iPods suck.

[Oerwinde]

So I've been wanting one of those 30GB+ iPods for a while now so I can store my Cartoons on it and watch them on the bus to work and such. Well someone at work got one and me being the most computer literate person in the store, she gave it to me to put some videos on. So the first thing I think of to put on is my cartoons. I have the first 4 seasons of the new TMNT, so I figured I could just pop those onto the iPod.

 

Nope, can't just drag and drop. Have to download iTunes.

 

Download iTunes, now my quicktime videos are all screechy and the sound gives out entirely like 20-30 seconds in.

 

Anyway, go into iTunes and try to import my TMNT episodes. SURPRISE! iTunes doesn't recognize .AVI files, the most common video format on the internet!

 

But it does recognize the Global Frequency pilot that I have in MPEG format. So I click on that to send it to the iPod. YAY! DOESN'T WORK. I need to convert it to an iPod proprietary format before I can send it to the iPod! So instead I figure, I have the trailer for Pan's Labyrinth in Quicktime format that I'll just send right over. Nope. Have to convert that too. So I give that a try. The trailer is 2 minutes 33 seconds long... takes 20 minutes to convert.

 

So you spend 300 bucks on an ipod to watch videos on, and it takes you 3 hours just to get a single episode of a TV show on there? Not worth it.

 

I think I'll suggest she take it back tomorrow. Since the main reason she got it was to play videos. If she wants an ipod its better to pay 150 for a Nano instead of 300 for this garbage.

Edited October 25, 2006 by Oerwinde

[Kor Qel Droma]

I've got the 30Gb video. It's true what Oerwinde says about video conversion for it. About the only video I have on it worth watching is the Spider Man3 trailer.

 

And looking through the itunes store for videos is a royal pain in the ass.

[alanschu]

Anyway, go into iTunes and try to import my TMNT episodes. SURPRISE! iTunes doesn't recognize .AVI files, the most common video format on the internet!

 

Actually I'm not sure that that is true.

[Pop]

There are some effective ways to convert video to ipod-friendly format. I'm looking up some now. *EDIT* - There's this, but I don't know if it's reliable. You're likely to run into a problem or two with sound. Might want to, ahem, check bittorrent for better deals. Maybe on, I don't know, xilsoft.

 

I like my ipod (I've got the black 30gb, heh) but there are a few reasons why I'm not a big Apple fan. A. The battery is the most terrible problem ever to be brought up numerous times and never addressed adequately in the history of time, and B. The reality distortion field. For those not acquainted with the concept, the reality distortion field is the combination of relentless corporate hype and "outsider" mentality that Apple employs, and those under its sway believe everything Apple ever does is hot **** in a champagne glass. Hence we have a useless, universally celebrated waste of air like the Nano, which doesn't continue the great advancements in utility that ipods are known for with their successive ipod generations, but goes much farther in the hip factor. Despite the fact that minis held more, were more durable and weren't inconvenient when it came to size, nanos were better because they were, like, sleek. In many tech forums, pointing this out is blasphemy.

 

All that having been said, I like the new 30 gbs, but like any monolithic corporate entity, Apple is preoccupied with restricting the utility of their products in such a way that they can maximize what they make out of it. Hence we have the **** video selection and the restrictiveness of taking music off of an ipod.

Edited October 25, 2006 by Pop

[Oerwinde]

Anyway, go into iTunes and try to import my TMNT episodes. SURPRISE! iTunes doesn't recognize .AVI files, the most common video format on the internet!

 

Actually I'm not sure that that is true.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Well, when I'm searching for video files, 9 times out of 10 they're AVIs. Unless they're movie trailers, then they're MOV. I don't even know what format streaming counts as, but they don't count anyway because I can't save them to my hard drive.

 

Edit: Just looked it up and apparently MPEG is the most common, which is odd since I never see MPEGs out there.

 

Edit 2: Aha! AVI is the most commonly shared format. And is apparently obsolete.

Edited October 25, 2006 by Oerwinde

[Kor Qel Droma]

And don't the MPEG files have to be the latest version? Like 4 or something like that?

[Oerwinde]

And don't the MPEG files have to be the latest version?  Like 4 or something like that?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

No. MPEG is the raw uncompressed file. MPEG4 is like AVI, a shell that allows compression. Its one of the formats that makes AVI obsolete.

[Sand]

That is why I would make sure a MP3/Video Player in which can play any and all media files that I have before buying.

[Diamond]

I like my 4Gb nano, and its battery life is great (due to lack of hard-drive), best mp3 player I had to date.

 

But if you are looking for more than music, I think it is worth waiting for other portables to come in the market, then you'll get a chance to see if there is any better alternative, or buy an iPod at the reduced price as it should theoretically go down. Either way is better than getting it now.

