Since last week, the Bombcast doesn't work very well with the Google Play Music app on Android

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deactivated-64b9ac4378e42

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I guess something recently changed in the way the Bombcast MP3s are created or encoded, because the last two Bombcasts (449 and 450) both seem to work poorly with the Google Play Music app (i.e. the default music player app on Google's Android devices). The app seems to be unable to get any metadata from the MP3s, and so it is unable to figure out the artist, title and album art for the MP3 files. But, more importantly, it is unable to determine the length of the audio stream. This means it essentially treats the MP3 file as a stream of audio of unspecified length, much like a livestream. It is impossible to jump to a particular part of the file (i.e. it always starts playing from the start), or to see a timecode for the part you're listening to currently. Which is a problem because I tend to listen to the Bombcast in 20 minute chunks while I commute to and from work.

Attached is a screenshot of what it looks like on my Nexus 6P: All the phone tells me is the filename, 'Unknown Artist', and as you can see: it's playing, but it says the file is 0:00 long and currently at timecode '--:--'.

I've tried regular and premium versions of the MP3s, and Google Play exhibits this behaviour for all of them. The Beastcast still works fine. For some reason it works fine on (some) other apps (I tried SolidExplorer's embedded music player). So while there are workarounds, I personally would very much prefer to listen to the MP3 through the audio app that, until last week, has happily played the Bombcast for many many years without issue.

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Zella

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#2  Edited By Zella

Which country do you live in? Play Music has podcast support now in many countries. You can subscribe to podcast within the app. I don't think you will be able to get the premium podcast version but the standard can be subscribed to in the app.

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TAFAE

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I listen to the Bombcast on the Google Play Music app, though I am subscribed in the app rather than using RSS or clicking the download link on the site. I have not had any of the issues you described with this week's podcast or last weeks, and I also have a Nexus 6P.

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JamesVersusLife

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#4  Edited By JamesVersusLife

I'm experiencing the exact same issue as GoneWacko with the Bombcast not working within the Google Play Music App when downloading the mp3 from the site.

The problem seems to be only with the Bombcast and no other podcast available from Giantbomb.com.

I'm a UK based premium member and it just seemed to start happen one week. I'm basically missing the weekly premium cast when I'm on the road now. :(

Can anyone help please?