Connecting USB devices to iPads

irishturkey

Hey,

I just bought a hard drive recently and in no space of time I've gathered a couple of hundred GB's of movies etc. I have now decided I want a new iPad but have been informed that they have no USB port. I've heard I can get a camera connection kit and that will have a USB port but I've also been told that they may not support my hard drive. Can anyone help me? A couple of times this last week I've been into the shops just playing with the iPad and I want one badly but its pretty pointless if I can't play the movies on it.

All suggestions welcome. Oh and also, are other tablets the same as the iPad re connecting to USB devices?

Cheers much

Agent Smith

I assume they are in avi format?

you can copy to the ipad, but via the pc

irishturkey

Agent Smith wrote: »

I assume they are in avi format?

you can copy to the ipad, but via the pc

Yeah they're in avi. So I have to go via the pc? That's my problem. I've got a laptop but its a bag of **** and I'd be much happier if I could just stick the hard drive into the iPad and be done with it. Sigh....

Creamy Goodness

'fraid it will have to be transferred via a pc/laptop.

ipad's do not connect with usb devices at all, it's one of their main selling points for me.

smash

I have a USB adapter for my iPad, you can get them in the apple store. It comes in a pack with an sd card reader. I've used the card reader to import photos but haven't used the USB one so I don't know if it will do what you want.

Creamy Goodness

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

ipad's do not connect with usb devices at all, it's one of their main selling points for me.

:eek: say what?

Creamy Goodness

Deleted User wrote: »

:eek: say what?

an ipad is a content consuming device for me, i consume media. if i have photos/videos etc. they go to my media server and shared out to all my devices if and when they need to.

i have never had a genuine scenario where i've gone "**** i wish this ipad had a usb connection".

Kenno90

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

an ipad is a content consuming device for me, i consume media. if i have photos/videos etc. they go to my media server and shared out to all my devices if and when they need to.

i have never had a genuine scenario where i've gone "**** i wish this ipad had a usb connection".

I've also never thought that, but i also have a media server. As soon as my ipad connects to the home WiFi its like it has 2TB of storage.

All my movies are on it and i can stream HD content easily, i can also download them very quickly for when i'm travelling.

Basically it gets around the need for a USB port as we can stream everything over wifi

crazyderk

Kenno90 wrote: »

I've also never thought that, but i also have a media server. As soon as my ipad connects to the home WiFi its like it has 2TB of storage.

All my movies are on it and i can stream HD content easily, i can also download them very quickly for when i'm travelling.

Basically it gets around the need for a USB port as we can stream everything over wifi

what kit do you need for this?

Kenno90

crazyderk wrote: »

what kit do you need for this?

you can download media server software to your laptop and it can run off that (But you need your laptop on for it to work)

What I have is a MyBookLive .

Western Digital have their own apps but they are useless.

I then stream my videos using an app called GoodPlayer (really good for watching videos on an ipad) It can also play Mp3s

Everything else (Documents, PDF's) i can read in GoodReader

Gurgle

irishturkey wrote: »

are other tablets the same as the iPad re connecting to USB devices?

This is one of those special little 'quirks' that are specific to Apple.

The cheapest PoS tablet running any version of Android from the most unheard of Chinese knock-off maker has a full USB2.0 host interface.

(Somebody is probably going to link a €50 tablet now that doesn't have one)

120_Minutes

Gurgle wrote: »

This is one of those special little 'quirks' that are specific to Apple.

The cheapest PoS tablet running any version of Android from the most unheard of Chinese knock-off maker has a full USB2.0 host interface.

(Somebody is probably going to link a €50 tablet now that doesn't have one)

quoted and emboldened for emphasis.

Gurgle

120_Minutes wrote: »

quoted and emboldened for emphasis.

Did this read as though only the cheap PoS tablets have something so working class as a USB port?

I guess I should have been clearer.

Even the cheapest PoS....

irishturkey

So here's the latest...

I bought the iPad but am having trouble (probably of my own making) getting movies or tv shows transferred with iTunes. I've been told I need to convert from .avi but am unsure how to do this. So I was told to download handbrake. I did that but my screen resolution was wrong. Mine is only 1020 x 1060 and it needed to be 1020 x 1080 or something along those lines anyway. Can anyone just give me a simple way of transferring something from the hard drive into iTunes on the ail Samsung.


All help greatly appreciated

T-K-O

Creamy Goodness wrote: »

'fraid it will have to be transferred via a pc/laptop.

ipad's do not connect with usb devices at all, it's one of their main selling points for me.

That's just nonsense. We all know how great apple are, no need for this.


OP: you could add the external drive to itunes on a computer and home share the data with the Ipad. This is of course a pretty stationary solution.

A usb on the ipad would be a great addition for traveling, you could store your movies / music on an external drive and not run the risk of maxing out the ipad memory.

T-K-O

irishturkey wrote: »

So here's the latest...

