[chi-town311]

One service I use frequently is online streaming of music. I was pumped to get this going on my new Playbook. I ran into two problems. First is the Bluetooth issue. It seems that stereo audio over bluetooth is currently not supported. That I can deal with. The second issue is more troubling...especially after the barrage of claims regarding multi-tasking.

If you start streaming audio from a website on the playbook (was using beta.rhapsody.com), you cannot multitask to other apps or even open a new tab because the audio will stop playing. This is even true when you adjust the multi-tasking behavior in settings.

Can anyone confirm this? I haven't heard anyone mention this yet. This is kind of annoying since I do not expect a rhapsody app for quite some time and I would like to be able to use the browser to play audio. Seems like true multi-tasking would allow for this.

On a side note, the only reason rhapsody works at all is because they have a beta site in the works. If you go to the regular site, you get recognized as BB and forced to placeholder site that instructs you to download the app.

[howarmat]

the browser does not support multitasking via the tabs yet.

[Rainforrest]

Yeah, I noticed that too while trying to listen to Alex Jones live stream. RIM needs to add the option of opening up multiple browser windows at the same time also like WebOS can on my Palm Pre Plus.

[chi-town311]

Multi-tasking is not in tabs... I agree.

But it also does not run in the background when you open up another program. If start the stream, minimize the browser, and then open up an app like News360, you will not be able to stream the audio.

So it isn't just multi-tasking in tabs. The browser does not appear to multi-task at all.

[brendonlee]

Multi-tasking is not in tabs... I agree.

But it also does not run in the background when you open up another program. If start the stream, minimize the browser, and then open up an app like News360, you will not be able to stream the audio.

So it isn't just multi-tasking in tabs. The browser does not appear to multi-task at all.

I don't have my playbook available right now, but there is an option in the settings to what you want the playbook to with background apps. The default is "default", which pauses programs when another app goes full screen. There's 2 other options, one being "showcase" from what i remember that allows apps to continue running while you full screen another app. That might work if you haven't tried that yet.

[SlcCorrado]

Won't fix the tabs issue though Cmon RIM, update us already!!!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[chi-town311]

I don't have my playbook available right now, but there is an option in the settings to what you want the playbook to with background apps. The default is "default", which pauses programs when another app goes full screen. There's 2 other options, one being "showcase" from what i remember that allows apps to continue running while you full screen another app. That might work if you haven't tried that yet.

Will give this another try when I get home, but I think it won't work. The audio is not set up to keep running in the background. Remember from all of the promo shots taken. Sure, the video moves in the background, but the audio never kept playing. For the pruposes of promoting the multitasking, the only thing that was shown off was video multi-tasking. I don't remember ever noticing multiple tracks playing in the backgroung. Based on this, I think the audio is muted even when the showcase mode is turned on. I am pretty sure the audio keeps "playing" - meaning that the stream continues, but the audio is not heard. When you go back to the browser, it will look like the music has been playing all along, but you cannot hear it.

Pretty lame in my opinion. Great for promos showing off video multitasking but worthless for audio multitasking. For my purposes, the audio multitasking would be much more useful. I would never want to watcha movie in the backgroun (maybe in presenter mode), but I do want to listen to streaming music from the browser in the background.

Like, I said, I will check this out again when I get home.

[Qwest905]

i can confirm that the showcase part won't work in the browser

[FF22]

Well, I'm staring at the clock app, I was playing with the calculator and meanwhile a youtube video (youtube IN THE BROWSER) is playing in the background, at least, I hear the soundtrack.

[chi-town311]

Will have to check this out. Maybe there is some difference between video streaming and audio streaming. Or maybe I am just a moron.

[Fonz0]

This is noted in the Playbook Suggestions Sticky- see page 3:

http://forums.crackberry.com/f222/su...vement-608177/

[FF22]

Okay, a bit more info.

I was in the regular browser looking at a youtube video (an automatic shotgun so it was hard to miss the sound!!!). Not only was I able to switch to the clock app but I moved to the calculator app. The video's sound kept playing. But I then switched TABS in the browser and the video was still playing in the background tab. I could hear it. I switched to another app and the vido's sound was still playing.

But I then went to another web site, I started a video. I did continue in the background - again, I could hear it when I was playing with the calculator. BUT this video did not continue to play (or I could not hear the sound) when it was moved to a rear tab.

So there must be something that can distinguish how videos in the browser work.

I have SHOWCASE ON and Demo Off.

[egranlund]

I kind of like not having multitasking in the tabs - I don't want a bunch of crap (flash ads) running in a background tab eating my resources.

[Technerd.McLeod]

One service I use frequently is online streaming of music. I was pumped to get this going on my new Playbook. I ran into two problems. First is the Bluetooth issue. It seems that stereo audio over bluetooth is currently not supported. That I can deal with. The second issue is more troubling...especially after the barrage of claims regarding multi-tasking.

If you start streaming audio from a website on the playbook (was using beta.rhapsody.com), you cannot multitask to other apps or even open a new tab because the audio will stop playing. This is even true when you adjust the multi-tasking behavior in settings.

