s2member Protected Podcast works in iTunes on Computer ONLY - not elseware

[theGuruWithin]

Hi Blubrry,

I love your WP plugin....Awesome.

I have a member pass-worded podcast using the WordPress Blubrry plugin on my s2member website. I am protecting the podcast using Remote Auth / Podcasting Remote Header Authorization in s2member within WordPress. 

This works great within iTunes on computer laptops and desktops both mac & windows.  When you subscribe an iTunes sign-in / password window pops up and the request for sign-in is working great as it is supposed to.  BUT will not request authorization in Android podcast apps Find URL, will subscribe and see podcasts but have no way of authorizing sign-in using dialogue and iPad iTunes cant even find URL.

I am approaching the process as follows and would appreciate help in solving problem for all podcast players android apple etc.

The files are hosted in my protected s2member-files folder. the url with remote authorization request is included in mob re-write.  I am entering into the Wordpress Blubrry URL field interface the following as a Mob Re-write:

http://erichschiffmann.com/wp-content/plugins/s2member-files/s2member-file-remote/s2member-file-inline/s2member-skip-confirmation-n/s2member-file-storage-local/access-s2member-level0/2012/11/2012-11-15a_be-relaxed-Talk-vc.mp3

the subscribe URL is http://erichschiffmann.com/podcast

To reiterate the podcast works perfectly in iTunes on Computers BUT won’t work (authorization / ask for password etc) on iPad, Android players including the Google Listen App. etc.

In Google Listen for example, It says it cannot find File although it sees podcast and title of the 2 podcasts that are published once i subscribe. In the iPad it just can’t find the podcast to subscribe. How do i get the Android players to ask for password/authorization like it currently works in iTunes when subscribing to podcast on advance tab? How do i get the podcast to work within iTunes on iPad & iPhone.

Also this is my first podcast feed and i was wondering if the http://erichschiffmann.com/podcast   I have noticed that many feeds have names like:

For posts
http://erichschiffmann.com/feed/

For comments
http://erichschiffmann.com/comments/feed/

I currently have the  feed named
http://erichschiffmann.com/podcast

should i rename feed to
http://erichschiffmann.com/podcast/feed/

or is this not important?

(a side note = not that important but be aware with the mob rewrite URL blubrry interface in WP Post will not actually give a blubrry verify but podcast does work fine if i just save even though i don't get verification in post blubrry URL  when pressing verify button).

Any help to solve the iTunes/podcast player issue would be appreciated. Also any advice on the naming concern for feed or any other suggestions would be appreciated.  I feel like i have tried everything i can think of and would like to crowd source the answer with your help.

in Gratitude,
Arthur
Arthur@EventHorizonLabs.com
@theGuruWithin
424-234-8858

[theGuruWithin]

Update:

I got the podcast to work on Android with BeyondPod app.  I tried 2 other apps which didn;t work.

Does anyone have suggestions for ipad/iphone/ipod app that works with remote validation (sees feed and allows for login name & password)  I am not  an Apple person so please advise.

ty
arthur

[angelo]

Mike can answer all your questions, but one thing I want to point out is that these password protected feeds have limited device/software support as you have discovered, and you're limited to only direct subscriptions (You cannot submit a password protected feed to podcast directories, which limits your discovery to your own web site).

The app everyone uses on iOS is called "Podcast", it just came out by Apple, before that app everyone used "iTunes".

[theGuruWithin]

TY  for your response,

This is for a members only site so the issues you mention are not relevant to this specific application.  I am looking to give working options to our members.

We tried itunes on ipad and it didn't see the feed. I will try the new app and report back as to the results.

Again thank you for your quick response.  I am so happy to have found blubrry it is just what the doctor ordered... I am now big fan!!!

[angelo]

Great!

If you are in the Podcast app, there is an option to manually subscribe to an RSS feed, that's where you enter your http://example.com/feed/premium/ URL.If it doesn't recognize it, what error does the app give you?