I bought the iPad but am having trouble (probably of my own making) getting movies or tv shows transferred with iTunes. I've been told I need to convert from .avi but am unsure how to do this. So I was told to download handbrake. I did that but my screen resolution was wrong. Mine is only 1020 x 1060 and it needed to be 1020 x 1080 or something along those lines anyway. Can anyone just give me a simple way of transferring something from the hard drive into iTunes on the ail Samsung.


All help greatly appreciated

Did that stop the conversion?

irishturkey

T-K-O wrote: »

That's just nonsense. We all know how great apple are, no need for this.


OP: you could add the external drive to itunes on a computer and home share the data with the Ipad. This is of course a pretty stationary solution.

A usb on the ipad would be a great addition for traveling, you could store your movies / music on an external drive and not run the risk of maxing out the ipad memory.

Ok....at the risk of sounding dumb... How do I do that? I've tried to get the movies from the hard drive to iTunes but with no luck. Again, sounding dumb....HELP!!!!

irishturkey

T-K-O wrote: »

Did that stop the conversion?

Yeah it said I couldn't use handbrake because of it

T-K-O

irishturkey wrote: »

Yeah it said I couldn't use handbrake because of it

What format are the original files, make sure that handbrake can handle the original format, in saying that I use handbrake all the time and it never fails me.

Also at what stage does handbrake fail?

irishturkey

T-K-O wrote: »

What format are the original files, make sure that handbrake can handle the original format, in saying that I use handbrake all the time and it never fails me.

Also at what stage does handbrake fail?

They're just avi. Handbrake won't even run because the screen resolution is wrong.

T-K-O

irishturkey wrote: »

They're just avi. Handbrake won't even run because the screen resolution is wrong.

Ah are you using a netbook?

irishturkey

T-K-O wrote: »

Ah are you using a netbook?

Yes...this sounds ominous...

T-K-O

irishturkey wrote: »

Yes...this sounds ominous...

This is exactly why the ipad needs a USB. Dont get me wrong my apt is like an apple store but this type of crap drives me mad.

Handbrake does not support netbooks / lower end screen resolution.

You could try this..

http://www.winxdvd.com/avi-to-mp4/

irishturkey

T-K-O wrote: »

This is exactly why the ipad needs a USB. Dont get me wrong my apt is like an apple store but this type of crap drives me mad.

Handbrake does not support netbooks / lower end screen resolution.

You could try this..

http://www.winxdvd.com/avi-to-mp4/

Go on ya wee ledgebag!!!!! We have liftoff...

andy1249

Dont convert them , thats a complete and utter waste of time , especially if you have lots of movies.

Buy one of these cheap apps

AVplayerHD

http://tech2.in.com/reviews/ios/av-player-hd/208862

Buzz player HD
http://iphoneblogr.com/2011/09/buzz-player-hd-ipad-media-streaming-application-app-store-review/

Note you need the "HD" version to take advantage of the bigger screen on the ipad , the non HD versions are meant for the iphone.

Either of those apps will play any content you have in the format it is in , without you having to waste time converting to itunes format , either of those players will also access content on your network , be that your pc or a dedicated nas device.

Content can be transferred to the ipad directly as is via the apps option in itunes.

By the way , I have the camera connection kit with the USB adaptor , its for cameras , it fully expects to see camera type folders on the device attached and if it doesn't it wont read it , the only other thing Ive managed to get working with it is a USB flash drive , and even then , all it did was find photos , and automatically pull them into the photos app on the ipad , it wont deal with any other file types. So that kit is useless for anything other than cameras.

No big deal though , the above apps were less than a fiver the last time I looked and they play everything , the camara connection kit is 24 euro.

farhan.a

you can download AV Player HD to watch .avi movies. to connect the hard drive you have to get the camera connection kit and jailbreak the ipad.

After jailbreaking install ifile from cydia, connect the hard drive and there you go

T-K-O

irishturkey wrote: »

Go on ya wee ledgebag!!!!! We have liftoff...

Happy converting... it can be pain converting all the files but having all your media in itunes has benefits. Especially if you bought an apple tv.

Anyway glad you got it working

T-K-O

Kenno90 wrote: »

you can download media server software to your laptop and it can run off that (But you need your laptop on for it to work)

What I have is a MyBookLive .

Western Digital have their own apps but they are useless.

I then stream my videos using an app called GoodPlayer (really good for watching videos on an ipad) It can also play Mp3s

Everything else (Documents, PDF's) i can read in GoodReader

Can you login to MybookLive from a remote location and if so would that mean a static WAN IP?

Kenno90

T-K-O wrote: »

Can you login to MybookLive from a remote location and if so would that mean a static WAN IP?

Short answer , Yes and Yes. I've logged into it before but the speeds aren't great compared to using it on your local network

maghenderson

here a site that can do all
http://www.dvdvideosoft.com/
enjoy

T-K-O

Kenno90 wrote: »

Short answer , Yes and Yes. I've logged into it before but the speeds aren't great compared to using it on your local network

Shame I've a 50 meg line but no option for a static ip