Can anyone confirm this? I haven't heard anyone mention this yet. This is kind of annoying since I do not expect a rhapsody app for quite some time and I would like to be able to use the browser to play audio. Seems like true multi-tasking would allow for this.

On a side note, the only reason rhapsody works at all is because they have a beta site in the works. If you go to the regular site, you get recognized as BB and forced to placeholder site that instructs you to download the app.

Out of the bolded part, only the second part is true. Several times I have went to youtube, and decided I wanted to play a game, or take a note of what the song is for future references or to download later, then I will just minimize youtube, and it continues playing. However, you can not switch tabs and still have your music playing, which I didn't like but whatever. I'll use Slacker when I'm browsing the web.

[gravymonster]

Yeah they should fix this. One of the reasons i went for the 16gig model was I was thinking i could just stream from amazon cloud... but since it has to be in the foreground that hasnt really worked out...

[RVVillesis]

One other thing...even if RIM provides an update that will allow us to stream while browsing on other tabs, another related issue is that if the PB goes to standby from a timeout due to no activity, the streaming halts there too. So, depending on your settings, you would need to tap the screen every few minutes to avoid this. (Annoying!) Another reason I use the Slacker app like the other poster does.

[racecar]

i know this request might be a bit too much but i would love if you could have a streaming video output on hdmi while you browse another tab on your playbook.

[anon(1603170)]

Another thing that doesnt work is playing an embedded youtube video and scrolling past it, it will stop playing. Take for example the videos in the crackberry frontpage, if you press play, then scroll down to see other blog posts until the video is not on the screen anymore, it just stops.

[FF22]

Okay, weird. Now youtube will not play in a background tab. What's going on??? I can assure you that I was not imagining things. It worked.

Now I cannot view any youtube videos. I am getting a Gray Exclamation Point in a circle when I attempt to play them. I must have broken something.

[RVVillesis]

Okay, weird. Now youtube will not play in a background tab. What's going on??? I can assure you that I was not imagining things. It worked.

Now I cannot view any youtube videos. I am getting a Gray Exclamation Point in a circle when I attempt to play them. I must have broken something.

I'm going to guess that your available memory may have dipped below some threshold. Try closing other apps to see if that fixes it for you.

Hope that helps!

[FF22]

Well, I cleared the cache/etc but that did not help. I had to RESTART completely. But now I cannot get youtube to continue in a background tab. Very odd.

When I first tried it, I had the setting for Default. And while futzing, I changed it to SHOWCASE. I wonder if the change in the midst did something.

That's it for now - need exercise!

[JetLife87]

Yup, it just stops playing if you open up a new tab, and as of right now the browser is the PBs best feature.

When taking this into account it essentially currently multi-tasks worse than the ipad 2.

The browser is one of the most important aspects of the PB. The fact that if you want to listen to music you just have to sit there and do nothing else is silly, and if there solution is an "app" that is even more silly. (You can use other apps but there is not much on that front.)

You can have youtube videos using the app play in the background while using the browser, but if you play a video using the browser, it will pause when you go to a new tab.
Want to listen to a podcast on a website? Well you better not leave that website. Whats really unfortunate is that I don't have a blackberry, so it can really be torture if I want to stream a podcast or something, lol.

What I am afraid of though is this is how it is, period, and it isn't changing.

If that is honestly the case it multi-tasks no better than any other tablet out there.

I am still keeping my pb but I def now feel like none of these mobile os tablets are going to due what we really want and I might just have to get a windows 8 tablet when they release them with ARM processors.

No reloading of webpages when you go back to them, no plugin issues, no licesnsing issues with all of these websites that want to nickel and dime people for wanting to access their content from a mobile device....


We are getting to the RAM requirements of an actual computer now, but webpages still reload when you go back to them, apps still close from low ram.. pages still can't actually run in the background.


Hopefully we hear something from RIM wether or not they will be adding browser audio multi-tasking atleast, or if its just something the current hardware can't handle.

[Darlaten]

One other thing...even if RIM provides an update that will allow us to stream while browsing on other tabs, another related issue is that if the PB goes to standby from a timeout due to no activity, the streaming halts there too. So, depending on your settings, you would need to tap the screen every few minutes to avoid this. (Annoying!) Another reason I use the Slacker app like the other poster does.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. There needs to be multitasking in the tabs - I want to be able to stream my music while browsing on another page. TuneIN Radio can not come fast enough for me.

And the timeout settings also have to be rewritten - utterly annoying that you have to hit the playbook every few minutes to listen to something being streamed.

[chi-town311]

ok. finally got home to check the showcase mode out. definitely allows muktitasking to other apps but not other tabs. sorry for the confusion. i agree with most though, we need multi tasking in the browser and a way to avoid time out for streaming music. as you can tell by the lack of caps i am posting this from my playbook. it is getting better every day but they need a major update soon.

[lotuslanderz]

I have gotten multitasking in browser tabs to work but I have not tried streaming audio. Maybe it's site-specific?

http://forums.crackberry.com/f222/i-...ml#post6267596