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  1. I downloaded all ten seasons of JAG--it is a military drama--and I am trying to put it on my iPod video. I tried iTunes. Doesn't recognize the files. I tried Adapter. It converted the videos but iTunes didn't recognize the files. I tried a program called iTransfer. Same thing. iTransfer converted the videos but iTunes would not recognize the files. I have included a screenshot from media info. I am using a 2014 Macbook Pro. The video iPod is a 160 gig. I looked up the year which is late 2009. Does anyone know a good free program which will help me get these files on my iPod video. Thanks
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  2. Member netmask56's Avatar
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    Formats. iPods can play video that has been encoded using H.264 or MPEG-4 codecs. These files are have .m4v, .mp4 or .mov file extensions. If the file is encoded using H.264, it can be encoded at 768 kilobits per second at a resolution of 320 pixels by 240 pixels.
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  3. Ditto to what netmask56 said.

    Handbrake or MeGUI both have presets (I think) for early portable players, such as your old iPod. I reformatted a lot of movies for my son's iPod, about ten years ago, so I know that it can play them. However, as "net" said, the early Apple products could only play really low-res videos, and the complexity of the h.264 encoding has to be kept low, because the processor in these early portable devices could not handle medium or high complexity.

    Use Google and enter the actual model number of your iPod (or its generation, if you know that) and include in your search "video specifications." You should be able to find the exact specs that you need to use.
    Last edited by johnmeyer; 9th Sep 2019 at 10:33. Reason: typo
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  4. the 2009 160gb ipod classic 6th gen..

    use handbrame profile for ipod video mp4.. observe proper video resolution and bitrate profile level to make it work. alsoyoneedi itunes to transfer it to the device
    Last edited by teodz1984; 9th Sep 2019 at 15:44.
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  5. As others have said, the "Classic" (non-iPhone-based, click wheel) video iPods are extremely picky about what video formats they will load (never mind play). Even Apple's own built-in iTunes conversion tools would often fail. The only two converters I've tried that will make a proper iPod file are CloneDVDMobile (paid software) and Handbrake. CloneDVDMobile tends to introduce audio lipsync drift but is much faster for ripping dvd-based TV series to iPod format. Handbrake is slower, but capable of reading from more downloaded source file formats and "repairing" many files that are so off-spec even QuickTime or other software players choke on them.

    Download and install Handbrake. Run it, and it should open with a drop down menu for you to select files you want it to convert. Choose the first JAG episode, and it will appear at the top of the Handbrake window as "Source". On the right hand side, a menu should slide out with various conversion options: the best quality comes from choosing "iPod Legacy" near the bottom of the list. This makes files that play clearly on the iPod but also decent enough to show on a TV (not as relevant anymore, as few LCD flatscreens in hotels have analog inputs for the iPod to connect with). If you want a smaller file that is ONLY good for playing on the iPod screen, choose "iPod" from the top of the list. The files will be much smaller, to fit more episodes on the iPod, but the quality is sometimes visibly poor with obvious macro blocking even on the small iPod screen: it depends on how good the source file is and how it was originally coded. Try Handbrake in both modes on a couple episodes, and see which you prefer: the smaller files can be quite usable sometimes.

    IMPORTANT: after selecting the "iPod Legacy" or "iPod" conversion profile, you MUST click on the "iPod 5G Support" checkbox in the main Handbrake window. This forces Handbrake to stay within some obscure H264 coding parameters the classic iPods require.

    After you make these setting choices, click the "Add To Queue" button at the top of the Handbrake screen. This adds the episode to Handbrake's task list. You can then add more episodes by repeatedly clicking the "Source" button to bring up a list of episode files, and as each appears in the Handbrake "Source File" area, click "Add To Queue" to add it to the task list. Note you do not need to select the conversion setting or iPod 5G Support button for each additional file: those settings will "stick" for each episode you add to this particular Handbrake session.

    When you've finished adding episodes (I usually don't do more than six at a time), click on the "Start" button at the top of the Handbrake screen, and the episodes will be converted to classic iPod video files in .m4v format. Conversion can take awhile depending on the source format and speed of your Mac/PC (anywhere from a third the normal playback time to double the playback time of each file). so I typically run the batch before leaving for work or going to sleep. Unless you change the default setting, Handbrake will save the converted-for-iPod files in your Documents folder. After all files have been converted, you can import them into iTunes and then onto your iPod.

    If the TV episodes or other videos that you converted with Handbrake are widescreen format, they will usually play as letterboxed (black bars top/bottom). this can make viewing painful on the tiny iPod screen. Note your iPod has an option under video settings that changes how videos are displayed: if you toggle Widescreen from "on" to "off", your iPod will crop the sides from the widescreen frame and zoom in so just the center part fills your screen. Most TV shows are filmed to accommodate this, so you don't really lose much at the sides, and it makes iPod viewing more pleasant. If you feel you're missing important details, you can just switch the Widescreen setting back to "On" to see the full letterboxed wide display.
    Last edited by orsetto; 9th Sep 2019 at 13:29.
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