Webplayer problems

[sonntagskindlein]

Hello!

I’m not a paying customer, I only use what’s for free. So I don’t want any service from you, I just want to help and point out some something.

The web interface has some problems, partially very essential. Let’s show this on the example of Above & Beyond Group therapy (cannot insert link here, will be converted) on Windows 10, Chrome.

Problems:

1. “Show all”
• When clicking on “Show all” next to “Discography” I get the full title list of the latest show and it looks as if something’s wrong. Scrolling down reveals that there are actually all shows, but in full list form. You can literally scroll down for miles. Update: found out this is due to list mode being active as default. Expectation is to get the cover/title overview as on the previous
  page.
2. Playlist handling
• With an empty play list I start to play one of the shows. I my case I scrolled down to 452 (was hard to find amongst the huge list, should have used search on page) and clicked Play and it started. Then scrolled up to 453 and clicked “Add to queue”. Then the mess started:
  • The second show was put on top of the list, not after the one I had already started to play.
  • As I looked on the queue, I saw 453 first. Since the first track of 452 was still playing, the next played track was the first of 453.
  • Then I clicked “Empty queue” which didn’t empty the queue. It only removed show 453, except for the first track. Means, the queue showed one track of 453 and then entire 452, plus the “Empty queue” button was gone. See screenshot below.
    • The first track of 452, however, was already removed, because it has been played before queue item 1.
  • After this I thought “well, may be you just need to reload the queue page” and so I did it. While loading it shortly showed some text like “Your queue is empty, you can add...” -> couldn’t read all, because then the same as below shown came up again. Means I can’t empty the queue completely, except for cleaning the browser’s cache.
  • So I cleaned the browser’s cache, completely, and logged in again. Well, the queue was saved on the server. Means, even after that it was still there and I can’t empty it.
3. Queue menu and title management
• In the queue, next to the titles, there is a menu. This opens an overlay with the first entry “Add to queue”. This is paradox for a title that already is on the queue. See 2nd screenshot below
• What’s missing is the option to remove a single title, but I suppose that’s only because the software has a bug here, thinking my queue would be empty.

[sonntagskindlein]

Further flaws and/or missing features with the Web player (and most likely in the app, too):

• It doesn't let you chose to play a list of shows like ABGT from old to new. It's always new to old.
• When you start to play a show and it ends, it would automatically continue with the next older one by automatically adding it to the playlist instead of stopping, so you would recognize when the show is through.
• The playlist is track based only. For a show-like appearance, like with ABGT, a show based grouping would be nice. If that would already exist, it could help the topic above with a setting "Stop at end of playlist"

[AlejaR]

Hey @sonntagskindlein,

Thanks for posting in the Community and for all the detailed info shared.

We'd like you to know we really appreciate all the feedback you kindly sent us. We could replicate the behavior described in point 1, and we'd like you to know we hear you.

Regarding point 3, we'd like to add some insights. In this case, you can't see the remove option in the first title you see on the queue, since this is expected: that's the song/podcast episode that's currently playing, so it's not possible to remove it. We also notice the "paradox" you mentioned, and once again we'd like to thank you for your comments.

Lastly, we couldn't follow accurately what you're mentioning on point 2. That being said, would you mind sending us a video recording of that behavior, so we can visualize it better? You can attach the video in your next reply in mp4 format, or you can also upload it to YouTube or Google drive and make it public, so we can watch it.

Once again, thanks for the feedback. Keep us in the loop!

[sonntagskindlein]

Hello! Sorry for getting back so late, I used my Google mail to register here and this mail I only check a few times a year.

---

@AlejaR wrote:

Regarding point 3, we'd like to add some insights. In this case, you can't see the remove option in the first title you see on the queue, since this is expected: that's the song/podcast episode that's currently playing, so it's not possible to remove it.

---

It's a bit more complicated. Usually, websites work with symbols like a trash can for removal/deletion. When clicking the menu next to every queue title there is "Remove from queue". Ok, so we can can actually remove single titles. Maybe I really accidentally clicked the currently playing one. The "paradox" is just illogical to me, that's why I mentioned it. Could also be called redundant.

Video: Not easy to start off with an empty queue, as for the situation in one browser there was no way to empty it, except for removing every single title manually. Even cleaning the browser cache didn't help. So I had to switch to another browser (Firefox). The video is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lX02qlrJjupTbpahU7uOA2h6T5_8jmrc/view?usp=share_link (sorry for the low quality, was recorded that way)

What problems do we see?

