Any music player that does TiVo-style skip forward/backward?

[DanPLC]

OK, Dan, you're on. I just downloaded the trial and will try it for a week.

Thanks for trying the app!

A) the hidden overlay buttons concept and B) the sliding menus from left right and bottom.

I've thought about displaying an initial welcome screen because of the hidden overlay buttons which are really different (in a good way) than what other music players have done in the past. But the sliding menus (left, right, and bottom) have visual indicators (arrows), so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out you have those available. But when I implement the welcome screen, I'll definitely mention them as well.

In other parts of the app where there are features that are not completely apparent, I display an info popup explaining the "hidden" feature. So you should see that occasionally as you use the app. For a complete list, you can go to the app's Help screen (tap the "?" in the right-side panel) and select "Remix Tips".

You should not have shuffle enabled by default. Skipping tracks was infuriating for a minute there.

I have shuffle enabled by default simply because the app does a "Shuffle All" the first time it loads so you have some music playing the first time you run the app. On all subsequent loads of the app, it will resume the previous list you were playing. And any time you load a new list (album, artist, playlist, autolist, etc.) the app will turn off shuffle depending upon which list you decide to load. For instance, if you loaded an album after that, it would have switched it off and played the album in track order. Or if you loaded a saved playlist, it would have played it in order. However there are some lists that shuffle will be turned on by design. For instance, some of the autolists are designed to be shuffled. For example, "Deja Vu" is by definition a "random mix of recently played songs", so shuffle is turned on by default in that case. But you can turn it off by bringing up the bottom-side sliding panel (that displays your Now Playing list).

 

[ChrisC]

So far so good.

A couple times the app has reset a track back to the beginning -- I had it paused in the middle, and when I return to the app, I find it's at the beginning of the track instead of where I left it. Everything I listen to is in the form of 30-minute tracks (from an audio archiving system) so it's pain to lose my place. I haven't found a pattern as to when it does this exactly, but it's happened to me at least twice. A more severe version of this is actually what drove me away from tinyPlayer. If you can't find the bug or explain it, I'll appreciate your help in working with me to isolate it if it returns.

What does the "follow song" preference do? I found it in the settings somewhere, and turned it off thinking it might take care of the above problem, but now I can't find the setting. Which leads me to ... you should have all of the settings in one place.

You ABSOLUTELY should have a welcome screen that explains the basics, and those basics should be repeated in the help section, and should be repeated AGAIN (in FAQ form) in the FAQ section. For example, the very first FAQ should be "where are the play and pause buttons"?

Besides the transparent buttons, and the "hidden" slideout menus, are there any other secret UI elements? Perhaps press-and-hold popup menu functionality? All should be documented in app.

I'll buy the app this week. Congratulations on making a great app that does exactly what I want, including the Tivo-style FF and RW, and lock screen integration!

 

[Rolokid]

Hello Dan,

Is it possible to control the skip functions via bluetooth? In other words, using my Pebble watch or bluetooth headphones, can i simply press a button for 30 seconds back or forward?

 

[DanPLC]

Basic controls such as pause/play, next track, and previous track work, but no you can't skip ahead 30 seconds using headphone controls or the Pebble.

 

[DanPLC]

A couple times the app has reset a track back to the beginning -- I had it paused in the middle, and when I return to the app, I find it's at the beginning of the track instead of where I left it. Everything I listen to is in the form of 30-minute tracks (from an audio archiving system) so it's pain to lose my place. I haven't found a pattern as to when it does this exactly, but it's happened to me at least twice. A more severe version of this is actually what drove me away from tinyPlayer. If you can't find the bug or explain it, I'll appreciate your help in working with me to isolate it if it returns.

That's odd. I've never experienced that myself. The next time it happens, try to bring up the "View Bookmarks" popup (tap the "..." on the Now Playing screen or next to a song while browsing the app) and choose "Resume Last Position". This should allow you to resume where you last left off. The app automatically saves the last played position in every single track that's played. Also you can save your own manual bookmarks on the Now Playing screen.

What does the "follow song" preference do? I found it in the settings somewhere, and turned it off thinking it might take care of the above problem, but now I can't find the setting. Which leads me to ... you should have all of the settings in one place.

