ShowShark Release Notes v2026.08.10

Overview

  • Podcast subscriptions are now available. Admins can find podcasts by name, add RSS feeds, and play audio or video episodes.
  • Internet Radio brings live audio to Channels. Search the Radio Browser directory, save stations, and see the current track title during playback.
  • Downloads now form a complete offline media library. Browse shows, movies, YouTube videos, music albums, and tracks without a Server connection.
  • Offline downloads work better on slow or unstable connections. Automatic recovery preserves progress and prevents silent damage to video or audio.
  • YouTube now supports live playback and offline downloads. Live broadcasts use live controls, while completed videos can join the offline library.
  • External subtitles add more language choices. A configured SubDL provider can find and play subtitles with Default or Original playback.

Podcasts & Internet Radio

  • ShowShark can subscribe to RSS podcast feeds. Podcasts appear in Channels and support browsing, search, artwork, history, and profile restrictions.
  • Audio and video podcast episodes use the normal ShowShark player. Playback supports resume, seeking, progress, and the selected profile.
  • Admins can find podcasts by name from the Server or Client. Direct RSS feed entry remains available for feeds outside the directory.
  • Podcast refresh is safer and more reliable. ShowShark validates redirects, limits remote downloads, protects private network addresses, and handles feed errors.
  • Podcast numbering adapts to each feed. Reliable season data remains grouped, while irregular feeds use a clear chronological episode list.
  • Internet Radio stations appear in Channels. Admins can search Radio Browser or add a supported stream URL from the Server or Client.
  • Radio playback shows live track information. The player and system Now Playing display the station artwork and available ICY titles.
  • Radio playback recovers from short source interruptions. A buffering indicator appears when audio stops and clears when the stream continues.
  • Profiles can allow or block Internet Radio. ShowShark also validates station URLs and redirects before the Server connects.

Offline Downloads

  • Downloads now use poster grids and collection pages. TV shows include seasons and episodes, while movies use their own collection cards.
  • The Downloads screen has a summary bar. It shows movie, show, episode, copied-file, and storage totals when applicable.
  • You can download complete TV seasons. Select episodes and choose a high, medium, or low quality profile before the queue starts.
  • Season downloads continue one episode at a time. ShowShark skips completed work, resumes partial coverage, and waits for the correct Server when necessary.
  • Downloaded episodes save watch progress. Progress indicators and resume prompts use positions that are valid for the local package.
  • Offline downloads remain available on the device after profile changes. Queued work still waits for its original Server.
  • YouTube videos and seasons can be downloaded. ShowShark keeps a consistent quality when a partial YouTube download continues.
  • Downloaded videos now support Skip Intro and embedded text subtitles. ShowShark can add this data to older packages from the original Server.
  • Slow links no longer cause silent video-frame loss. Downloads use lossless delivery and continue at the available network speed.
  • Download recovery now handles repeated connection loss. It keeps partial data, records the true continuation point, and reports persistent failures.
  • ShowShark checks video and audio sequence continuity. It stops a damaged download instead of marking an incomplete package as complete.
  • Offline playback no longer performs repeated disk work on the main thread. This removes periodic video pauses in large download libraries.
  • Offline replay keeps its compressed video stream lossless. Resume and startup no longer drop frames when the initial buffer fills.
  • Download navigation now uses one consistent path. Back returns from the player to the correct show, movie, or download list.
  • Collection deletion targets the selected card. Album batch deletion now removes every downloaded track and performs one final cleanup.
  • Download grids use stable sizing on iPad. This prevents a recursive layout crash in large show and movie collections.

Music

  • Complete albums and individual tracks can be downloaded. Compatible original files are preferred, with AAC 256 kbps conversion when required.
  • Downloaded music plays fully from the device. Playback, pause, resume, seeking, and album advance do not require a Server connection.
  • Music streaming now transfers tracks as fast as the connection allows. Batched audio reduces message overhead and builds a larger compressed buffer.
  • Pause, resume, and seeking can use the buffered track. These actions are fast and do not restart the Server session when data is available.
  • The music scrubber handles incomplete system gesture callbacks. It keeps the latest seek, works while paused, and avoids unwanted replay near release.

Playback, YouTube & Subtitles

  • YouTube subscriptions now include active live broadcasts. Live episodes show a LIVE badge and start with controls designed for live playback.
  • A live YouTube broadcast can become normal video playback after it ends. ShowShark checks the current source state when playback starts again.
  • A configured SubDL provider can find external subtitles on demand. Embedded and external choices appear together in one subtitle picker.
  • External subtitles work with Default and Original playback. ShowShark keeps downloaded subtitle data in a verified Server cache for later use.
  • Native playback recovers after the Server loses a session. Direct File and Remux HLS restart near the current position, including paused sessions.
  • Original Remux HLS seeking uses corrected Matroska cue addresses. This prevents some seeks from reaching the segment end without a video sample.
  • AirPlay detects an HDR stream that an SDR receiver refuses. ShowShark now explains the problem when playback does not advance.
  • Native playback diagnostics handle invalid bitrate values safely. Unexpected AVFoundation values no longer cause a Client crash.
  • Episode and song durations stay synchronized with linked media files. Existing incorrect values are repaired so progress indicators remain available.

Server, Administration & App Reliability

  • A temporary SQLite disk error no longer terminates the Server. The affected query now fails through the normal error path.
  • Remote metadata and thumbnail reads no longer risk a GStreamer use-after-free. Slow network storage can finish safely during teardown.
  • Manual refresh reloads visible content across the app. Channels, Search, Settings, subscriptions, IPTV providers, and watch parties update without reconnecting.
  • Safari can submit valid same-site admin forms again. Requests with an opaque origin no longer fail when no foreign host is present.
  • Manual update checks show an available update reliably. The update prompt starts before the updater begins its next automatic cycle.
  • The Server Devices tab uses the same date groups as History. Devices remain in newest-first order within each group.
  • Empty IPTV setups no longer show an unnecessary notice in Channels. Loading, error, and configured-provider states remain unchanged.