iPad Media Formats

[Spyderturbo007]

So let's say I have all my media such as TV shows and movies in the standard iPhone resolution. What do with it all if I get an iPad? Will we really need to keep two different copies of all our stuff to obtain the best resolution on the iPad?

I use Videora to convert my home movies to get the best picture quality on my iPhone. But when I get an iPad, I'll need everything in a different resolution for the iPad. So I guess I'll need two copies of everything.

What about movies and shows that I've downloaded from iTunes? I guess we'll be stuck buying them all again.

 

[NannyMac09]

I'm glad you asked that...I have been wondering the same thing...I just bought an iPod 64GB and it's loaded to the gills with everything including my Mac desktop. What happens to my apps? Do they pass over to the iPad? Does everything I have translate over? Or nothing? Do I have to buy my games over again?

These are important questions....

 

[sracer]

So let's say I have all my media such as TV shows and movies in the standard iPhone resolution. What do with it all if I get an iPad? Will we really need to keep two different copies of all our stuff to obtain the best resolution on the iPad?

I use Videora to convert my home movies to get the best picture quality on my iPhone. But when I get an iPad, I'll need everything in a different resolution for the iPad. So I guess I'll need two copies of everything.

What about movies and shows that I've downloaded from iTunes? I guess we'll be stuck buying them all again.

I have 100's of movies and tv shows that I've encoded for playback on the PSP, Zune, and iPod. These same video files (.mp4 format) look just fine on my 10" Asus EeePC netbook. These are at 628Kbps total bitrate (500Kbps video, 128Kbps audio).... resolution 320x(depending on aspect ratio)

I suspect that these videos will look equally fine on the iPad. They certainly won't look "HD" but they're good enough to not be worth the trouble of re-encoding.

 

[kornchild2002]

Personally, I would go back and re-encode the videos. I have an HP 10" netbook and videos below 640X480 look like crap when scaled up on the netbook's screen. That is why I have always encoded my videos, even ones for my iPod classic, at 640X480 or smaller in height (for widescreen content). I couldn't imagine watching a 320X240 (or 320X480) video on an iPad with a resolution of 1024X768 right in front of my face. Remember that video flaws will be increased whenever the iPad is held closer to your face. This means that you will notice encoding flaws more easily.

756kbps content with a resolution of 320X240 will look like crap on the iPad's screen. I cant stand it on my 1366X768 10" netbook screen and I imagine that most people would feel the same. Instead, I suggest that you should go back and re-encode your content to 640X480 (or 640Xabc depending on whether the video is widescreen or not). The files will work with your iPhone and iPad so that you don't have to worry about having two copies of everything.

 

[Dyvim]

BTW, with latest Handbrake (v94) you can now do custom anamorphic encoding for your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch videos just like Apple does it with iTunes store videos. Namely encode 16:9 video at 640x480 but plays back at 853x480 (instead of encoding and playing back at 640x360). I would highly recommend that (plus a high bit rate of 1500kbps or more) for encoding optimal cross-Apple platform media.

 

[Scarpad]

I Always use the Universal or Apple TV Preset, these play on my Touch and will look good on the Ipad. As well as my ATV and 46 in Bravia

 

[sracer]

Personally, I would go back and re-encode the videos. I have an HP 10" netbook and videos below 640X480 look like crap when scaled up on the netbook's screen.

Then you are encoding your videos improperly.

 

[sracer]

756kbps content with a resolution of 320X240 will look like crap on the iPad's screen. I cant stand it on my 1366X768 10" netbook screen and I imagine that most people would feel the same. Instead, I suggest that you should go back and re-encode your content to 640X480 (or 640Xabc depending on whether the video is widescreen or not).

Clark

1366x768 is not the same as the 1024x768 of the iPad screen. That is nearly 30% more screen space to fill. THAT is a huge difference.

Why not wait until the OP actually has an iPad in his hands and can test for himself if the quality is acceptable?

I've seen too many people simply throw higher resolution and higher bitrates at a problem rather than optimizing the codec parameters/settings. I've created iPod/PSP-optimized videos that look BETTER and are a fraction of some 2GB monsters created by others.

Video encoding is like mom's home cooking... everybody thinks that their's is better (myself included)... LOL

 

[Mr. E.]

You'll definitely want to wait and see. I expect that there will be no need to make multiple copies of files, but you may want to change your settings if the files do not look good on the iPad. I believe you can create files to be used on your iPhone that are encoded at a higher resolution than the iPhone can take advantage of. I encode most of my videos so that they can be put on my iPod 5G and my iPod Touch, but how I usually watch them is by plugging my 5G iPod into my television. The videos look fine on my television (although, to be fair, my TV is not HD and I am not picky about video quality). The downside is that video files will be larger than strictly necessary for the iPhone/iPod touch, and will fill up that device more quickly. The upside is that you won't have to keep multiple copies of the files. Another upside is that if you only have one file, and you sync your devices frequently, you can start watching a file on one device and continue from the same place on another device, provided you have synced both devices between viewings.

 

[kornchild2002]

Then you are encoding your videos improperly.

Oh yes. I must be encoding my videos incorrectly. 5 years of encoding my videos for my various iPods and I have been doing it wrong the entire time. Thank you for showing me the light oh holy one.

Nice way to make an incorrect assumption. You know what happens when you make an assumption, don't you? No, I am not incorrectly or improperly encoding my videos. I am simply stating my opinion. Additionally, the 4:3 content plays back at 1024X768 on my netbook's screen. It might have 30% more pixels than 1024X768 but that doesn't stop 640X480 content playing back the same as on a 1024X768 screen. I always play videos in their correct aspect ratios, I am not the type of person who likes to stretch videos to fit my screen even if it means playing them back at an incorrect aspect ratio.

I am simply stating my opinion. No need to try to make me look dumb just because it doesn't agree with yours.