• When playing show 452 it's automatically added to the queue -> not a problem, but not wanted
• I accidentally added 452 another time, which is weirdly possible, and it appears under "Next" -> so far, so good
• Then I added show 453, which turns out being shown under "Next" as well but on top of the second 452, so the queue shows from top to bottom 452 -> 453 -> 452 and since this is the play order, 453 would be played before 452 though added later.
• There is no "Empty queue" button anymore, though I must have had one when writing the initial post

Regarding the "Empty queue" button: I learned that when I sign off from the website and sign in again, then open the queue  it restores the queue, but with the "Empty queue" button. Then I tried deleting the queue, but see for yourself:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1koI_9TBQ5Ksf_oPwGoMUiAiirjuPJJlI/view?usp=share_link

The only thing that got deleted here was the Empty queue button. 
 

[OscarDC]

Hey @sonntagskindlein,

Thank you for keeping in contact and for the info shared.

We've tried to replicate the issue on our end, but it was not possible. So to continue investigating this case, we'll need to gather as much information as possible.

In this case, since this issue could be cache-related, could you try it on an incognito window and on another web browser to see if it makes any difference?

Also, would you mind checking if this happens using the Desktop app as well? This will give us a better look at the issue.

We'll be on the lookout.

[sonntagskindlein]

Hey OscarDC!

I didn't know of the app until now. An app is often better, unless it's only a frame for the same code as used on the website. So I installed it, for comparison and most likely future use. What I instantly found as positive feature is that there are more settings in which you can turn off auto-play. I don't like auto-play, also on Youtube is such. In my job I'm involved in software testing and have to deal with weird ideas of programmers, so I know those sometimes pointless things. My creed is "Let the user decide" so if I, for instance, want auto-play, then I can enable but the default shouldn't be that it is enabled. Comparable to your Spotify app where auto-start with Windows is enabled by default. Not good. Auto-start apps always slow down the Windows start. Back to the topic.

The app (video https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ylb0Ny1MVA6Wada9zNmGtx7_gHm_98TN/view?usp=share_link) and what I found to be weird/wrong/missing (just my opinion):

• At 00.00 you see a menu at the top. This menu totally vanishes later, though it's helpful. No way of getting back to the playlists. In the player there is queue button, but that's not the playlist management window.
• The lower bar with app banner is sometimes hidden, but mostly visible and disturbs the **bleep** at that place. The ads would better fit in the left side panel.
• After I found my test subject, the ABGT shows, the default view is tiles. When going to "Show all" (00:15) it suddenly shows list view so I have to switch back to tiles first -> that is a bad navigation flaw -> seriously, who tests your software when such things slip through?
• Then I did the same as on the website, started playing show 452 so it get puts on the playlist.
• Then added 453 which is put on top of 452 -> and you claim you cannot repeat that wrong behavior? How can you not?

The separate topic with "Empty queue" button: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tdmUA-ZoqSqBfuyj2HimLYLNgJRbGA56/view?usp=share_link  -> as you can see, it's the same here in the app as on the website.  The button only deletes itself. Let me guess - the same code?

[Lyubka]

Hey @sonntagskindlein,

Thanks for getting back to us!

Regarding the menus - that's the Your Library menu and there is a way to get back to it - navigate back to the library. 

We'd also like to explain a bit more about the Queue. There is the Queue and there is Next from. If you'd like to have songs in order - queue both of them with 3 button menu and it's all done. The Next from will play all things that follow certain content but the queued songs get prioritized. 

We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback about ads location, next grid view and show all view with us. We'll make sure to pass it onto the right team, as we always strive to improve your experience.  We're always testing new things in order to improve the user experience and gather feedback on different features, you can learn more about that here. 

Cheers! 

[sonntagskindlein]

Hello Lyubka!

Your Library window: something we just have to know, because I never clicked on the Your Library button when I took the video. 😉

Qeue: I never saw anything else than "Now playing" and "Next from" in the queue, so I consider both together as the queue. But still, as I showed in the video, I actively added the shows to the queue. So, if I add 452 first and then 453, it's the only logic to have 453 at the bottom.

Button: As I started the app today, the "Clear queue" (switched to English now to see the english names) button was still gone and the queue showed show 452. After adding another show for a test, which showed up under "Next from" as well, the button came back. Using it clear the queue only removed the last added show, but 452 remained. Sorry, but that's confusing. A queue is a queue. You only have one. Clearing it should remove all tracks except for the currently playing one. Now I hoped in this situation I could empty it by actually listening to all tracks and skipping to the next one. But quess what? Not even that works. See: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ScNjyXbAHGm4F8ypsOn5vMWU-nS8d4xW/view?usp=share_link

[toneyginder]

It's frustrating when features don't work as expected, especially when you're trying to enjoy your favorite music.
I appreciate that you're not a paying customer and don't need any service from the company. However, it's still essential to provide feedback so that they can improve the user experience for everyone. I think testing it with an app like zaptest and troubleshooting could help. Thanks again for your feedback, and I hope the issues get resolved soon so you can continue to enjoy Above & Beyond Group therapy!