There is no "follow song" setting, so I'm not sure what you're referring to. Most settings are in one place: the Preferences screen (accessible via the gears icon at the top of the right-side sliding panel). The only settings not on the Preferences screen are the aesthetic customization options which have their own icon on the right-side sliding panel. The only other exception are settings saved automatically on certain screens. For instance, on the Songs screen if you choose to display the songs in thumbnail mode, it'll automatically remember that selection.

You ABSOLUTELY should have a welcome screen that explains the basics, and those basics should be repeated in the help section, and should be repeated AGAIN (in FAQ form) in the FAQ section. For example, the very first FAQ should be "where are the play and pause buttons"?

Yes you're correct about the welcome screen (especially for the play/pause/next/previous tap areas on the album art). I'm going to work on that.

Besides the transparent buttons, and the "hidden" slideout menus, are there any other secret UI elements? Perhaps press-and-hold popup menu functionality? All should be documented in app.

All other "secret" items are presented to the user via a "Remix Tip" popup that appears automatically. You can also view the "Remix Tip" informational popups on the Help screen. The only other thing that could be considered "secret" are the new sliding gestures on the Now Playing list and playlist editing screen. Slide right to remove an item from a list.. Slide left to queue the item to play next (Now Playing list) or move the item to the top of the list (playlist editing screen). These gesture are customizable in the "Gestures" section of the "Preferences" screen.

I'll buy the app this week. Congratulations on making a great app that does exactly what I want, including the Tivo-style FF and RW, and lock screen integration!

Thanks, I'm glad you liked the app. If you have any other suggestions or questions, hit me up in the Music Player (Remix) discussion thread.

 

[Rolokid]

Basic controls such as pause/play, next track, and previous track work, but no you can't skip ahead 30 seconds using headphone controls or the Pebble.

Would it be possible to give us an option to change the BLUETOOTHNEXT and BLUETOOTHPREVIOUS controls to control the skip functions instead of next and previous? Or maybe just globally change the next previous functions to skip back/forward?

 

[DanPLC]

Would it be possible to give us an option to change the BLUETOOTHNEXT and BLUETOOTHPREVIOUS controls to control the skip functions instead of next and previous? Or maybe just globally change the next previous functions to skip back/forward?

I'm not sure how many people would want to use this type of option. I would think most people like the ability to skip tracks (vs. fast forwarding or backward through the track).

My goal is to only add configurable settings that I believe a decent number of people would use. Prior to developing my app, I used several of the other major music apps and one of the things I disliked about some of them were their bloated preferences screens. So while Music Player (Remix) does have a good number of customization options, I don't want it to become too bloated.

So when considering possible additions to the app preferences, I definitely consider how valuable it will be to a majority of my users. I just don't think many people will use this setting.

 

[Rolokid]

I understand. I agree most wouldn't use it for music.. but I transfer smart playlists of podcasts from my itunes library. For that purpose I think there would be many more people using that feature, but as your app name suggests, it's primarily for music.

Thank you for the quick replies.

 

[Quebt]

I've found Ginkgo Audio Book Player.

Probably the best choice for your purposes.

 

[Rolokid]

I don't see any playlist support in Ginkgo.

 

[Rolokid]

I'm not sure how many people would want to use this type of option. I would think most people like the ability to skip tracks (vs. fast forwarding or backward through the track).

My goal is to only add configurable settings that I believe a decent number of people would use. Prior to developing my app, I used several of the other major music apps and one of the things I disliked about some of them were their bloated preferences screens. So while Music Player (Remix) does have a good number of customization options, I don't want it to become too bloated.

So when considering possible additions to the app preferences, I definitely consider how valuable it will be to a majority of my users. I just don't think many people will use this setting..

Hello again Dan,

Congratulations on the new update. After reading about it, I of course was hoping for Bluetooth controls of the skip functionality, forgetting about our previous dialogue. I didn't remember if my conversation was about Music Player (Remix) or a different app. I then searched and discovered that it was in fact about that particular app. Anyway, after reading your comment again about how you don't think anyone would appreciate that feature, it made me think about this very forum that it was posted in. Clearly some of us care about that feature, hence the reason for this thread, not to mention it already being a feature in your app. It would be hard for me to believe that anyone who uses a 30 seconds skip feature would not appreciate being able to trigger it from their Bluetooth headphones or smartwatch. I learned about that functionality from a single app on my iPhone and luckily I was able to find it on Android... again, with only one single app. It would sure be nice to not have to rely on a sole app for that and Music Player (Remix) which is seemingly a very nice and well-designed app? one that I personally would think a Bluetooth trigger would fit in perfectly. I do understand your point about not having a bloated or overly complicated app... and it's certainly valid.

