thegusbus

Q: Shuffle skips podcasts

So, at first this only happened with one Podcast - The Mockingcast. I'd download the podcast to my Shuffle, but every time I pressed play the shuffle would skip the Mockingcast and move to the next Podcast on the shuffle.  Today it started doing the same thing with The Moth podcast. The episode shows up as being on the Shuffle - but when I press play, it skips and goes to the next Podcast on the shuffle. This doesn't happen with any other podcasts! Any help?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Feb 27, 2016 10:25 AM

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Q: Shuffle skips podcasts

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  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Feb 27, 2016 11:10 AM in response to thegusbus
    Level 8 (38,406 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 27, 2016 11:10 AM in response to thegusbus

    Is your iPod shuffle the current 4th gen (or 3rd gen) model?  If so, podcast episodes are played by selecting the podcast from the playlist menu.  Each podcast (that is synced to the shuffle) is considered a separate playlist, with the episodes of that podcast as items on that playlist.  The playlist menu is accessed by using the VoiceOver.  This document explains how to enable and use VoiceOver on the shuffle.

     

    iPod shuffle (4th generation): Enabling and using VoiceOver - Apple Support

     

    Are you using VoiceOver to select the podcast you want to hear?  When you turn ON the shuffle to play it, you are using the default All Songs list.  This list is "all songs" so unless you use VoiceOver to select a podcast from the playlist menu, you should not hear any podcasts at all.

     

    NOTE:  You can also sync (and play) podcast episodes by putting them on a playlist in iTunes, and selecting that playlist to sync to the shuffle; you can then select that playlist on the shuffle by using VoiceOver, to hear episodes of different podcasts, in any desired order, consecutively.

     

    If your shuffle is older (1st or 2nd gen), it works differently; please post back.

  • by thegusbus,

    thegusbus thegusbus Feb 27, 2016 11:26 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 27, 2016 11:26 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    4th generation. I'm using the VoiceOver button to select the podcast - but it simply beeps and moves on to the next Podcast on my shuffle when I hit play. So, for example, 3 podcasts on the shuffle  -  This American Life - plays, The Moth - beeps and skips to the next podcast on the shuffle and plays it instead.

     

    I've tried putting the Podcasts that don't work in a playlist, buy they won't play from there either.

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Feb 27, 2016 11:54 AM in response to thegusbus
    Level 8 (38,406 points)
    Mac OS X
    Feb 27, 2016 11:54 AM in response to thegusbus

    I would first do a Restore on the shuffle using iTunes, in case there is data corruption on the shuffle causing those episodes to not play.  This erases the iPod, reinstalls its software, and sets it to default settings.

     

    Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to factory settings - Apple Support

     

    After the Restore, sync those podcast episodes, as before.  Try it again.

  • by Earthen,

    Earthen Earthen Feb 28, 2016 5:53 PM in response to thegusbus
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 28, 2016 5:53 PM in response to thegusbus

    I am experiencing the same problem with syncing The Moth podcast to my iPod shuffle, but all my other podcasts sync without any problem. So strange. Restoring the iPod did not solve the problem.

  • by thegusbus,

    thegusbus thegusbus Feb 29, 2016 5:48 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 29, 2016 5:48 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    I've tried restoring, but it didn't help.

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,Solvedanswer

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Mar 1, 2016 10:42 AM in response to thegusbus
    Level 8 (38,406 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 1, 2016 10:42 AM in response to thegusbus

    If the problem only occurs with certain podcast episodes (most others play fine), and they play fine in iTunes on the computer but continue to have the same problem on the shuffle (even after doing a Restore), my guess is that there is something unusual about those specific audio files that the shuffle cannot handle.

     

    You can convert them to a different format using iTunes.  Do a (right-click) Get Info on the podcast episode, and go to the Info window's File tab.  Note the Kind and Bit Rate used for this podcast.  Most podcasts seem to use MP3 ("MPEG audio file") format.  Open iTunes preferences General pane, and click Import Settings.  Choose AAC Encoder (if original is MP3).  For Setting (bit rate), you should choose High Quality (128 kbps).  OR if the podcast is purely spoken word, you can choose Spoken Podcast, which gives you a smaller size file that is mono (not stereo).  Remember to change these settings back after you are done, because they are also used for music, like when you import ("rip") a music CD into iTunes.

     

    Select the podcast episode (or episodes) with this problem in iTunes.  From the menu bar, File -> Create New Version -> Create AAC Version.  The new AAC version ends up in your iTunes Music library (as a song).  Show your iTunes Music library sorted by Date Added or Album (to find the new AAC version).  The Album is name of podcast; the Date Added is now.  You should update the episode Name slightly, so you can distinguish it from the original; you can add "(AAC)" to the end of episode Name.  Right-click it and select Get Info.  In the Info window's Options tab, change Media Kind to Podcast

     

    The new AAC version of the podcast episode should now appear in your Podcasts library, alongside the original version. Try syncing it to your shuffle.

  • by thegusbus,

    thegusbus thegusbus Mar 1, 2016 10:43 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 1, 2016 10:43 AM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

    That worked! Thank you!