Finding and Importing Videos on your iPod

January 10, 2008

Thomas Mennecke

But here’s the really good part about Videora – it’s compatible with just about all relevant file types. Videora can convert AVI, MPG, WMV, VOB, Quick Time, and MKV files. MKV (Matroska) files are increasingly important in recent months, as they are becoming the de facto standard for High Definition content in file-sharing circles.

When we put Videora to the test, we were impressed with how quickly the application produced an iPod compatible file. A 150 megabyte file was converted in 10 minutes, while a 650 megabyte XviD file was converted within 30 minutes. A DVD (between 2 and 4.9 gigabytes) would likely take about an hour, depending on the CPU’s processing speed. These speeds can be manipulated by varying the quality output of the file. Considering the iPod Nano’s relatively small viewing screen, decreasing the quality to save time didn’t yield any appreciable loss in quality.

It's important to note that if you have refused to install iTunes, Videora will inform you it couldn't import the converted file to iTunes. This has no impact on the conversion process or converted file. Simply open the output folder and drag the file to your iPod file manager (such as WinAmp.)

Resources for iPod Videos

It’s all good and well to be impressed with the speed of Videora when you’ve got a dual core machine at your disposal. However, not everyone has that benefit. In fact, for many the conversion process can be downright painful, causing one’s computer to arduously trudge through the daunting task. Fortunately for the iPod faithful, the conversion process has already been taken care of for an overwhelming number of video files.

As with anything that deals with online content, the user is faced with two choices – authorized or unauthorized. Interestingly enough, the most prolific sources of iPod content contain both varieties. These sources are Usenet and BitTorrent. There’s also iTunes, which sells TV and movie content. The only way to purchase these files is by installing the iTunes application.

BitTorrent has gathered an impressive reputation as a legitimate distribution avenue. It’s also become a rather decent avenue to trade already converted iPod videos. Torrent indexing sites such as PodTropolis.com have become primary sources for trading video files. But overall, iPod videos distributed over BitTorrent remains a rather minor player, although it’s decent enough for casual trading.

Conversely, Usenet has become a one stop location for iPod videos. Like many things related to file-sharing, Usenet's resourcefulness often times beats BitTorrent, depending on the end user's focus. This fact has translated well into the iPod video genre. For example, the Usenet indexing site Newzbin has two subsections dedicated to iPod videos – one for TV shows, and the other for movies. It’s hard to navigate these two sections and not find something of interest. And fortunately for the end users, the files have already been converted.

For those not willing to mess with either BitTorrent or Usenet and the nonsense which accompanies both, which is understandable, YouTube offers an excellent third option. And as most people are already aware, YouTube contains high quality and very entertaining videos. The iPod user can easily take advantage of these files by using Videora to capture and convert these files to a compatible format.

In Summary...

Perhaps even better than Videora’s simplicity is the application’s accompanying documentation. Virtually every circumstance the beginner or veteran alike will encounter is displayed in an easy to understand manner. At the end of the day, the iPod is a bit of a challenge for the average PC user. But it’s not an impossible gadget to conquer, and with enough patience and research, most will find it to be a rewarding piece of hardware.