Question.......does anyone have one of the new ipods with video?

[WeRQ4U]

Or know anything about them, for that matter? I got my Free ipod from Freepay.com and I have a couple questions for people with ipods. (I asked you guys about this site about 6 months ago, but the story is too long to tell here.)

First, this thing has video. Well, there are instructions on how to download music videos and ABC TV shows, but is there any way to get a DVD converted to a format that the ipod can use? I could care less about music videos, but I would really like to put a couple full length DVD movies on there for traveling.

Second, where you I get album art? Is there a program or index for it, or do I have to go to Amazon.com and download every single one individually and assign them to the songs?

Finally, what are some good earbud headphones? The ones that they give you with the ipod don't fit into my ears. I used to have some inner ear ones before, but that was some time ago. I don't really want to get huge, noise cancelling ones because they are so big, but I'll take the suggestions anyway.

Also, are there any recommended ipod forums or discussion boards worth visiting? I've gone to the iLounge a couple of times and that one seems OK. Any other suggestions? I need to know everything about it.

Thanks in advance.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

1. Kick, 'cause I wanna know too.

I got one a few weeks ago and I am loving it. (Any astute DU'er will find this funny, becuase I commented on iPods on this board in the past and I didn't exactly praise them. I have since changed my mind.)

[WeRQ4U]

2. I was never keen on them either.

But I got mine for free so I gladly took it.

Now that I DO have one, however, I've really enjoyed it. It makes commutes, workouts and little strolls around town a lot nicer.

[WeRQ4U]

3. Kick, darnit.

Someone's gotta have a clue about this stuff.

[seemunkee]

4. What format?

There is a freeware program called TMPGENC that can do some video manipulation. I have taken some long videos and converted them for easy running on a Pocke PC PDA.

[WeRQ4U]

7. Not sure exactly what format.

But I would assume that it's something similar to Quicktime. But I don't know.

[bikebloke]

5. Album Art

Here's one source for album art:

http://www.slothradio.com/covers/

Or image searching through a search engine. I prefer alltheweb.com to Google. You can click the image thumbnail and only the image will come up, rather than load the whole page. Rule of thumb: 200 x 200 pixels is enough for a Photo iPod. I suspect you might need a bit larger for the video unit.

[WeRQ4U]

6. Hey thanks.

That will simplify things a bit. And yes, I think the screen is a bit bigger on the video.

[samdogmom]

8. Search the iPod Video discussion boards at apple.com.

You'll find lots of helpful advice about headphones. Maybe someone there can tell you if it's possible to load copy protected commercial DVDs on the player. If you rip your CDs to iTunes, the album art gets copied too. To add it to your player, you have to add it to the song first. To do this, select a song then choose File>Get Info. In the Artwork pane, click Add to add the art to the current song (I think you can drag it to this box too) Then click Next if you want to add art to another song. If you want to add the same artwork to multiple songs, hold down the control key and click each song you want to add the art to, then choose File>Get Info and drag the artwork to the box or navigate to where the file is stored.

I haven't purchased any music online, but it's my understanding that album artwork comes embedded in the download.

[WeRQ4U]

11. I know that album art is embedded on downloaded music.

And I assumed that it was ripped with the CD.......but where are the album art files located. When I push the "Add" button, it doesn't take me anywhere. I've been downloading each one, saving it as a jpeg on my computer, and then manually adding them that way. But it's a pain in the ass.

Thanks for the suggestion about Apple.com. I'll do that.

[samdogmom]

15. Boy, you got me. I didn't realize that these files are so hidden.

When I go to my music files on my hard disk, all the albums show the cover artwork, but to find the source for this art--I don't know how! I tried copying the art on the cover of the folder, but instead I get all of the songs inside the folder. What a pain. I hope you don't have a lot of artwork you want to add to your iPod. This could be a long tedious job.

[WeRQ4U]

16. I actually spent a LOT of time on the internet doing it for 1500 songs.

What I did was go to Amazon.com. When I found the album art that I wanted, I saved it to a folder on my computer. Then, I added it manually to each song (or group of songs by highliting them all). It took my a few very late nights. Now I'll do it right away when I add songs.

[seemunkee]

9. tutorial

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/tutorials/creatingvideo.html
If you want to put a DVD on it you will first have to rip the DVD to a .mov or mp4 file and then convert it for optimization on the iPod.

[seemunkee]

10. Even better

http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000027063418/

[WeRQ4U]

12. PERFECT. That's what I'm talking about.

Thanks. And it looks as though everything is free too.

Is engadget.com a reputable source. What I mean is, are the software downloads they are recommending going to be legit, or filled with spy and adware?

[seemunkee]

13. I really don't know

I was converting some video for my PDA this morning so was in the mood to research your question. I can't vouch for the downloads.

[WeRQ4U]

14. That's OK

Thanks for the link .