Articles: Ipod Video Products

Alright. So after all that hype about having a practical technique of watching Television and flicks while on a tight schedule, you have ultimately gone and purchased yourself the new iPod. Now what? Well, let's see. So let's do take it one at a time, shall we? This guide is going to take over all of the options you have and the way to convert completely everything DVDs, TiVo video, untidy AVIs, muxed MPEGs and more to iPod compatible video all inside OS X. And on the way, we'll teach you two iPod tips and tricks, too! Handling Those Evil Scratches When you take your iPod out of the box, your first order of business should be to guard your investment. You do not want any of those unpleasant scratches from appearing on your valuable media box, do you? It is a complete eye soar and one you can absolutely avoid. If not, you can always get the white model, rather than the black one. What Videos are you able to Play? Let us quickly go over the types of videos that your new iPod can support.

According to Apple's web site, the video directions of the new iPod are the following : H.264 video : up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, thirty frames per sec, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, forty-eight Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats. MPEG-4 video : up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480, thirty frames per sec, Straightforward Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, forty-eight Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats. For the amateurs, this might all sound a bit too bewildering. What's with all of the numbers? Do not fret because chances are high that you only need to recollect a couple of those for you to get the maximum out of your new iPod. The most important picture size for your H.264 motion picture is 320 pixels wide by 240 pixels high, which is in reality the precise dimension of your iPod's screen. Your iPod can play H.364 video at framerates up to thirty frames per second. Your audio should be encoded as AAC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, and it can be in either stereo or mono.

So long as you follow all of the suggestions, your flick can also be a QuickTime flick or an MPEG-4 film file. The other option you have is the MPEG-4 video, which supports a way higher bitrate than H.264 video 2500 kilobits per second. Using higher bitrates will also create bigger files, meaning that you may have less space for extra songs and flicks, but more segments of your favourite motion picture. The largest picture size for your MPEG-4 video is 480 pixels wide by 480 pixels high 3 times as many pixels than your iPod's screen in capable of showing. Your iPod will shrink the picture proportionally so that everything fits on the screen. So Which One is Better H.264 or MPEG-4? Well, that could be a tricky query really as each format has their swings and roundabouts. Potentially, H.264 is better considering how it offers prime quality and a file size that's much smaller compared to MPEG-4. When it comes to picture standard both formats are close, particularly when encoded at the higher supported video settings. As for speed of encoding, the majority agree that H.264 video takes more than standard MPEG-4.

Take as an example a two hour flick. When you convert that to iPod using H.264 codec, the method could take significantly longer ( particularly with QuickTime Pro's pokey Export : Picture to iPod video option ). Where to Download Videos for Your iPod if you are tired ripping flicks from your DVD collection or you have used up all of your motion picture files in your personal computer, then it's probably time for you to look for alternative sources of iPod compatible videos. Below are some good sites that offer iPod video files that are both free and legal! ChannelFrederator.com If you want to watch short animations while taking a breather, this is the place to look in. PodGuide.tv it isn't called PodGuide for nothing. Channel 101 and Channel 102 Brilliant downloadable shows are up on offer. The iTunes tune shop's podcast section One of the finest things about the new iPod is that Apple has bundled it with their updates on iTunes. Now, you can download tons of free videos from the store for your dose of iPod-casting. Apple iTunes Infrequently you have to go to the source of the source to find what you are looking for. Archive.org This site is superb for old videos and films.

Watch iPod Videos on Your Television Say what?! Yes, it is true. And for some users who like wide screen versus pocket-TV, this is the neatest thing about the new iPod. Now, outputting your iPod videos to any Television is straightforward. Just use a special video wire ( and it doesn't even be the one sold by Apple ), output it thru your iPod's headphone jack, and voila! You are a couch potato, baby! If you are more curious about watching videos on your TV, you may wish to go with the MPEG-4 format since it can support the bigger 480 x 480 picture size. When you encode wide screen pictures and output them to a Television, the pixel limit is mostly 230,400 pixels. O.K So You Can Watch Videos on the telly, Gigantic DealWhat About My Other Videos? When you download video files from the web or file sharing networks, a few of these files won't be marked as iPod compatible. Does that imply you can't play them on your iPod? Well, the excellent news is that it's simple enough to discover. Tip one Open iTunes The most straightforward and less time-intensive way to ascertain whether a video is iPod-supported or not is to simply open iTunes with your iPod connected. Later, drop the video file right into your iPod's library. If the video is copied into your iPod, it suggests it's compatible.

To repeat the video to your iPod, just select By hand manage songs and playlists in the iPod tab of your iTunes preferences. Tip two Add Video to the iTunes Library The other way of finding out if your video files are iPod compatible is to add your video to your iTunes library. Perfect lick the video and select Convert Selection to iPod. We should possibly mention that you do not actually need to add videos to your iTunes Library to add them to your iPod. Just drag and drop videos from the Finder straight onto your iPod in iTunes. Again, ensure you have enabled the by hand manage option. You may add songs and videos to your iPod's library from any PC which has iTunes. Just ensure that you have enabled the by hand manage option in iTunes.

If your iPod was originally formatted on a Computer, you are able to add files from both Computers and Macs. Tip three Open the file in QuickTime or, you may also discover if your video is iPod compatible if you open the file in QuickTime. Next, Select Window : Show Flick Information .

In most situations, your video should be iPod-ready if the format is H.264 or MPEG-4, the audio is ACC, and the scale of your video is 320 x 240 ( or smaller ) for H.264 or 480 x 480 ( or smaller ) for MPEG-4. Also, glance at the information rate and ensure it's not over 900 kbits / sec for H.264 or 2600 kbits / sec for MPEG-4. Mostly, the bitrate reported by QuickTime would include the video stream and the audio stream ( usually 128 kbits / sec ) so don't wonder whether the video is shown to have a higher bitrate.