Title: Episodes reload after short pause and playback start is much slower after latest update
## Environment
Android version: 15
OS version: 5.10.236-android12-9-o-gf01078a45a12
AntennaPod version: 3.12.0-beta1
Model: CPH2415
Device: OP5552L1
Product: CPH2415
Manufacturer: OnePlus
Bug Description:
Ever since the latest update, podcast episodes take noticeably longer to start playing.
Before the update:
- Most episodes started playing about 1 second after pressing play.
- Episode cache stayed available for a long time.
- I could often continue playing previously played episodes even the next day without internet access.
- Episodes only needed to reload if I manually cleared cache, restarted the phone, or after a very long time.
After the update:
- Playback startup is much slower.
- If I pause an episode for more than around 5 seconds, the app appears to unload or clear the buffered/cached data.
- When resuming playback, the episode has to reload again before it continues playing.
- This creates a delay every time playback is paused briefly.
- Offline playback behavior is also worse than before because cached episodes do not seem to remain available as long.
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Start playing a podcast episode.
2. Pause playback for several seconds (around 5+ seconds).
3. Press play again.
4. The episode reloads/buffers again instead of resuming instantly.
Expected Behavior:
Episodes should resume almost instantly after short pauses, and cached audio should remain available for a reasonable amount of time like before the update.
Actual Behavior:
Episodes frequently reload after short pauses and playback startup is significantly slower compared to previous versions.
Additional Notes:
This behavior started only after the latest update. Previous versions did not have this issue.