Direct download links failing on some epesodes

  • Resolved bhkh

    (@bhkh)


    4 years, 9 months ago

    I’m having a strange situation where for some of my episodes, the direct download link starts to download the mp3 but at the very end it fails. I have worked out that it is specific to particular episodes.

    To be clear, my only problem is with some direct download links. Otherwise things work fine.

    My usual method of creating new episode (posts) is by duplicating an existing one. If I duplicate an episode where the direct download link works, then the new page will also work. If I duplicate an episode where it doesn’t work, then the new page also does not work.

    I should note that on Firefox the download fails, but on Chrome it just endlessly repeats trying to download. On Firefox, there is a file downloaded in the format episodefile.mp3.part. When I delete the “.part” from the file, it plays perfectly.

    I have compared the source code of pages that work and pages that don’t and I can’t see an obvious difference in the code.

    Here is a summary of what’s going on:

    What does NOT work
    * Clicking on “Download file”
    * Clicking on cloud icon in player to download
    * Right click “Save link as” on “Download file” or cloud icon in player

    What does work:
    * Player on website
    * listening in podcast app (so the feed works fine)
    * Downloading in podcast apps (RadioPublic, gPodder)
    * listening on podcast app websites (RadioPublic, CastBox, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts)

    Things I have tried–All Failed to solve problem

    • disable all plugins other than SSP
    • using latest version of SSP (1.20.12)
    • using latest version of wordpress (Version 5.3.2)
    • revert SSP to version 18
    • Put the mp3 file on a different server and change the podcast file link to that destination *
    • Recreate mp3 file in Audacity *
    • Change the bit rate of mp3 file *
    • Tried m4a version of the file *
    • Upgraded PHP to 7.4
    • tried on different computers
    • tested on archive page as well as individual episode pages. Same behaviour
    • tried short code player

    * I tried these before I realized the problem is completely unrelated to the audio file.

    After contacting my hosting service, I was told that my site is on an Apache server so there is no NGINX (I use Dreamhost)

    The closest help article I could find was this:
    https://support.castos.com/article/59-podcast-media-will-not-play-anywhere
    But of course it does play everywhere except the direct download link.

    I did follow the instructions in step four on that page and it did work, in that the url’s for the downloads were not re-written and they just went to the media in the library.

    Here is an episode where the direct download link fails:
    https://www.serenecolombo.org/podcast/144-a-mother-harasses-her-arahant-son/

    Here is an episode where the direct download link works:
    https://www.serenecolombo.org/podcast/145-vows-that-lead-to-heaven/

    In the future, of course, I will only create new episode posts by duplicating working episodes. However, I have about 45 episodes that don’t work and I need to figure out how to fix them.

    Do you have any idea what’s going on? I’ve spend hours trying to figure it out with no luck.

    I do love the plugin and really appreciate all your hard work. Thanks!!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)

  • Hello @bhkh
    Sorry to hear you are having this problem. There are known issues with the plugin and duplicate post plugins. If you are using one of those to create your episode pages, what happens to the audio if you create a new episode that is just new and not a duplicate. Does the media play in this instance?

    Thread Starter bhkh

    (@bhkh)

    Hello!

    Yes, if I create a brand new post it seems to work. I can certainly do that from now on.

    Is there any fix for the old posts? I don’t want to mess up people’s apps by republishing 70 old posts.

    Thanks so much for the plugin.

    Hello @bhkh,

    Unfortunately no, there isn’t a setting or an easy way to get around this for legacy posts. If you publish the posts without any changes to the text then set the date to the same date and time, it shouldn’t disrupt your users’ feed but it would be a manual process.

    Thread Starter bhkh

    (@bhkh)

    If you publish the posts without any changes to the text then set the date to the same date and time,

    So, are you saying that I should create a new post with exactly the same info on the page (I use Gutenberg. I’m assuming I would switch to code view and copy that) and publish with the same date and time, same title, same everything? Would I delete the existing page first?

    no, there isn’t a setting or an easy way to get around this for legacy posts.

    Is there a hard way? Something in the database that could be edited? I dont’ mean to be pushy, I’d just rather not have to recreate all those posts.

    Thank you so much for your responses. I thought I was doing something wrong.

    Thread Starter bhkh

    (@bhkh)

    Hello!

    I’m wonder if you have found any way to fix this issue without re-creating the posts.

    Thanks!

Viewing 5 replies - 1 through 5 (of 5 total)
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