[Lare Kikkeli]

ive been very satisfied with my gen 1 4 gb nano.

 

 

i've heard good stuff about the new sandisk flash players, i'm planning on getting one next if sandisk keeps their mp3players alive.

[Krookie]

I guess they just want you to buy all your stuff right from iTunes. But paying $10.00+ for a video you can only watch on a 3 inch screen is slightly stupid.

[Pidesco]

Are there still Ipods that only play mp3? Are they cheaper now, because of Ipod Video?

 

Edit: Also, who the hell would want to see a full movie on an Ipod's tiny screen?

Edited October 25, 2006 by Pidesco

[Diamond]

Edit: Also, who the hell would want to see a full movie on an Ipod's tiny screen?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually I was thinking about it lately. I never get to watch movies at home for a variety of reasons, so might as well use train travel time.

[Pidesco]

You have two hour train rides to work?

[Lare Kikkeli]

i've never used apple store and never will.

 

 

and pidesco, you can watch pictures on the nano but otherwise it's just for music. not for long though, which is why i probably wont buy another ipod. i have no interest in paying extra for features i wont use.

[Diamond]

You have two hour train rides to work?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Half an hour, but also, sometimes a uni lecture can be not so engaging.

[LadyCrimson]

There are many different codecs that all call themselves .avi. That doesn't make them the same, nor does it mean a player/program will be able to play everything called an "avi."

 

I've noticed that since updating XP with SP2, all my old and new .avis that I made with FRAPS will now hang/crash in WMovieMaker - and half the other newer video editing software I've tried - they won't load. They loaded just fine in XP with no service packs. I'd assume I either don't have a backwards compatible plugin (or whatever) so the "new and improved" WMM can 'read' them, or....whatever.

 

I also bought a small mini-video recorder that had these raw files that you had to convert before being able to upload/work with them - and would only use .wmv, which my old editor didn't want to open without converting to .avi first, which could take hours...and...so on and so forth.

 

And yes, such things are very annoying, especially when you pay money for somethng and have to convert/alter, if it's even possible. I won't be buying an ipod.

[Musopticon?]

You have two hour train rides to work?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Half an hour, but also, sometimes a uni lecture can be not so engaging.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can't you just go to real movies if you have that much time and are out and about in the city?

[Diamond]

You have two hour train rides to work?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Half an hour, but also, sometimes a uni lecture can be not so engaging.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Can't you just go to real movies if you have that much time and are out and about in the city?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Not really, I don't have that many contiguous time slots in the day.

Besides, the movie theatres rarely have anything that is of interest to me.

[Oerwinde]

There are many different codecs that all call themselves .avi. That doesn't make them the same, nor does it mean a player/program will be able to play everything called an "avi."

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yeah, AVI, after some reasearch, I found is just a shell that allows various compression codecs to be applied to the movie file.

 

I guess what I need in a media player is something that can play DivX/XviD.

 

I was looking at the Creative Zens a while back, I wonder if they do it.

[Fenghuang]

In my experience gadgets made by Creative play just about any format under the sun.

[Oerwinde]

In my experience gadgets made by Creative play just about any format under the sun.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Yeah, I was looking at the Zen Vision W. 30 gig, widescreen, plays DivX and XviD, FM tuner, AV output so I can stick videos I download on the thing and watch them on TV, and all for the same price as an iPod video.

[Darth Drabek]

On the topic of SanDisk MP3 players: Yeah, they're great. I love my 512 MB little buddy, and it even impressed my techie friend enough for him to buy one of his own. Much more reliable than the 128 MB Creative NoMad I had for a few years.

 

I bought an iPod shuffle for my dad to use on his long bike rides. I didn't like doing it, but I thought it was the simplest choice for a 50-year old man without much high-tech experience beyond the VCR.

[Deraldin]

On the topic of SanDisk MP3 players: Yeah, they're great. I love my 512 MB little buddy, and it even impressed my techie friend enough for him to buy one of his own. Much more reliable than the 128 MB Creative NoMad I had for a few years.

 

I bought an iPod shuffle for my dad to use on his long bike rides. I didn't like doing it, but I thought it was the simplest choice for a 50-year old man without much high-tech experience beyond the VCR.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

We actually have 3 Creative Muvo players. Why are there so few flash players that have the intergrated USB adaptor? I mean it's not like we really need another USB cord, especially when they all have different connectors.

[Petay]

iPods suck.

 

Quoted for truth!

 

I'm currently on my second one, which broke just the other day, 'conveniently' the day after my warranty ran out. It still plays music, which is all i use it for, but it freezes every now and again.

Hate iPods, yet I can't stand not listening to my music and love the design etc.