RSS Podcast feeds are not working

[JoshWho]

I wanted to let you know about a problem with the RSS/MRSS podcast feeds for several (if not all) FTJ shows. Since approximately November 1st or so, the files rendered to podcatcher apps are corrupted.

You can try it yourself: put a show's RSS Feed into your favorite podcast app (subscribe) and try to listen to recent shows. The files being served are corrupted (audio & video versions). Older shows are available without a problem. I've experienced this with both Podcast Republic and Podcast Addict.

I'm writing to report a recent and ongoing problem with at least a few, and maybe more, show archives and RSS podcast feeds. The audio and video podcast/show files being served are corrupted.

It appears this started happening several days ago. The files being injected into the podcast RSS feed are broken. If you examine the files delivered via the podcast feeds, you'll see they are either small snippets of a file or totally corrupted.

And it looks like the corresponding files on the host archive pages are also affected.

For example, look at the page for the last Lurmann show (#149 on November 6th):

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/Davis/video/.W55MS-VY7Fbev0ZXLcvOWg/right-perspective-radio-with-davis-lurmann-149-06-nov-2024-on-07-nov-24-04-00-05

The 3-hour show is missing, and what's displayed is a 3 MINUTE chunk of random video. Downloading the Show mp3 file yields the same random 3-minute chunk of audio, not the full show. Where did the show go?

The FTJ shows I subscribe to in my podcast apps are Lurmann, Giuseppe, and Lucas Gage. This problem is going on with these hosts, and I think all the shows, though I haven't thoroughly checked the rest.

SOME EXAMPLE AFFECTED RSS/MRSS FEEDS:

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/Lucas_Gage/mrss (video)

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/Lucas_Gage/rss

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/Davis/mrss (video)

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/Davis/rss

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/GiuseppeVafanculo/mrss (video)

https://ftjmedia.com/channel/GiuseppeVafanculo/rss

Anyway, I would appreciate your help fixing this problem, as I listen via podcast most of the time.

Additionally, if you get the above situation unscrewed, you may also want to check out this resource for improving the tagging on these RSS feeds, which is frankly kinda rough. The validator will make suggestions:

[JoshWho]

Invalid File Extensions:
Issue: Episode files have invalid file extensions.
Solution: Verify the file extensions in your enclosure URLs. Ensure they are correct and recognized by podcast platforms, like .mp3 for audio, .m4a for AAC, or .mp4 for video if applicable.

[JoshWho]

Looks like it still needs to be mp4 for the feeds to work.

Since we auto generate a mp3 for each file couldn't hurt to also generate a 480p video for the mrss as well, and then use those file links for the podcasting feeds.

[DanielnetoDotCom]

Thank you for reporting this issue in detail. I’d like to start troubleshooting by testing a single feed to pinpoint the root of the problem. Could you please suggest one specific feed from the list for me to focus on initially?

Additionally, could you recommend one Windows podcast app that you’ve used to observe this issue? If possible, a browser-based podcast app would be ideal for testing. This will help me replicate the problem more accurately.

Looking forward to your suggestions!

[DanielnetoDotCom]

Also please share a link for the validator

[JoshWho]

This is the validator with a channel in it https://www.castfeedvalidator.com/validate.php?url=https://ftjmedia.com/channel/FLOOD/mrss

[JoshWho]

This issue is it being in hls format the podcast cannot use this as a feed. It needs to be mp4 and mp3 for it to work right.

[DanielnetoDotCom]

I will have a solution soon, probably tomorrow, but be aware you will need both formats, MP4 and HLS

[JoshWho]

I will have a solution soon, probably tomorrow, but be aware you will need both formats, MP4 and HLS

Yes that is fine hls stays I just want the mp4 for the podcasts