[Adam Krebs]

As if the ability to resume podcasts and even send them wirelessly wasn't enough, the 2.5 firmware update also features the ability to watch your podcasts in sequence: when you end one episode of your podcast, it'll automatically advance to the next unplayed episode in the series. This is a change from what used to happen in the device (and still does in the software) in that instead of booting you out of the Now Playing screen and into your last menu screen at the end of an episode, it will now perform the logical action and keep the music/videos playing. This a nice little feature for things like news shows and music podcasts. You can exit out of the loop any time by pressing the back button.

Oh and just as a postscript, I wanted to note that the timing of this could be totally wrong (it may have been a feature since v2), but I've only noticed the video sequencing since the 2.5 update. Any other neat podcasting or general tricks? Let us know in the comments!

EDIT: Clarified play order sequence. It will play the next unplayed episode in reverse-chronological order (plays from the top of the list down).

[Adam Krebs]

As if the ability to resume podcasts and even send them wirelessly wasn't enough, the 2.5 firmware update also features the ability to watch your podcasts in sequence: when you end one episode of your podcast, it'll automatically advance to the next unplayed episode in the series. This is a change from what used to happen in the device (and still does in the software) in that instead of booting you out of the Now Playing screen and into your last menu screen at the end of an episode, it will now perform the logical action and keep the music/videos playing. This a nice little feature for things like news shows and music podcasts. You can exit out of the loop any time by pressing the back button.

Oh and just as a postscript, I wanted to note that the timing of this could be totally wrong (it may have been a feature since v2), but I've only noticed the video sequencing since the 2.5 update. Any other neat podcasting or general tricks? Let us know in the comments!

EDIT: Clarified play order sequence. It will play the next unplayed episode in reverse-chronological order (plays from the top of the list down).

[Adam Krebs]

It's interesting to look at this article from last year (about what Zune needs to do reodcasting), and see how far we've come. I think the Zune team deserves major kudos for the hard work they've done in the podcasting department. It's truly a joy to discover and consume podcasts now.

[riley4077]

That's a great feature when you have several episoldes of say Scientific American's 60 Second Science. It's not ideal to be starting new episodes every minute while driving. With this feature just start the first and let them all play through.

Does the Zune have variable speed playback yet?

That is the most important podcast feature to me. Until it does I'll keep using my old Ipaq 2210 and PocketPlayer to listen to audio podcasts. Pocketplayer's Stretch DSP Plugin allows for 1% adjustments in speed while also doing pitch adjustment so everyone doesn't sound like a chipmunk.

and yes speeding up playback can make it difficult to follow a Molly Rant on CNET's BOL.

So the last time I checked the Zune did not have variable speed playback. Am I mistaken?

[Adam Krebs]

So the last time I checked the Zune did not have variable speed playback. Am I mistaken?

No, that is still the case. I would imagine such enhancement would likely come with an announcement of audiobook/Audible support if it does at all. Though I'm not sure it's a mainstream-enough feature I be included.

[paschott]

Sadly, I was really hoping that this came up with a way to enable playlists for podcasts that we can customize to some extent. I've added a bunch of podcast content to my collection, but it shows up as a podcast and only in the Podcast area. Being able to create playlists that I could sync as I desire would be wonderful.

That being said, it has come a long ways since the v2.0 software, but I think a little more work is still warranted. Had to reset my collection 4 times in order to get these files to show up somewhere other than as podcasts and to show up consistently.

[Phillip Dyson]

Originally Posted by Adam Krebs

Clarified play order sequence. It will play the next unplayed episode in reverse-chronological order (plays from the top of the list down).

Does anyone know if the 3.x firmeware has added the ability to play podcasts in chronological order? That would much more helpful, especially when listening to podcasts based on current events, like NPRs Planet Money.