Anyway, just my two cents. As I said, it's a nice app and congrats again on the well-publicized update.

 

[DanPLC]

Clearly some of us care about that feature, hence the reason for this thread, not to mention it already being a feature in your app. It would be hard for me to believe that anyone who uses a 30 seconds skip feature would not appreciate being able to trigger it from their Bluetooth headphones or smartwatch.

The purpose of this thread was asking for TIVO-like skip controls within the app (which Music Player (Remix) has), not via bluetooth. So far you're the only one in the thread who's asked for 30-second skip control via bluetooth. Like I said, I prefer to work on features that a larger number of people would be interested in. I already have a huge to-do list that I keep knocking down with each release, but it also keeps growing so I have to be selective with which features I add to the list.

 

[Umnik192]

So far so good.

A couple times the app has reset a track back to the beginning -- I had it paused in the middle, and when I return to the app, I find it's at the beginning of the track instead of where I left it. Everything I listen to is in the form of 30-minute tracks (from an audio archiving system) so it's pain to lose my place. I haven't found a pattern as to when it does this exactly, but it's happened to me at least twice. A more severe version of this is actually what drove me away from tinyPlayer. If you can't find the bug or explain it, I'll appreciate your help in working with me to isolate it if it returns.

What does the "follow song" preference do? I found it in the settings somewhere, and turned it off thinking it might take care of the above problem, but now I can't find the setting. Which leads me to ... you should have all of the settings in one place.

You ABSOLUTELY should have a welcome screen that explains the basics, and those basics should be repeated in the help section, and should be repeated AGAIN (in FAQ form) in the FAQ section. For example, the very first FAQ should be "where are the play and pause buttons"?

Besides the transparent buttons, and the "hidden" slideout menus, are there any other secret UI elements? Perhaps press-and-hold popup menu functionality? All should be documented in app.

I'll buy the app this week. Congratulations on making a great app that does exactly what I want, including the Tivo-style FF and RW, and lock screen integration!

So many time passed and I want to advise you to get back to Astro Player. It has changed greatly since then. Now you will never loose the place where you listened your music as it always remembers the place you stopped listening. Also there are advanced bookmarks that can be made automatically. Just turn this feature on.
As for the ff/rw I suggest you to use another skin. There is a plain skin that has such buttons by default and are set to 10sec. You may also change the duration of that jump in settings.
And feel free to ask any questions!

 

[jhanks64]

What is Astro Player called now? I can't find it in the Play store.

 

[madhu4mobile]

I'm the initiator of this thread. I finally upgraded off of my old HTC Hero last week, to a Droid Razr M, and so now I'm revisiting my old desires like this to see if they are solved.

Regarding Astroplayer (mentioned immediately above), I don't know if I ever tried it.

So, this week I dug into this again, and read reports (on some other forum) of two players that reportedly did what I wanted: Tivo-style skip ahead and skip back.

MortPlayer: reportedly does do FF/RW customizable jumps, but I couldn't find any preference for the amount of time. If you press and hold on a FF/RW button, it jumps in 10 second increments. It's tricky to just jump 10 seconds, as you have to watch the screen to see when it has kicked in. Program has lock screen integration which is nice. The "MortPlayer AudioBooks" program might do a better job at the skipping; I haven't evaluated it.

tinyPlayer: DOES do FF/RW customizable jumps! It works! Hooray! God, after 3 years it's so nice to have that capability back. Alas, no lock screen integration. But this is the player that I'm using right now, and so far it's Good Enough.

I have done lot of research on the same requirement and found the following two works fine for the ff and rw. They are
1. AB Repeat Player
2. DJ studio 5 ( where i can pull by rorating DJ platform)

Actually i tried toattach the screenshots of them. But could not.

- Madhu

 

[webvan]

Would it be possible to give us an option to change the BLUETOOTHNEXT and BLUETOOTHPREVIOUS controls to control the skip functions instead of next and previous? Or maybe just globally change the next previous functions to skip back/forward?

Sorry for digging up this thread but did you ever find an app that lets you skip back/forward via Bluetooth, that would be very, very useful when listening to audiobooks while exercising ! Thanks !