Access Podcasts Without Connecting to Server

[Figment123456 14]

Would it be possible to make podcasts available on the emby app itself, such and android mobile, without requiring  being connected to the server? This is one thing I realized Plex does that unfortunately Emby doesn't since I made the switch.

[Carlo 4331]

Plex does it this way because they bypass the wishes of the admin and are pushing content directly to the customer.  You just go through one of their "Plex servers" vs the Plex Server you run for your local content.

With that said, podcasts really won't ever be hosted on the Emby Server itself so it could be treated like a movie or Show download.  Find a podcast you like and "sync"/download it to your mobile device.  It still won't be local on the device but the link to the podcast would and now the phone could access it directly. It's kind of like the Tunein plugin in this respect (not hosted media) or streams.

Podcast support in Emby is rather limited and very basic/primitive in nature the way it's done now.  Podcasts could make for a really nice plugin if done right where each user could build their own podcasts from podcast repository/catalogs that are available to search or view.  I'd wager that most Emby admins that listen regularly to podcasts don't even do it through Emby but use a dedicated app made just for this purpose.

You're probably aware that you can access many Podcasts through Plex without connecting to a Plex server or running one so that's always an option besides installing a good app that is focused on nothing but Podcasts.

[Luke 37271]

It's always possible for the future. Our focus continues to be on personal media though.

[Carlo 4331]

And that's why Emby is great because you focus on the heart of what all users need which is their personal media they want to share with family and friends.

When I said "Podcasts could make for a really nice plugin,  I actually meant a plugin a 3rd party could do.  Someone who has used multiple different clients, knows how to program and could bring a level of customization and personalization to it that would allow users, not admins to search out and add podcasts.

But there are already many really good podcast software that's available, so does it really need to be in Emby?  It becomes a question of "many things under one roof" or "use the best tool for the job". For me personally, I know podcasts are "external" so I have no issue loading and testing different podcast software to find one I like to use the internet podcasts.

At the same time I've got family members who can't find the "return key" if I say that to them.   So if I could provide podcasts on cooking, making wine, mead, beer, auto repair, etc as part of my Emby experience they would likely get watched/listed to by family members via Emby.

But if they have enough interest in these or other topics then Youtube usually has you covered before even thinking of podcasts in this day and age.  Podcasts are nice for those who like them and great for listing to on the train, bus or car ride to work or even while working as they are mainly audio, not video based.

So it's personal of course, but I'd love to see a nice podcast plugin, but from a 3rd party so the core Emby team doesn't spend time on it that they could spend their time on the core features of Emby that everyone uses.

Love to have it, just not from the core team.  Yep I'm wishy, washy on this topic, sue me

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by cayars

[marcsimus 5]

My preferred method for handling podcasts is to add the episodes that I'm interested in to a playlist and at the same time download those episodes to my phone. The playlist removes the clutter of the other episodes that I'm not interested in and downloading them allows me listen to those episodes while offline. The problem I've found is that none of the downloaded podcast episodes show up when navigating the Downloads section in the Emby app. So there's no way to start playing these downloaded episodes if already offline. If I start playing that playlist while still connected to the server, I can then disconnect and everything still works fine. The currently playing episode will continue to play. The other episodes still appear in the queue and I can skip around them just fine.

I have to assume that the whole episode is downloaded and not just the streaming link for that episode, since well, they work fine without any sort of data connection. I tried to poke around the Android file system a bit (hoping I could just play them from there, whether in Emby or another app), but couldn't figure out where these downloaded podcasts are stored.

That means, though, that the only barrier to being able to play these episodes while already offline is that they simply aren't listed anywhere in the app. I'm just speculating of course, but if the episodes are already stored on my phone somewhere, I can't imagine it would be too large an effort to list them under Downloads. I understand the focus on personal media, it just seems to me like most of the pieces are already there. Perhaps I'm over simplifying the effort, but listing them somewhere seems to be the only piece of the puzzle that's missing. I guess the alternative is if someone can tell where they're stored in the file system.

I did also look around at other podcast apps before deciding to give Emby a try. Most had something that turned me off, so I decided to try Emby. Other than this issue, I think it's serving my need pretty well. This also isn't a deal breaker since it's not terribly often that I'm without a data connection. Would just be nice to have an option when I am.

[MBSki 1033]

Completely agree. I've been using Plex for podcasts since I can download podcasts automatically through the app, but now that app is broken so looking to Emby for a fix.

[Luke 37271]

Hi, downloading podcasts seems to be working just fine in the latest update to the Emby Android app.

[MBSki 1033]

37 minutes ago, Luke said:

Hi, downloading podcasts seems to be working just fine in the latest update to the Emby Android app.

Oh really? Then where are they? I don't see Podcasts as an option on the download page. And anything that has been played is tagged as Video3 anyways so it's impossible to know which episode is which.

 

[MBSki 1033]

@Luke It also seems to put EVERY in progress podcast on the home page under Downloads, but nothing when you go to downloads. 

[Carlo 4331]

I've setup a podcast and a movie to download to my LG phone and it's been sitting waiting for 3 hours.

The Emby app is loaded on my phone but isn't transferring the files.

[MBSki 1033]

@Luke Another issue with podcast downloads, checking the box for "unwatched only" doesn't do anything. Granted, a podcast isn't a video, but if unwatched only is selected it shouldn't download everything. Re-labeling to "unplayed only" might be better assuming unwatched isn't really just for videos.