Playing episodes at faster speeds

BeyondPod has an experimental support for variable playback speed (there is now no need for an external plug-in). BeyondPod's implementation supports speed-up of MP3 files on devices running Android 2.2 Froyo and later. This is an experimental feature and may have some glitches, so please report any issues to our support forum.


Playback speed support is disabled by default and can be enabled in: Menu > More > Settings > Player settings > Playback Speed > Enable Speed Adjustment.

IMPORTANT! If you currently use Presto, StableSpeed or any other 3rd party plug-in, you must un-install it in order to use the native BeyondPod implementation.


Playback speed can be changed between 0.3x and 3.0x. There are several ways to select the playback speed for a given episode:

  • Change the speed directly in the player. Tap on the 1x number located on the right side of the progress bar on the player screen. Each tap will switch between normal speed (1x) and 2 custom playback speeds (by default 1.5x and 2x - both configurable in BeyondPod; "Playback Speed" settings above). Long press on the playback speed will bring a speed selection slider where you can temporary adjust the playback speed with more precision.
  • Configure the playback speed for each feed independently. You can set preferred playback speed for any feed by opening the feed and selecting: Menu > Edit Feed > Advanced Settings. Check the "Preferred Playback Speed" checkbox and select the speed you want to use for this feed.

There are some limits (based on Android version and file format) to what podcasts can be played at faster speed.
  • If you have a device running Ice Cream Sandwich or older - playback speed is supported only for MP3 files (downloaded episodes must have extension MP3 and be in MP3 format).
  • Devices running JellyBean and later in addition to MP3 files - BeyondPod can support other media formats (based on what media codecs are available on the device).
  • Playback speed is not supported when streaming (episode must be downloaded if you want to play at at different speed).
  • Playback speed is not supported for video files.
If BeyondPod determines that it can't play the episode at faster speed it will give you a message "This episode can be played only at normal speed" when you try to change the speed.


Playback speed support is currently an experimental feature. It may not work with all devices or episode formats. If you find that you have issues playing episodes (for example playback errors, not remembering played position etc.) you can try turning it off. Keep in mind that when Playback Speed is enabled, BeyondPod uses it even if the episode is set to play at normal speed. so if you have issues - make sure to disable it completely by un-checking "Enable Speed Adjustment" in BeyondPod's player Playback Speed settings.

Alternatively, if playback speed works with some feeds but not others, you can check "Use only if Configured" in the "Playback Speed" settings. This will force BeyondPod to use playback speed enabled player only for feeds that are explicitly set to play at different speed. Episodes that are configured to play at normal speed will be played using the default (non playback speed enabled) player.