[theGuruWithin]

So a couple things:

1. Can i confirm that there is no way to enter a podcast by URL into the app version of itunes either ipad, ipod or iphone this has to be done with podcasts app or other podcast app by 3rd party?
2. With itunes the only place to subscribe to a podcast is in the full version of itunes on a computer (mac or pc) under the advanced tab subscribe option?  So that is the only way to play a podcast from a protected s2member feed?
3.  Although the android app & the full itunes version show the podcast feed graphic the podcast app shows the Wordpress Blubrry square icon how do i get podcast feed logo to also appear in ipad/iphone/ipod version?
4. Whereas the android version authenticates just once at the beginning of session.  the podcast iOs App authenticates by asking for signin on every download.  Any way to adjust that?

[angelo]

1. Yes, confirmed, because since the most recent version of iOS Apple moved podcasting to it's own app called "podcasting".
2. No, just use the URL format to subscribe to a podcast, here's an example: itpc://FEEDURL  ; Just replace http:// with itpc://. To test, take that new URL with itpc://FEEDURL and email it to your phone's email account, when you read the email, touch the link and see what happens.
3. The apps, both desktop and portable refer to images depending on the "view". If you view an entire program (list of episodes) the artwork in the feed is displayed. if you view a specific media file, the ID3 coverart is displayed. Most likely you do not have id3 artwork in your media.
4. No, but you should be able to have it save the user name and password.

[meetpowerpress]

Hello,
Just wanted to update this topic.
I've tested sending an email to my iPhone containing a link to my feed starting with itpc:// but it did not open either iTunes iOS app or Podcast iOS app.
Instead using feed:// works as it opens the Podcast iOS app

I'm now researching how I can have the Podcast iOS app access password protected feeds.

[meetpowerpress]

Here is an extra update

I've tried to follow the instructions below but it did not work for me. It might be because of particular settings on my website, but it might work for someone else.

I just covered this on the last show, but you can enter the URL directly into the Search Box in the app (Pull down to reveal).

For protected feeds if you put the username and password in the URL you CAN directly subscribe in the app and it should work.

Example:
https://username:PassW0rd1@member.maccast.com/rss/emember_all.xml
Obviously replace the 'username' and 'password' in the URL above with your login credentials.

Now a couple BIG warnings:
Make sure if you do this that the site supports connecting to the feed via SSL (https://). If you connect via http:// only be aware your username and password will be transmitted in the clear.
While I'm fairly certain the request with SSL is sent encrypted after the TCP connection is established. It does appear that since the credentials are contained in the URL (GET) request that that info could be still stored on the server in the SSL access logs in the unencrypted form. http://stackoverflow...-urls-encrypted
DO NOT use any of the sharing features in the app (email, tweet, etc.) because these send out the subscription URL, which in this case would contain your login info
So it can be done, but be careful. The above issue can (and should be) mitigated further by the fact that you should be using separate, secure usernames and passwords for everything. If you are doing that, then even if you somehow exposed your podcast login credentials the worst that should happen is someone else could access the membership shows using your account. Probably more of a problem for me than you.

source
http://forum.maccast.com/index.php?/topic/18491-how-to-subscribe-to-maccast-member-podcast-in-new-ios-podcasts-app/#entry96493

Hope it helps someone!

[angelo]

So you are aware, the feed should not be hosted on a secure server. both feed:// and itpc:// will use by default http://, not https://.

My personal opinion, if security is of the utmost, transferring the content and allowing it to be saved on devices negates the need to have excessive security in the first place.  For all practical purposes, the app that stores the media in a secure fashion is necessary to have a truly secure content delivery mechanism, and that cannot happen if the files are distributed as a podcast (since those media file formats are not intended for DRM distribution).

[meetpowerpress]

Hello Angelo
I think you are absolutely right. If one wants real security for files he should not allow other apps or services access to the protected data.

I believe the scenario we are trying to address is to have a simple layer of security to allow premium members to access premium files and thus feel the benefits of a premium subscription.
After all if one downloads a protected podcast feed on his iPhone, he could still find a way to access his devices root and copy all files over.

Going back to the original post. I'll try setting up a feed protected in the way theGuruWithin is doing and see if that can then be accessed by the Apple Podcast app.

Thank you

[angelo]

Right, I'm just trying to put things into perspective, if you're aware of that then awesome.

Keep us updated on the progress!