MacRecon > The Ultimate iPod Video Guide 2.0

This new guide includes a step-by-step in how to rip the 640×480 resolution for the new iPod 5G software, well-known iPod video conversion guides, and how to categorize the movies more efficiently.

DVDs. Before starting, have in mind that DVDs are protected by the DMCA — so be careful as to which DVDs you are ripping.

Now, as for taking advantage of the newly supported resolution of 640×480 for the iPod, the most efficient way for ripping DVDs is via HandBrake.

Just open it up, and select the DVD you wish to rip. Then, for the video codec choose MPEG-4 Video/AAC Audio option. As for the encoder, choose FFmpeg with an average bit rate (kbps) of 1800 (a decent quality, but you can be set up to 2.5 mbps). Now, just choose a name and location, and you’re ready to rip.

Advanced users: feel welcome to tweak the options as long as you consider the iPod’s video limits, as established by Apple: H.264 video, up to 1.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Low-Complexity Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats and MPEG-4 video, up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48 kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats. The only thing is that there’s no app that can convert video to h.264 in baseline low-complexity — so you can forget about that codec for the moment. But both iSquint and HandBrake are looking to integrate it in the future, if possible.

For the beginners, I suggest them to try out Instant HandBrake*.

Various Video Formats. This one’s pretty simple. If you have some video files sitting around your hard drive, chances are that iSquint can convert it to an iPod-compatible one.

To take advantage of the iPod’s 640×480 resolution, simply add the files you want to convert, select Optimize for TV, and h.264 encoding. It will automatically convert all videos to said resolution. Just remember that these files are normally almost twice in size — so if you want to save some space, just keep selecting the Optimize for iPod setting for the old 320×240 format.

And there’s also ffmpegx, even though it’s more complicated to use than iSquint. But for some, it may work better.

Google Video*. This one’s the easiest of all. Just go to the desired video site, and on the right side there should be an option to download it. Select Download for Video iPod, and the converted video should download immediately.

YouTube. I already made a guide for it, which can be found here. Also, I checked out a new app called PodTube*, which does everything by itself.

Home Videos. Just import the videos into iMovie*, edit it all you want, save the project, and then just export as the iPod format. Also simple, eh?

QuickTime. It finally converts videos into a higher-res iPod-compatible one. That is, of you own the latest Pro version of the app.

Tagging. iTunes 7 finally allows you to tag external movies as TV Shows, etc… Just get the info for the movie in question, and go to the video tab, and select how do you want it to appear. Cool. Too bad it doesn’t allow easy batch processing… But for that, there’s Parsley is Anatomically Delicious.

And well, there you have it — a guide for not letting the iTunes Store limit your media choices. If I missed some important video format, or just want to suggest something, feel free to do so.

UPDATED 16-X-2006 -
Added instructions for iSquint’s 640×480 resolution.
Added tips for tagging and QuickTime.

*Doesn’t support the 640×480 resolution by when this was published.

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[tags]Apple,iPod,iTunes,Mac,Mac OS,Videos[/tags]

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