Best way to store videos on iPad WITHOUT transcoding first?

[illjazz]

I've decided that transcoding videos before putting them on my iPad is simply too time-consuming and generally too big a pain in the ass to deal with. Sure, I could queue up a bunch of videos for transcoding to MP4 overnight.. thing is, I've got enough of them where it wouldn't finish for AGES. So I'm wondering.. what's the best way to view videos on the iPad if the video you have is NOT MP4? I have lots of stuff in HD that's stored as MKV's.. most of the rest are AVI's.

Ideas? Thanks.

 

[pondie84]

There is no way.

 

[illy123]

Have a look at AirVideo

 

[rworne]

I've decided that transcoding videos before putting them on my iPad is simply too time-consuming and generally too big a pain in the ass to deal with. Sure, I could queue up a bunch of videos for transcoding to MP4 overnight.. thing is, I've got enough of them where it wouldn't finish for AGES. So I'm wondering.. what's the best way to view videos on the iPad if the video you have is NOT MP4? I have lots of stuff in HD that's stored as MKV's.. most of the rest are AVI's.

Ideas? Thanks.

AirVideo.

It can either transcode (what you don't want) or do "live transcoding" where it will transcode and stream video to you with no waiting. Aside from waiting a few seconds for the stream to start, it will stream just about any format.

 

[pondie84]

The OP asked for a way to store video on the iPad without transcoding. Airvideo doesn't store video and transcodes.

 

[illy123]

The OP asked for a way to store video on the iPad without transcoding. Airvideo doesn't store video and transcodes.

To store them you don't need to transcode them at all. He did say

So I'm wondering.. what's the best way to view videos on the iPad if the video you have is NOT MP4?

 

[rworne]

The OP asked for a way to store video on the iPad without transcoding. Airvideo doesn't store video and transcodes.

We already have the "you can't do that" answer. So some of us are proposing alternatives. The OP said they don't want to wait while everything transcodes, so the next best thing is to stream everything.

 

[ravenvii]

He just said that he wanted to view the files. AirVideo will do that. Plus it saves space!

Unless you're on a plane or something, then it won't work. But then again, how often do you find yourself on a plane? You can probably tolerate transcoding for those situations

 

[illjazz]

Thanks, everyone. Thing is.. I live in Switzerland and have to travel between Zurich and Geneva (a 3-hour train ride) at least twice a week. When I travel, I always carry my Macbook Pro (my main computer, which also stores all my videos), as well as my iPad. AirVideo is great, conceptually, but requires having an always-on computer at home that can act as the server for the streamed content, if my understanding of the idea is correct.

I was hoping that an app like AirSharing would allow me to just beam over the videos I have in their current format and them view them from within the same app.

Dropbox might work for this. I'm just not sure if Dropbox LAN sync feature is supported on the iPad as well. If it is, that's a potential solution, because AFAIK, Dropbox has a built-in video player that takes care of quite a few formats.

 

[Ral67]

for some avi's you can just convert the audio with tools like avidemux
much much quicker then transcoding the video part
tou still need the extra space and to sync them through iTunes though

 

[pondie84]

Dropbox has a built-in video player that takes care of quite a few formats.

Is this true?

 

[CristobalHuet]

Remuxing...it's not transcoding.

If your mkv file, for instance, has h.264 video and aac audio then simply run Subler and save as m4v. 10-15 minutes it'll be done compared to 2-3 hours on Handbrake.

 

[illjazz]

Is this true?

Partly, apparently: https://www.dropbox.com/help/83

I'm surprised nobody's come up with an app that can play all sorts of video formats for the iPad and/or iPhone yet.

 

[pondie84]

Remuxing...it's not transcoding.

If your mkv file, for instance, has h.264 video and aac audio then simply run Subler and save as m4v. 10-15 minutes it'll be done compared to 2-3 hours on Handbrake.

This works great most of the time. I've had a couple of files where the resulting m4v hasn't been able to be transferred to my iPad, but I assume that's because the bitrate or whatever isn't right (I'm not a techy!).

