OT: The iPod Touch - The Best Christmas Present

[SAR I]

Ask for one for yourself or get one for somebody you love. It's great for music, but it's really God's gift to video. The web browser is great wherever there's wi-fi. Thank you, Steve Jobs.

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n114/srubenst/DSC01439.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n114/srubenst/DSC01434.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n114/srubenst/DSC01444.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n114/srubenst/DSC01391.jpg[/IMG]

SAR I

[supergumbo]

If I only wasn't a broke college student.

[Elvismax]

Yeah, looks sweet.

What's the maximum memory though? I was under the impression it wasn't that much (yet).

I have over 12,000 songs on my 80GB i-pod now (not even done loading), and haven't even bothered with video.

[neckdemon]

[quote=Elvismax;2278103]Yeah, looks sweet.

What's the maximum memory though? I was under the impression it wasn't that much (yet).

I have over 12,000 songs on my 80GB i-pod now (not even done loading), and haven't even bothered with video.[/quote]


wow, who the hell likes 12,000 songs?

[Elvismax]

[QUOTE=neckdemon;2278105]wow, who the hell likes 12,000 songs?[/QUOTE]

Lol, true. I usually load the whole cd instead of selecting a few songs.

I have a feww thousand cds, so I haven't even come close to filling it.

[JetsFan2012]

I'm hoping to get it, it was on the top of my list.

SAR, I ripped a bunch of DVDs into my computer a few months ago but haven't done it since... what were the settings to input in Handbrake? I completely forgot and I can't find the old thread.

[Tyler Durden]

[QUOTE=neckdemon;2278105]wow, who the hell likes 12,000 songs?[/QUOTE]


Who has 18,342. This guy. Uploaded all my CD's onto my 30 GB iPod.

[JetsFan2012]

[QUOTE=Sean Ryan;2278131]Who has 18,342. This guy. Uploaded all my CD's onto my 30 GB iPod.[/QUOTE]

18,000? That's a lotta Irish folk jigs.

[vilmatime51]

do you have to pay for the WiFi?

[SAR I]

[QUOTE=pauliec;2278129]I'm hoping to get it, it was on the top of my list.

SAR, I ripped a bunch of DVDs into my computer a few months ago but haven't done it since... what were the settings to input in Handbrake? I completely forgot and I can't find the old thread.[/QUOTE]

(Repost of the October thread. Here you go: )

Since a lot of you are wondering, here are the steps to archiving one's DVD collection for either the iPod Classic or the iPod Touch:

1. Download Handbrake (Google it).

2. Download DVD43 (Google it).

3. Launch DVD43, let it run in the background. No configuration needed.

4. Put the DVD into the drawer and close it.

5. Launch Handbrake and do the following:

a. Go to Presets > iPod Low Rez
b. Go to the Video Settings tab and change the Avg Bitrate to 300
c. Go to the Audio Settings tab and change the Bitrate to 86
d. Go to the Source window and navigate to your DVD drive and select the VIDEO_TS folder
e. Wait a minute while the CLI scans the disc and closes a popup window
f. Go to the Destination window and navigate to a folder where you want to store your rip, enter a filename, hit 'ok'
g. Hit the Encode Video button
h. Popup window reappears, rip begins with time remaining indicator
i. When time hits zero and popup closes itself, you're done

That's it. This will produce the best quality video with the smallest file size possible, optimized for the iPod's screen. You don't need to own a video iPod to start the process. You can watch them all in iTunes on your notebook until you get the real thing. The software is free. You can start now and have your first DVD archived in under a half hour.

SAR I

[SAR I]

[QUOTE=Elvismax;2278103]Yeah, looks sweet.

What's the maximum memory though? I was under the impression it wasn't that much (yet).

I have over 12,000 songs on my 80GB i-pod now (not even done loading), and haven't even bothered with video.[/QUOTE]

The biggest one is 16GB which will hold:

1500 songs
30 full-length movies
150 digital photos

It's not about capacity; it's about the UI and the incredible screen for the video. Use iTunes properly to create playlists and there's no reason to carry 12,000 songs with you everywhere.

SAR I

[JetsFan2012]

[QUOTE=SAR I;2278140](Repost of the October thread. Here you go: )

Since a lot of you are wondering, here are the steps to archiving one's DVD collection for either the iPod Classic or the iPod Touch:

1. Download Handbrake (Google it).

2. Download DVD43 (Google it).

3. Launch DVD43, let it run in the background. No configuration needed.

4. Launch Handbrake and do the following:

a. Go to Presets > iPod Low Rez
b. Go to the Video Settings tab and change the Avg Bitrate to 300
c. Go to the Audio Settings tab and change the Bitrate to 86
d. Go to the Source window and navigate to your DVD drive and select the VIDEO_TS folder
e. Go to the Destination window and navigate to a folder where you want to store your rip
f. Wait a minute while the CLI scans the disc
g. Hit the Encode Video button

That's it. This will produce the best quality video with the smallest file size possible, optimized for the iPod's screen. You don't need to own a video iPod to start the process. You can watch them all in iTunes on your notebook until you get the real thing. The software is free. You can start now and have your first DVD archived in under a half hour.

