request: Background Preloading of the Next Episode

[56cla]

Checklist

• I checked that this feature has not been requested before
• I checked that this feature is not in the "Not planned" list
• This feature will benefit the majority of users

Problem Description / Use Case

Currently, with both Debrid Streaming and Torrent Streaming, every episode follows the same workflow:

User starts an episode.
Seanime sends the selected torrent/magnet to the configured provider (TorBox, Real-Debrid, qBittorrent, etc.).
The provider downloads/caches the episode.
Once it's ready, Seanime displays "Sending to media player" and playback begins.

This entire process is repeated every time a new episode is started.

Proposed Solution

When Auto Select is enabled, Seanime already knows which episode the user is most likely to watch next.

While the user is watching Episode 1, Seanime could automatically start preparing Episode 2 in the background by sending it to the configured provider.

By the time Episode 1 finishes, Episode 2 would already be downloaded/cached and waiting on the provider. The only remaining step would be "Sending to media player", resulting in an almost instant transition.

Example

Current workflow:

Play Episode 1
Send to provider
Wait for download/cache
Send to media player
Watch Episode 1
Play Episode 2
Send to provider
Wait again
Send to media player

Proposed workflow:

Play Episode 1
Send Episode 1 to provider
Start watching Episode 1
In the background, automatically send Episode 2 to the provider
Episode 2 finishes downloading while Episode 1 is still playing
When Episode 1 ends, Episode 2 only needs to be sent to the media player
Benefits
Much smoother binge-watching experience.
Eliminates most of the waiting time between episodes.
Makes Auto Select feel significantly smarter.
Works with any supported provider (TorBox, Real-Debrid, qBittorrent, and other supported streaming providers).

This behavior would ideally only occur when Auto Select is enabled, since Seanime can reliably predict which episode the user intends to watch next.

[faddix]

Already an option in the settings

[56cla]

Already an option in the settings

Thanks! I just noticed it's available under Torrent Streaming. Does it also support Debrid Streaming, or is it only for Torrent Streaming?

[faddix]

It's only for torrent streaming, debrid uses http streams so it wouldn't make any difference, unless the torrent isn't cached on the debrid service.

[56cla]

It's only for torrent streaming, debrid uses http streams so it wouldn't make any difference, unless the torrent isn't cached on the debrid service.

Got it, thanks for the explanation. I mainly use Debrid Streaming, so it would be nice to have a similar option for it in the future if it's possible.

[Rinkerbel]

@56cla there is no point in having it for debrid streaming, fetching the streaming link happens so fast there is no need for prefetching it.
Are you trying to watch a lot of uncached media?

[56cla]

@56cla there is no point in having it for debrid streaming, fetching the streaming link happens so fast there is no need for prefetching it. Are you trying to watch a lot of uncached media?

Yeah, I use TorBox, and it takes longer to cache some newer torrents compared to Real-Debrid. So I think it could still be useful if you're watching multiple episodes in a row, since it could start caching/fetching the next torrent while you're finishing the current episode instead of waiting until it ends.