 

[pondie84]

Partly, apparently: https://www.dropbox.com/help/83

I'm surprised nobody's come up with an app that can play all sorts of video formats for the iPad and/or iPhone yet.

That link suggests you can only play files in the Dropbox app that have been encoded the same way you would normally encode for an iTunes transfer. Or am I just reading it incorrectly?

 

[hazmatzak]

When I travel, I always carry my Macbook Pro (my main computer, which also stores all my videos), as well as my iPad. AirVideo is great, conceptually, but requires having an always-on computer at home that can act as the server for the streamed content, if my understanding of the idea is correct.

Never used the app myself, but based on the descriptions, it should work with a peer-to-peer WiFi connection between your MacBook Pro and the iPad. No need for a server at home, or an access point on the train. But then, why not just watch on the MacBook Pro? Ergonomics? It would still need to be on to do the live conversion.

That link suggests you can only play files in the Dropbox app that have been encoded the same way you would normally encode for an iTunes transfer. Or am I just reading it incorrectly?

No, that's what it says. It's no surprise: it just hands off the video to the built-in QuickTime and the hardware accelerated video decoder. Anything else would kill the battery.

 

[CristobalHuet]

This works great most of the time. I've had a couple of files where the resulting m4v hasn't been able to be transferred to my iPad, but I assume that's because the bitrate or whatever isn't right (I'm not a techy!).

I think I may know why some don't copy to iPad: The AVC level of the H.264 video stream in the M4V file is too high.

iPad can only take AVC level 3.1, anything higher (such as 4.1 or 5.1, commonly found in mkv files) won't be "playable".

Download MediaInfo to find out if your problem files are at 4.1 or 5.1

Fortunately, there's a very easy fix, if you're willing to meddle with some code. Within a few minutes, the file is able to be copied to your iPad:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2391597&start=15&tstart=15

 

[pondie84]

I think I may know why some don't copy to iPad: The AVC level of the H.264 video stream in the M4V file is too high.

iPad can only take AVC level 3.1, anything higher (such as 4.1 or 5.1, commonly found in mkv files) won't be "playable".

Download MediaInfo to find out if your problem files are at 4.1 or 5.1

Fortunately, there's a very easy fix, if you're willing to meddle with some code. Within a few minutes, the file is able to be copied to your iPad:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=2391597&start=15&tstart=15

Thanks greatly for this. I'll test it when I get home tonight.

OP, you should think about this option for your MKVs too. It's surprisingly fast.

 

[CristobalHuet]

Thanks greatly for this. I'll test it when I get home tonight.

OP, you should think about this option for your MKVs too. It's surprisingly fast.

No problem, let me know how it goes.

And I agree OP, think about it.

 

[pondie84]

No problem, let me know how it goes.

And I agree OP, think about it.

Didn't work I'm afraid. Still won't sync.

 

[CristobalHuet]

Didn't work I'm afraid. Still won't sync.

Damn. Can you drop your problem file into MediaInfo and take a screenshot of what it gives you?

 

[Scott6666]

I think Air Video also transcodes. Although the OP said he didn't want to transcode it's just a hit the button sort of thing on Air Video and it just happens in the background.

Then it's easy to upload them to the iPad. You get the same thing as AirVideo but to go.

Of course, I'm starting with avi's. This may be no good if you are sitting with a bunch of DVD's.

 

[ceefax]

file browser?

 

[pondie84]

Damn. Can you drop your problem file into MediaInfo and take a screenshot of what it gives you?

Not to worry Figured it out. Sound was AC3 instead of AAC. Fixed it up and it's all working like a charm. A bit fiddly but the quality seems better and the whole process (even with multiple steps) is faster than transcoding using Handbrake or some such program.

 

[ajnicho]

yxplayer in the appstore plays avi and mkv without converting. Have to see it's a bit choppy at the minute - hope he sorts it out because this would be a major breakthrough.