iPod Video Help
 

I picked up a 30gig iPod Video today, and I'm having a small issue with the "video" aspect of it.

Is there any way to put videos on it that are not bought through the iTunes music store? What I want to do is take a DVD I already have, and put it on there. Do I need special programs to rip the DVD to my computer and convert it to an iPod Video format? If so, any reccomendations for good, free programs?

Also, if it matters, my computer is a Mac G5 Tower running OSX

Ah just my area of expertise.

You in fact do need a program to rip the dvd, then to make it into an ipod file.

That program is called Handbrake Lite (http://www.isquint.org/cgi-bin/ikonb...ct=ST;f=1;t=14).

Its automatically set up to rip and convert.

And if you want more options, check out Handbrake (http://handbrake.m0k.org/).

Here is a tutorial for converting by just using Handbrake:
http://howto.diveintomark.org/ipod-dvd-ripping-guide/

sadistik dreams gave just the advice I would.

I also use iSquint, but mostly Handbrake for my dvd ripping.

Perhaps someone out there can help me a bit with one of my problems on the same topic. I have several TV shows encoded in XVid, but iSquint spits out an error when I try to encode them for the iPod video. Any ideas on what software will decode XVid and re-encode for the iPod?

ok, how about a free utility that will handle this in the windows environment?


I'm not really concerned about getting it from DVD to MP4, just from like avi to MP4...


any help would be appreciated :)

/me sheds a single tear for everyone who bought an iPod expecting it to be a video player.

Why do people insist on doing this? Listen: it's not called the "iPod Video." It's the iPod 5G. It's an mp3 player that happens to have very limited (read: broken) video playback capability. Why don't people buy real multimedia devices? I'm looking at iRiver and Creative in particular. Both companies have models with larger screens, better battery life, better playback capability, more file format support, and for similar or lower prices. It seems to me like people pay this premium for a player that only works with a proprietary video format, and even then not very well. God.

I did'nt expect it to be a video player.

I did'nt know it did that until after I read the manual.

I made my decision based on my needs. I researched heavily, and the iPod fit my needs the best. It obviously doesn't fit yours, and you seem to have a grudge against it... that is your opinion. You are entitled to it.

The best program I've seen for this is called Videora, it has gotten pretty good reviews. Here's a link to the site so you can try it out.
http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/

doesnt sync up the audio correctly.

I'll try again tho :shrug

I watch video on my Palm Tungsten|C. It obviously won't work for you either, but the best part about technology today is the ability to have the functions that work enough for me and a niche of people. As does something is more robust needed it's filled by another product that satisfies you and your niche of people.

I'd love to have an Archos 100Gb device, nice large screen and features, but I didn't have an Apple Newton because it was too large to put into my pocket easly with all the other items that had to be in my pockets as well.

I've not done any porting yet, but I did buy Skogafoss one for Christmas and I will have to figure out how to convert some of her favorite videos (read: Guns n Roses videos) to sync up with her ipod.

thanks for the links they will come in handy.

I'd hardly call MPEG-4 and H.264 proprietary formats...As for the price well sure you can buy a kia that will get you from A to B but a Aston Martin is so much nicer even if it costs more--to be honest the new iPod 30 gig video is pretty competitively priced right now at $299.99, 20 gig players that are a close match up are going for $249.99 around here.

I was just looking at those alternative video players and, correct me if I'm wrong but, according to their respective websites, those other two players only play Windows Media Video files. Ironically, the players you suggested are the ones that play proprietary video formats and not the iPod. Neither the generic MPEG-4 (whatever that is) nor the H.264 formats are proprietary, in any way. So, it's hard to imagine what you mean when you say that they have "more file format support."

Also, according to their websites, they are more expensive and have less storage than the iPod, so it's unclear what you mean by "similar or lower prices."

It's true that they have larger screens and longer battery life, but it's also true that they are, both, larger devices, hence the larger screen and larger battery for more life. This cuts down on their portability, so it's a simple trade-off decision for the consumer.

Furthermore, despite having larger screens, both players you've mentioned, according to their websites, have the same resolution as the iPod, so they really didn't make good use of their larger screens!

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm far from Apple's biggest fan, but your comparison with the iPod was totally unfair...

I've encountered this problem too and I have found a solution. I haven't heard anyone else on the internet mention this so you all heard it from me, first! It appears that Videora has a bug where it rounds non-integral frame rates to the nearest integer. Why they do this is beyond me since it's hard to imagine how they would care and most video files actually run at non-integral frame rates. So, Videora is quite broken in this respect.

If only the project were open source, I could probably simply fix the problem and release that code but, alas, the source code is not available...

I have worked around this issue by resampling the video to a different frame rate (to one that's integral) using Avisynth and my video now remains in sync with the audio.
I can make movies for the iPod again...

dude, I'm a welder man...

havent you been in the weapons forum, I can't read, I'm just hitting random keys here..

I wouldnt be able to do that...

theres no way I am PAYING for a program then having to use another program to get that program to work properly...

There's no way anyone would expect you to pay for these programs.

Both Videora and Avisynth are absolutely free...

Of course, I can't help you with your other problems...

aaah, my bad.

thanks for the help, I'll give it a whirl..

I really wish they just built something into Itunes to do this..

mebbe in the next version.

Your prayers have been answered, ziadel!

http://tuaw.com/2006/01/11/itunes-6-...t-quicktime-p/

AHAHAHA. Go fire up itunes, and run the update!

The Itunes video converter is good if you have like 100102120 hours to spend waiting for it to convert video. Use Videora, it works wonders.

I convert videos to MPEG4, 320x240 at 768kbps stereo and the videos look and sound pretty good, and the audio is not choppy at all.

Also, I was thinking about getting a Creative zen vision, but the Ipod, to me, was easier to use, and the plethora of attachments and accessories sealed the deal for me.