Ipod Video

TheBazman

Hi folks

going to the states in a few weeks and thinking of picking up an Ipod Video 60g. Obviously the Itunes videos etc will play on this. However I presume there is someway of converting other video clips /films etc to put on this. I see a lot of people on here recommend the Zen which appears to support a bigger selection of video types.. any thoughts?

Thanks

Gandhi

You can convert it using VLC (Video LAN Client) which is freely available all over the place, just google it.

You need to generate a file of MPEG-4 encoding with the following settings:

Under "Preferences":
Bitrate=2048000
FrameRate=30
Width=360
Height=240

Under Stream Output Settings:
EncapsulationMethod=MP4
VideoCodec=mp4v
VideoBitRate=2Mb (probably would be OK with less, but this should work)
AudioCodec=mp4a
AudioBitRate=128

When saving the file, remember to give it a "*.mp4" extension.

You might have to click around a bit to find all these options on VLC. There are some sites on the 'net that wll give more detailed instructions than these.

Then, just copy it into some folder, and tell iTunes to "add folder to libray" and it should just pick it up and stick it on your iPod when you next sync it.

TheBazman

Cheers Gandhi - sounds a little complicated but I'm sure when I have the application running it will make a little more sense

Gandhi

I have since heard that VideoRA (www.videora.com) is easier to use, and has a one-click "convert to iPod" button.

TheBazman

Cheers - there seems to be a lot of people of the forum having problems tho'. One person suggest that Quicktime Pro can do it (altho you have to pay for it - which if it works I would have no problem doing)

Gandhi

I used VideoRA last night and it seemed to work fine - way easier than VLC - just click on "Convert" and sit back. At least two of the lads I work with have been using it without any problems.

The site is a bit confusing to navigate, though. The iPod converter is at:

http://www.videora.com/en-us/Converter/iPod/

dal

You wouldn't consider buying a creative zen vision:m instead? I have one and honestly it beats the ipod on most counts (integrated radio, better video/audio codec support, video viewing, photo viewing...).
The only thing I would say the ipod beats it on is the fact that ipod is a bit thinner and a bit more stylish.

TheBazman

Thanks a mill - sounds encouraging

Certainly gives me a bit more comfort getting an Ipod video as opposed to something else (Creative Zen etc)

TheBazman

dal wrote:

You wouldn't consider buying a creative zen vision:m instead? I have one and honestly it beats the ipod on most counts (integrated radio, better video/audio codec support, video viewing, photo viewing...).
The only thing I would say the ipod beats it on is the fact that ipod is a bit thinner and a bit more stylish.

Actually I have been doing a bit of research on the Zen - certainly seems to have its advantages. However I have all my music well organised on Itunes library and quite like it - I dont like Mindows Media Player for music organisation. I presume some other software for music management comes with the Zen - what do you use? Do you know if either of them allow you to capture film/tv - I have an Archos PMA400 which just plugs into the TV/DVD and can record directly from there

dal

TheBazman wrote:

Actually I have been doing a bit of research on the Zen - certainly seems to have its advantages. However I have all my music well organised on Itunes library and quite like it - I dont like Mindows Media Player for music organisation. I presume some other software for music management comes with the Zen - what do you use? Do you know if either of them allow you to capture film/tv - I have an Archos PMA400 which just plugs into the TV/DVD and can record directly from there

I actually use itunes as well (but NOT for buying music). I also don't like WMP. I just drag and drop my music on to the zen through windows explorer.

Neither of them allow vid recording. The zen:m has a better tv out resolution than the ipod.

bambam

Be aware that the tech sites a awash with rumours of a new touch-screen video ipod being released before xmas. I recommend you read up on this out before you buy the the current model.

dal

bambam wrote:

Be aware that the tech sites a awash with rumours of a new touch-screen video ipod being released before xmas. I recommend you read up on this out before you buy the the current model.

Are you sure this rumour is still valid (the before christmas part I mean)? I thought the recent (couple of weeks ago) update to the existing ipod video dampened people's hope of anything superceding it anytime soon.