My video iPod

In December, after some serious thinking, I decided to get me a video iPod, the fifth generation of iPods. I already have a third generation iPod, but took some time to find arguments to convince me (and my dear Fredrika) that it was a good idea to get another iPod just one year and nine months after the first one.

How could I motivate this to myself? Well, there were some factors that pushed me over the brink:

Being able to watch video
I think the MPEG 4 format is awesome, and I love watching videos on it. To me, the screen size is just fine.
The color screen
Color is always nice, right?
The design and size
It looks oh-so-good, weighs practically nothing nowadays (4.8 ounces/136 grams) and is almost thin like a leaf.
The price
I got a 30 GB one, definitely sufficient for me, and it’s actually cheaper than most of its matching alternatives (not to mention that the alternatives usually weigh three times more and are five times as thick).
Commuting
I commute at least two hours a day (and if you meet me in real life, give me a hug and please tell me you share my pain) and watching videos is about the best way to kill time (perhaps for sex, but that isn’t really suitable on the suburb trains…).

I’ve also seen that there a number of porn movies available in iPod format. I sincerely don’t want to know what people are doing with an iPod in one hand and… shivers
Besides, if one would want to get off holding an iPod, the design of the iPod would be such a turn-on by itself. πŸ˜›

A disturbance is that the software isn’t perfect, it has a tendency of sometimes freezing when the battery goes low and you’ve just watched a video. Just remember to hold down the Menu key and the Play key to soft reset it and you will be fine. Aside from that, I wish they would’ve thrown in an AC adapter. One doesn’t want to fire up the computer only to charge something through an USB port (and why does the computer have to be on for that?).

Conclusively, if you’re looking for a MP3 player with a nice hard drive, I most definitely recommend getting an iPod. I hesitated for a while, took the plunge, and haven’t regretted it for a single second!

If you don’t have movies in the MPEG 4 format, you can use free tools such as the Videora iPod Converter for Windows and iSquint for Mac to convert it.

18 Comments

  • Jens Wedin says:

    Video is always nice but how do you move for an example an divx or dvd to the ipod. Do you need to decode the the movie first or do iTunes this for you? How muuch does that take? And yeah, they look awesome, I 'only' have a 3rd gen. iPod for music.

  • Marco says:

    Hmmm… I have problems believing watching anything else but small clips on this thing would really work for me. Simply because the screen is too small to me. I love to watch movies on the road as well (no, not porn ones πŸ˜‰ ) but I choose to use a PSP for this purpose. It has one big disadvantage: no harddrive which is why I have to replace my movies every 2 or 3 days on the memorystick. The display however really makes up for that inconvenience. It's much larger than the iPod's one and it's 16:9 which is nicer as well.

    I was hoping for Apple to release a new video iPod with a screen covering the full front area. That would result in a 16:9 screen with about the same size like the PSP has. Maybe this is coming at the next Apple event. I'd definitely be willing to shell out the cash for an iPod with a PSP size screen and good battery life!

  • Maarten Leewis says:

    I had a 3G iPod as well, but it got stolen. Luckily the insurance paid for a new 5G. The biggest issue i had with it, was that i liked the controls on the 3G much better. It just seemed more solid.

    Now i wouldn't trade in my new one for the older one. If i compare the both now, the older one just looks clunky. Except for the controls.

    An alternate ac-adapter would have been nice. But when you are on the road it is nice when you can charge it over USB on your laptop, because you might only have one socket available. Or none at all…

  • I'm expecting a 5G iPod in the next few days (i won one) to load it up with pr0n.

    I would never have bought it though since i have a 4G one.

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Jens,

    I forgot to mention it in the post, but there are free tools available to convert movies to the MPEG 4 format (I've updated the post with links). Then you use iTunes to do the transfer to the iPod.

    Marco,

    For me it works fine, but I wouldn't watch an entire movie on it without a break. About thirty minutes is ok.

    Another major disvantages with the PSP, to me, are the weight and the size.

    I have, of course, also heard about the rumors about a new video iPod, and if it happens, it will most likely be very cool. πŸ™‚

    Maarten,

    Intersting to hear; I prefer the controls on the 5G over the 3G ones, I never liked the touch controls. No instant feedback if it reacted or not.

    Josue,

    Well, congratulations! πŸ™‚

    I think you will like the 5G one; size- and weight-wise it's abig difference compared to the 4G one.

  • Faruk Ates says:

    I much prefer the new controls, they're so much nicer and faster and more responsive and just yummy.

    *drools over his clickwheel*

    Oh Apple, thou pleases us so much…

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Faruk,

    Maybe I should leave you to yourself right now. πŸ™‚

  • Jules says:

    You're all sickos LOL πŸ™‚

    … and during Lent no less!

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Jules,

    Most likely… πŸ™‚

  • Heheh, funny comments guys.

    I got Sarah a video iPod (60gb) for Christmas as her 3g 20gb was full to the brim.

    I don't think she's ever watched a single video on hers and got quite irritated when I put a few on there for her to try out – women are very possessive about the things they love, eh…

    I hope Marco's right and they release a 'full-frontal' πