Downcast

Category
News

Description of App

A powerful, complete, and easy to use podcast player that will help you manage and listen to podcasts the way you want to. Now with CarPlay support! "Downcast: Probably The Best Podcast Downloader for iPad and iPhone" - Wired Gadget Lab Subscription Features • Search, subscribe to and download audio and video podcasts of any size • Manually subscribe to podcasts via URL • Download podcasts automatically • Continue podcast downloads in the background* • Browse and download older podcast episodes • Auto-refresh podcast feeds • Settings for auto-download and episode retention • Import and export podcast feeds via OPML • Import supported audio/video media files • Support for password-protected podcasts • Create and edit "smart" playlists • View podcast details and episode show notes • Rename podcast titles iCloud Syncing with other iOS devices or Macs** • Podcast subscriptions • Playlists • Settings • Episode information Playback Features • Video and audio AirPlay support • .5x, 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 2x, 2.25x, 2.5x and 3x speed playback • Chapters support for enhanced podcasts • Stream episodes without downloading • Playback control from external devices • Bluetooth devices • Headphone remote controls • Devices connected via Lightning/dock connector • View embedded images in podcast episodes • Gesture support • Sleep timer • Google Cast™ Ready ----------------------------------------- For support, please search our support site at http://support.downcastapp.com or email us at support@downcastapp.com! For the latest information about Downcast, please follow @downcastapp on Twitter! * Per iOS restrictions ** iCloud syncing with Macs requires Downcast for Mac, which is a separate purchase from the Mac App Store

Version

2.9.48

Free or Paid

Paid

Apple Watch Support

Yes

Device(s) App Was Tested On

iPhone

iOS Version

13.4

Accessibility Comments

This app is fully accessible with VoiceOver. All buttons are clearly labelled, there are appropriate hints, and the interface is intuitive and easy to use.

Having used nearly every other podcast app that is available, this is now my favorite. Unlike some of those other apps, VoiceOver support does not appear like it was an afterthought. Nor does it get in the way of the basic usability of the app (I like iCatcher!, but I do find myself a little frustrated at how the elements and controls added to make it accessible actually impact a little on the user experience).

All of the features of Downcast are accessible. I particularly like the fact that podcasts with unplayed episodes are grouped at the top of your list of subscribed podcasts. This makes it much quicker and easier to keep track of new episodes (although you can also use the app's playlist feature to do this).

Downcast appears to offer the best of both worlds - a very good set of features, along with full support of VoiceOver. Highly recommended.

VoiceOver Performance

VoiceOver reads all page elements.

Button Labeling

All buttons are clearly labeled.

Usability

The app is fully accessible with VoiceOver and is easy to navigate and use.

App Store Link

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/downcast/id393858566?mt=8&ign-mpt=uo%3D4

Developer's Website

http://www.downcastapp.com/

Developer's Twitter Username

@downcastapp

Recommendations

22 people have recommended this app

Most recently recommended by Typical Janner 1 year 9 months ago

Options

Comments

By DurDevil on Wednesday, August 3, 2011 - 16:47

i contacted the developer with a request of adding additional playback speeds as often us VI's like to be productive and get through audio at faster speeds. They were very friendly and have since added 3X playback speed in addition to their other speed varients. Really great app from helpful and friendly developers - i really recommend this app!

By DPinWI on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 16:47

Is there a way to force Downcast to refresh its feeds manually? On my Touch 4G, even with refresh set to hourly, sometimes it will say it has been several hours since the last refresh. I'd like to be able to tell it to do it, "now."

By David Goodwin on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 16:47

You can use the pull-down to refresh gesture to force a manual refresh of podcasts. If you are not familiar with this gesture, it's a one fingered, double-tap and hold. Then, without lifting your finger from the screen, slide it downwards for a couple of centimetres and then lift it. In the case of Downcast, you need to do this on the page that lists your podcast subscriptions (although it also works when viewing a list of episodes for a specific podcast). It works best if VoiceOver focus is on the first item in the list. It can take a little practice to make this work consistently. A three-fingered swipe will usually action the pull-down to refresh in apps, but I have found this to be fairly unreliable with Downcast. From my experience, if you have Downcast set to only show podcasts with unplayed episodes and there are no podcasts listed, the three-fingered swipe down is the only one of these two gestures that will work.

Is there any sort of audio feed back to let one know the gesture has been successfully performed and interpreted? I'm double tapping hold and flicking down, but don't hear anything after the hold. I've tried it on the Edit button, the podcast heading, the last updated line, and the first podcast feed. I must have gotten it right as now my updated time is, well, updated, but I'm not sure which gesture made it happen. I

VoiceOver focus does need to be on an item in the list for the pull-down to work. If you have the 'refresh feed' sound effect enabled in settings then you should hear this to confirm that the feed refresh has started. As I said, it can take a little practice to get this gesture to work reliably and consistently.

By DPinWI on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - 16:47

I turned off all the notification sounds a long time ago. Ooops. Thanks again.

By AnonyMouse on Friday, August 3, 2012 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
What's New in Version 2.7.6 + New feature: Background feed refreshing based on location + Important bug fixes

By Toonhead on Monday, September 3, 2012 - 16:47

I just upgraded downcast to the latest 2.7.7 release, and something very interesting is happening with a password-protected podcast I subscribe to. In previous versions, downcast would update normally and download any new stuff on the feed, but every time I check for new podcasts and refresh all feeds, i'm now told that there was an authentication error with this particular podcast, and my only option is a dismiss button. Double-tapping that produces the exact same error once again and if you double-tap that dismiss button the error seems to go away. I'm not sure if anyone else subscribes to any password-protected podcasts, but i'd like to know if anyone else has seen this?I'm not sure if the error message is just a fluke? It happpens consistantly, as in every time I refresh all feeds. I tried downloading an earlier episode of the podcast and it worked fine so i'm hoping this is simply a bug. If anyone else has seen something like this i'd like to know. Thanks.

By DaughterofZion on Monday, September 3, 2012 - 16:47

I really like this app, but have discovered one troublesome bug. the app kicks out a media error message when you try to skip back or forward in a broadcast while it is playing. Could the playback speed have something to do with that?

By Xandross on Monday, September 3, 2012 - 16:47

This is something I've been trying to do, but have so far failed miserably! Could someone please let me know the correct procedure to rename a podcast? Otherwise, extremely happy with this app and wouldn't hesitate to recommend to other Touch 4th gen users..

By AnonyMouse on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
If it could get any better they have made more accessibility improvements. What's New in Version 2.7.9 + Improved iOS 6 compatibility + Small accessibility improvements + Bug fixes .

By Xandross on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - 16:47

I was delighted with this app until iOS6 and unfortunately my problems still persist after the 2.7.9 Downcast update. I've found that when using the app Voice Over speech is extremely crackily, especially during podcast downloads. So much so that on occasions speech ceases completely! Flicking from point to point also appears slightly sluggish and not at all as snappy as it was in iOS 5.1.1. Yes, its still useable and will remain my podcatcher of choice, its just that I'm a little disappointed with its current performance.. Perhaps if the thing hadn't been so darn good to begin with, these little problems wouldn't be niggling me! Using an Ipod Touch 4th Generation.

By Daniel on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - 16:47

I'm using an iPhone 5, and have no problems. Perhaps your problems can be attributed to the iPods A4 processor, and only 256MB of ram.

I've noticed that the speech seems to get sluggish during podcast downloads, but what i usually do is just walk away for a few minutes and let it update itself. when i finally hear the sound that says all podcasts were downloaded, i know I can use my iPod again. Might be worth letting the developers know, nicely, of course! This is by far my very fave app for podcasts, i'm sorry but the apple podcasts app doesn't even compare to this one, it's not even in the same sport. Downcast has it done and done very well.

By Andrew on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - 16:47

Xandross, I agree with the individuals post just before mine. I am using an I Phone 4s and have not experienced any of the issues you are claiming to have experienced; in fact, I believe that the downcast is better and faster then it has ever been on my 4s using the 2.79 version with IOS 6.0. I have an I pod 4 gen as well and no issues there either. Perhaps your I pod is closer to compacity? My 32gb I pod is only half full. -Andrew-

I just cleared out my iPod and did some other general housecleaning so when I run downcast again it should be just fine. It's good to know that when I upgrade to the iPhone 5 i'll have no problems with Downcast! like I say it's one of my very favorite apps ever.

By blindgator on Wednesday, October 3, 2012 - 16:47

Downcast blows me away with their continued efforts in approving accessibility. Additionally anytime I have had an issue and have reached out to them of Twitter they have responded very quickly. We would be very lucky if other developers were as fantastic as downcast. I won't even consider switching to the built in podcast app.

By Toonhead on Saturday, November 3, 2012 - 16:47

What's New in Version 2.7.10 + New options for disabling/enabling local notifications individually + New option to prevent upside down mode when portrait lock is enabled + New startup view option to show "Now Playing" view, if available + Fix for media errors when using skip buttons with VoiceOver enabled + Bug fixes I'm so glad they finally fixed the media errors bug with VoiceOver! Downcast just keeps getting better and better.

By AnonyMouse on Saturday, November 3, 2012 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team
What's New in Version 2.7.11

+ New option: Stream episodes over Wi-Fi only
+ Podcast feed URLs are now updated when permanent redirections are detected
+ Download timeout notification sound now respects the "Downloads" sound effect setting
+ Fixed crash when enabling iCloud syncing in certain scenarios
+ Bug fixes

By Ivan Cardenas on Thursday, January 3, 2013 - 16:47

I have an iPhone 4S, but it's only about 13 gigs and I have about 129MB free. Do you guys recommend this app for someone who has about 433 podcast episodes and counting?

Hey to all. I just joined the downcast croud. I'm trying to figure out how to import my opml file of podcasts. I tried adding it via the shared feature in itunes and a link in my dropbox to my opml file but no dice. What do I need to do so I dont' have to type all of my podcast urls by hand? I'm used to podcaster3 which is no longer on the app store. lol! Thanks all.

Hi Mary -- The following steps should do it for you. 1. Email the OPML file to yourself. 2. On the i-Device, open the email and perform a one finger double-tap and hold on the OPML attachment. 3. You should be presented with a list of Apps that can open this attachment. 4. Choose Downcast from that list. Downcast will open and import your podcasts. HTH, Bryan

Actually I did the following.
  • imported the file in to dropbox.
  • launched dropbox on iOS.
  • tapped the opml file.
  • tapped the export button,
  • then choose open in downcast
I hoep that helps someone.

Let me start by saying the developer of this app is fantastic, so I am surprised that I am having this problem, and wouldn't be surprised if I am the only one having this problem, but didn't want to see if anyone else was going through this, as today, downcast has become unsable to me. I have been trying to get my podcasts to load for 30 minutes. I do subscribe to a lot of podcasts all by streaming, and listen to the episodes when I have the time. Unfortunately I don't have the room on my device to download all. I went to load downcast today, and not only will it not load, voiceover craps out while in downcast. Half the time I have hit the home button three times to get out of downcast. For the few seconds downcast is working voiceover will jump all over the screen and not regain focus then it stops speaking again. Not sure how this could have happened as I haven't updated anything and it worked just fine last night. Please do let me know if anyone is experiencing this. Thanks.

Hello blindgator, Every so often I will experience this problem. Not as long as you have waited but at times I find myself waiting for a while of several minutes and more. I believe it is do to a Feed Source issue. If a particular Feed Source is having issues or if the RSS XML is messed up is when I find the Downcast take a bit longer than normal to figure it out that it is time to move on. Not certain what kind of timeout that Downcast has but I'd imagine the larger the number of sources you subscribe the longer it will take. Not this will help but try it later and see if that was the issue. If not, don't mean to be sounding like somebody from the IT department but have you turned off your device and turned it back on? If this persist then I recommend contacting the devs themselves. Hopefully, somebody else might have a better answer than what I have given you. HTH

Hi I got curious, so tried loading downcast, and it refreshed my feeds and even downloaded a new episode, all in about 3 minutes. I would try 2 things. Firstly, try deleting, and re-installing the app. I've found that odd issues can be to blame on this one. Be sure to have a backup of your podcast feeds somewhere before doing this so you can get them back if necessary. Also, if possible try deleting other stuff off your device...it might just be getting full, and when you run out of room this kind of thing may happen. I subscribe to about 15 podcasts, and downcast worked flawlessly here.

Hey guys, thanks for the quick responses. I am thinking it was some kind of a source error, as it is working now. I guess I am subscribed to to many podcasts and have them all streaming, but only keep a few episodes of some shows. all in all probably about 1000 episodes and I am trying to cut that down. I don't want to delete the app as I think I would lose all the episodes I have as I don't think setting a backup saves individual eps. I did email my log to the developer so hopefully that might tell me something further, as downcast is one of the best at getting back to you

Hey all, Just wanted to let everyone know that if you subscribe to a lot of podcasts turning episode synching off in Icloud synch seems to have solved my problem of sluggish performance. I heard from the developer who is always very quick to respond and very aware of voiceover and making sure that downcast continues to work with voiceover. I have to once again say that Downcast and the developer are truly amazing, and we would be so lucky if more developers were as proactive as downcast. While I have had a few problems with downcast considering I use it every day, it is still the best app for podcasts and the developer has always helped me solve my issues.

I most likely have a corrupted version of Downcast since it doesn't seem like anyone else is having the problems I am having, but today it got worse, as now Downcast is knocking Voiceover off on my phone, and I have to triple click home several times to get VO to come back on. I am not having any problems with any other apps, so it is definitely related to Downcast. I am waiting to hear back from the developer, and he is fantastic, but considering I listen to podcasts every day, and have certain podcasts that I don't want to delete some episodes, deleting the entire app which I am going to probably have to do, is really going to piss me off. Imagine losing everything you had saved on your DVR. Needless to say as fantastic as the app and developer is, this is really going to make me start considering another app, as this experience is really going to piss me off losing so much content that I haven't gotten to listen to yet. Sure I will be able to get some of it back, but considering there are ceratin podcasts I have gone through downloaded all episodes and deleted several that I wasn't interested in and kept the ones I want to listen to this is quite frustrating to say the least. Maybe I will have to use Apple's podcast for half my podcasts and Downcast for half as I have used Downcast for a very long time in the same way with the same amount of podcasts and over the past few months the app seems to have run into a lot of problems. REally disappointing. Just wanted to let people know in case they go through something similar.

I would try removing downcast, killing all apps from the switcher, then reinstalling down cast. and see if that works. but first back up all of your podcast feeds via the tools menu that way you can email them to yourself and open it from an email and resub to all of your feeds. Good luck.

Hi. I would seriously just delete the app, and start fresh. When you re-download the app again and get it running, go through all your feeds, and try to get it down to something a bit more managable. Downcast is probably trying to download too many episodes at once and your iDevice is probably not liking that too much. So if you do that I bet the problem will go away. Also, I try hard not to stream anything, I always download it, simply because I hate listening to a good show and have any buffering going on. That's a matter of personal preference, though, so that one's up to you. But yeah, try getting your list of feeds down to something a bit more managable. Currently I'm subscribed to about 25 podcasts, and downcast never has a problem at all. Good luck, let us know what happens!

Just wanted to say thanks for all the suggestions. I have been deleting some of the podcasts in hopes I can get the app to work properly again before deleting the wholte app and starting over again. We shall see how this works. Unfortunately, I have a 16 GB phone that is pretty full so downloading episodes instead of streaming isn't an option for me.

By KE7ZUM on Friday, May 3, 2013 - 16:47

Hmm. I download like 33 eps at a time and i have no issues. I'm subscribed to 46 podcasts all of which produce content. If deleting podcasts does not seem to work maybe try the reinstall method. Good luck.

By Xandross on Friday, May 3, 2013 - 16:47

In the past I've always carried out Downcast searches for new podcasts by just using the on-screen keyboard. I'd type in my query and tap on Search in the bottom right-hand corner. However, tonight I've tried entering the queries via my Bluetooth keyboard and I'm unable to find any way to start the search! The on-screen keyboard isn't there whilst using Bluetooth and there's no search in the bottom right-hand corner! Has anyone any idea what's going on here? Or, more probably, has anyone any idea what I'm doing wrong? Its the latest Downcast, 2.8.2 I think, on an iPod Touch 4th Gen latest version software.

By Melissa Roe on Friday, May 3, 2013 - 16:47

Hello, The on=screen does disappear when the bluetooth keyboard is active, but you don't need a search button. Simply press the enter key on your keyboard. That acts as a search button. Type your search, then hit enter. If you really need the on-screen keyboard and it's not there. if you are using the apple wireless keyboard then you should have a button on the top right that should make the keyboard visible or hidden. I've had to do that a couple times as some apps wouldn't let me type my password at times. I just think software can be kind of picky at times lol. Anyway, try the enter key. I've done it several times and it does work. Hope that helps, Take care and God bless. Melissa

"What's New in Version 2.8.3 + Dropped support for iOS 4 (Downcast now requires iOS 5 or later) + Fixed problem that could cause podcast artwork to disappear + Support for sharing to Google+ + Improved refresh status bar on iPhone + Various bug fixes and accessibility improvements"

By KE7ZUM on Monday, June 3, 2013 - 16:47

It also seems a bit faster at downloading at interface navagaiton and over all. I really love down cast. Take care.

By alex wallis on Saturday, August 3, 2013 - 16:47

Hi all, I have just purchased downcast I guess you would say on an impulse, I am not normally impulsive I normally research different app options, I was swayed by the glowing comments about the app. I do have a few questions though, I have successfully added a podcast feed, but I would like to know is there any way of automatically filtering my feed for that particular podcast so that only certain episodes are shown and automatically downloading only the particular episodes I want but leaving the rest. The problem is this podcast feed has episodes put up by lots of different people on different topics and I only want episodes put up by a particular person. I am also wondering I saw the option in the settings for portrait lock, what does the prevent upside down option do? last question is there any way to get downcast to download every single episode of a podcast?

Hi Alex, Welcome to Downcast, my favorite app on the Iphone. I use it every day. I was frustrated at a time, as I had some problems with it, as I always have about 1000 episodes streaming because I am subscribed to about 100 podcasts. Feel free to email me off list with any additional questions. As far as only downloading particular episodes of a podcast, I don't believe this can be done, but it is simple and quick to delete the ones you don't want by either selecting the episodes in the podcast tab and deleting them under actions, or if you use playlists like I do, you can make use of the swipe delete on an episode title which is even faster, as like you I am subscribed to a podcast feed where five podcasts are released weekly, but I only want one of them. As for the locked screen I assume that has to do with not flipping the screen upside down. I have my Iphone in portrait lock so this never happens to me. I also have set the app to never lock my screen while a podcast is playing which is nice. Make sure to theck out all the settings as their are tons of them so that you can really customize almost anything. To get all episodes of a podcast go under the podcast tab go to the title of the show, and at the bottom you will see the names of the episodes you have set to stream or downloaded, at the bottom is a view more episodes, click that and then you can either download individual older episodes or all episodes . Hope this helps.

By alex wallis on Saturday, August 3, 2013 - 16:47

Hi, thanks for your reply, that's really helpful. I will have to write to the developer about a way of filtering episodes, something like a keyword filter that would let you select to automatically download episodes from a particular person. I have also been having trouble with playlists, I have worked out how to create my playlist but can't work out how to ad podcasts to it. I think maybe someone should do another podcast on downcast that covers more advanced topics.

There are a couple of ways to add a podcast to a playlist. The way I did it was go into the playlists tabe create a playlist and name it. I believe it then takes you to a screen where you can select to add all your podcats to the playlist which I always skip and than the next option allows you to go through all your podcasts by name and individually add them to a playlist. Another way which I use a lot is once you have created a playlist and named it go through your podcasts under the podcast tab. Go to the individual podcast settings tab and under that go to memberships this allows you to add a podcast to an already existing playlist and there might even be an option in there to create a new playlist, as I don't recall. It is pretty easy stuff. Good luck

To add to a a playlist simply select the podcasts. I did a podcast on down cast a while ago here. http://www.tffppodcast.com/looking-at-down-cast/ Enjoy and hoep that helps.

By AnonyMouse on Saturday, August 3, 2013 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.8.5

+ iCloud syncing improvements
+ Better support for ID3 chapters
+ Bug fixes

 

By AnonyMouse on Thursday, April 3, 2014 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.8.15

- Added support for Google Cast™
- Added options for sorting episodes by file size and playback time remaining
- Added episode disk usage to the podcast details view
- Updated playback speeds (details at http://support.downcastapp.com)
- Dropped support for iOS 5
- Additional bug fixes and improvements

 

By AnonyMouse on Friday, October 3, 2014 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.8.20

• Support for iOS 8
• 64 bit support
• New method for sharing podcast and episode information**
• New sound effects
• Dropped support for iOS 6
• Other bug fixes and improvements

** To support iOS extensions, Downcast now uses the built-in iOS sharing feature. This means that support for sharing to some services will require installing
apps for those services and enabling their extensions.

By AnonyMouse on Tuesday, February 3, 2015 - 16:47

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

What's New in Version 2.8.27
Enhancements
• Adds support for additional playback speeds: 2.25x, 2.5x, and 2.75x. The full list of supported speeds is 0.5x, 1.0x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 2x, 2.25x, 2.5x, 2.75x,
and 3x.
• Adds new global & podcast specific setting for configuring the speeds available when cycling playback speeds by tapping the player's speed button.
• Help button on the More tab now shows options for viewing online help, submitting your log file, and updating your crash reporting preferences.