Problems with Podcast Subscriptions

[Tyrel771]

I have just today been experimenting with Clementine Media Player as I search for an alternative to iTunes for managing my podcast subscriptions. Although initially optimistic, I have run into several problems already. I will mention particulars below.

• Operating System: Windows 10
• Clementine version: Clementine 1.3.1

Some podcasts which have 100+ episodes do not load all older episodes in Clementine, even if they load in iTunes. For instance, "The Partially Examined Life" only loads the latest 60 episodes. Newly subscribing to the podcast on iTunes, however, provides the complete list of episodes.

Several podcasts which are available on iTunes U, such as Seattle Pacific University's podcast series on C.S. Lewis, load no episodes. For example, https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id391568426 is the iTunes U URL; Clementine can find the RSS feed, but can find no episodes. I have found several other examples of this as well, and it isn't always on iTunes U; sometimes it happens with podcasts listed as podcasts on iTunes (just for instance, Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church (Breviary) which is at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/divine-office-liturgy-hours-roman-catholic-church-breviary/id1196391383?mt=2&uo=4 loads no episodes). The problem, however, seems to be so common for iTunes U series that I cannot seem to get a single one (with episodes) through Clementine. Several of them, in fact, cannot even be found (the error message I have gotten several times now for series on iTunes U is: "Failed to parse the XML for this RSS feed").

So, I suppose that's three problems:

1. Podcasts where not all past episodes are indexed.
2. Podcasts (and some iTunes U series) where no episodes are indexed.
3. Several iTunes U series which, when the apparently appropriate URL is used, yield the error message "Failed to parse the XML for this RSS feed".

Am I doing something wrong, and, if not, can I expect to see some fixes for these issues in the near future? Thanks.

[Tyrel771]

Perhaps I should frame my inquiry according to the following format:

Before posting

I checked the issue tracker for similar issues (did I miss something?) I checked the changelog if the issue is already resolved (did I miss something?) I (presumably) tried the latest Clementine build, having just downloaded the very latest version.

System information

Operating System: Windows 10 Clementine version: 1.3.1

Expected behaviour / actual behaviour

The unexpected problems were:

1. Not all past episodes of Podcasts appear indexed.
2. Podcasts (and some iTunes U series) had no episodes indexed at all.
3. There were several iTunes U series which, when the apparently appropriate URL is used, yielded the error message "Failed to parse the XML for this RSS feed".

Note See above for detailed description.

[sobkas]

I will be rewriting podcast xml parser in near future, so I will take care of it too. Adding more problematic feeds would help me a lot, thanks.

[Tyrel771]

Sounds good.

Here are some more feeds which happened to interest me:

1. The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast (actually, I just double checked it and now it's working for me - interesting).
2. https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/LZDirectory.woa/ra/directory/courses/574799393/feed (and the other Seattle Pacific University series, including the lecture series on J.R.R. Tolkien)
3. https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/LZDirectory.woa/ra/directory/courses/516276353/feed
4. https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/LZDirectory.woa/ra/directory/courses/934890472/feed (and basically all the other RTS series)
5. Vatican Insider (EWTN): Clementine just reads: "Podcast has changed" -... Actually, ok, after quite a lot of work I figured out that the correct RSS feed for this one is: http://www.ewtn.com/se/pg/DatService.svc/feed/~LE.xml - but if you look for it through "Search iTunes" you will not find it. Whether that's something you can (or care to) fix or not, I don't know.
6. Biola University's "Neuroscience and the Soul [Audio]" https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id583693178 and others from Biola.
7. Divine Office – Liturgy of the Hours of the Roman Catholic Church (Breviary) which is at https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/divine-office-liturgy-hours-roman-catholic-church-breviary/id1196391383?mt=2&uo=4
8. Oxford University's "The Nature of Causation" iTunes Series, https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id1126031966 (and all the other Oxford University series I could find).
9. University of Glasgow, "Kant's Epistemology" https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id544311813 (and all the others from the University of Glasgow)
10. The Open University's "David Hume: 18th Century Philosopher" https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id421362095 (et alia)
11. Yale University's "Constitutional Law" https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id387940173 (et alia)
12. Stanford University's "The Aurora Forum" https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/feed/id385780135 (et alia)

You get the idea.

Obviously these fall into a pretty niche set of interests, all things considered, and as such, I have no good way of making an inference from my experience to the experience of the average user. However, it may at least be worth saying that to the extent that experiences like mine are not irregular, Clementine seems like a missed opportunity. It has the potential to be a great alternative to iTunes for podcasts and iTunesU series. If I stumble across any more I'll try to return here and bring them to your attention, but presumably the ones I have mentioned will give you an idea of what to look for in future.

Cheers.

[sobkas]

Right now I'm busy rebasing clementines qt5 port, so I'm sorry but I will have to concentrate on that effort right now. But when it will be over it should be easier to fix this issue.

[Tyrel771]

Sounds good. I look forward to the fix.

[ghost]

Tyrel771, have you made sure that under Tools > Preferences > Internet Providers > Podcasts you have "number of episodes to display: All" selected? Might be an easy fix for some of your woes.