SAR I[/QUOTE]


Thank you sir

[JohnnyHector]

Still trying to figure out if I should return my 80GB classic for the 16GB touch... I've started to watch a lot of video on the train and while I generally don't mind the microscopic screen on the classic, reading text is nearly impossible, especially on a video with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.

The problem is that I'm too lazy to selectively pick songs off of albums and definitely don't want to be changing my library too often. I also do enjoy having the option to listen to pretty much any song I have at any time.

I think part of the preference when it comes to the smaller units storage-wise (Nano and Touch vs. Classic) is a philosophical difference between the guy who thinks "Stairway to Heaven" is Zeppelin's best song versus the guy who wants to listen to songs like "In My Time of Dying" and "Custard Pie". Some people are casual music fans who own a bunch of "Greatest Hits" records and some are completists who need to have the entire Pink Floyd discography at their disposal.

[CIL]

Plus
Great video and pics. Nothing comes close to this device.
Music the ipod GUI is with the album art is awesome

Minus
Compressing videos to H264 is a sloooow process (2 hours for a 2 hour movie). You can squeeze a short movie into a 1 gig fileThe Safari browser is cool but you cant open attachments such as excel or mpeg. Lacks an email client so all mail must be retrieved on the web via gmail etc.

Overall its still the best ipod ever made. Its essentially a dumbed down version of the iphone. Seems like they pulled out a bit too much to appease the suits at ATT. I have the 16G version and I would love to have more storage.

If you do buy one splurge for the Beyza case [url]http://www.beyzacases.com/cat_ipod_touch_cases_slimline.cfm[/url]

[SAR I]

[QUOTE=pauliec;2278145]Thank you sir[/QUOTE]

No prob.

I've gotten about 8 of my friends to rip their DVD collections for our consortium and we've got around 350 titles so far.

That big screen is just perfect for video on flights.

[IMG]http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n114/srubenst/DSC01448.jpg[/IMG]

Once people realize that ripping a DVD is really no harder than ripping a CD, they get that same experience we got years ago when we first ripped our entire CD collections. You get re-exposed to a bunch of movies you forgot you really enjoyed. Stored in iTunes, ready to be transferred to the iTouch at a moment's notice.

SAR I

[SAR I]

[QUOTE=JohnnyHector;2278150]Still trying to figure out if I should return my 80GB classic for the 16GB touch... I've started to watch a lot of video on the train and while I generally don't mind the microscopic screen on the classic, reading text is nearly impossible, especially on a video with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio.[/QUOTE]

I have a 80gb Classic which I loaded with my video collection for the kids on a recent trip, and once you get used to the iTouch's big screen it's just impossible to go back to something that small.

If you're into video on the train, there's no question that you need the iPod Touch, not the Classic.

SAR I

[gangGREENinsider]

What are all the things this can do?

Someone educate me.

[SAR I]

[QUOTE=CIL;2278151]Plus
Great video and pics. Nothing comes close to this device.
Music the ipod GUI is with the album art is awesome

Minus
Compressing videos to H264 is a sloooow process (2 hours for a 2 hour movie). You can squeeze a short movie into a 1 gig fileThe Safari browser is cool but you cant open attachments such as excel or mpeg. Lacks an email client so all mail must be retrieved on the web via gmail etc.

Overall its still the best ipod ever made. Its essentially a dumbed down version of the iphone. Seems like they pulled out a bit too much to appease the suits at ATT. I have the 16G version and I would love to have more storage.

[/QUOTE]

Ah, I can see why you're a bit frustrated with the video compression; it's because you're using the wrong settings for the iTouch. As such, the quality is more than you need, the file size is 5x what you need, and its taking you 5x as long to rip it. I was making the same mistake until someone in an iPod forum set me straight.

I can get the typical 90 minute movie down to a 250mb size. If you follow the recommended settings (see above) you'll find that you won't notice the difference in picture/audio quality and you'll get 5x the content in 1/5th the time :)

SAR I

[OrangeJet]

Can't run with it, doesn't support Rhapsody, and expensive as hell...no thanks.

[Tyler Durden]

[QUOTE=pauliec;2278132]18,000? That's a lotta Irish folk jigs.[/QUOTE]

I have a few Sinatra. "My Way" is one of my favorites.