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Add to SafariWhen comparing Downcast vs Plex, the Slant community recommends Plex for most people. In the question“What are the most useful Android phone apps?” Plex is ranked 20th while Downcast is ranked 21st. The most important reason people chose Plex is:
It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.
Specs
Question Ranking
Pros
Pro Auto-downloads podcasts
Downcast can be set to automatically download new episodes of podcasts in the background.
Pro Adjustable playback speed
You can change the playback speed to fit your needs up to 3x the speed.
Pro Sync between iOS devices
Downcast can synchronize podcasts and settings across iOS devices through iCloud.
Pro Accesses iTunes podcast library
Pro Supports password-protected feeds
Pro Gesture shortcuts
Downcast supports multi-touch gestures for navigating around.
Pro Sleep timer
You can set Downcast to shut off podcasts after a set amount of time.
Pro Adjustable skip interval
Pro Set the end time to be x seconds / minutes from the end time.
The ability to set the end time to be x seconds / minutes from the end is so excellent.
Pro Set the start time to be x seconds / minutes from the start time.
The ability to set the start time to be x seconds / minutes from the start time is amazing.
Pro Straightforward discovery system with feed support
This app helps users subscribe to podcasts through browsing top lists and categories as well as entering a feed or OPML address.
Pro Simple to use UI
Downcast has a straightforward, intuitive user interface.
Pro Mac App available
Pro Can stream episodes without downloading
Pro Can prioritize playlists
You can have Downcast prioritize your playlists automatically, allowing you to listen to podcasts in the order your prefer without you having to manually reorganize them.
Pro Set how long you wish to keep your podcasts locally
Downcast can be set to automatically remove podcasts that have been on your device for a certain amount of time or take up a certain amount of space on your device. This can be done to groups of podcasts or on a per podcast basis.
Pro AirPlay support
Pro Prioritizes show notes
Selecting a podcast for playback will bring up shownotes, instead of the more common choice of album art.
Pro Supported on many devices
It's pretty hard to find a NAS or STB that doesn't support Plex.
Pro Accessible via web browser
A modern web browser is enough to get everything Plex has to offer.
Pro Added lots of media databases
Metadata for media files will automatically be updated by using media databases. This provides posters, movie trailers, descriptions, information about actors, etc.
Cons
Con Extremely buggy
Around mid-2015 Downcast implemented some code that started to leave infinite loop processes that have the potential to cause the phone to heat up, lag, crash Downcast, or crash other apps. The bugs have only continued to get worse. Go with Overcast or Pocket Casts, or even Podcatcher for the Downcast feel.
Con Doesn't sync with iTunes
Con Needs registration
You need a PLEX account even if you use it on your local LAN.
Con Proprietary software
Unfree software.
Con No gapless audio-playback
Plex still does not support gapless playback of audio files such as mp3 or FLAC.
Con Playback error: This server is not powerful enough to convert video
More hardware requirements on Plex due to a useless/non-intuitive transcoder. When using lower spec hardware (eg SBC) Plex will not transcode or play HD+ videos. When compared to other packages (eg Jellyfin which transcodes nicely using FFMeg), Plex falls short on video playback and transcode settings to get videos to play (fastest/lightest option still fails).
