio, and their stream works fine. Any ideas as to the issue?
 
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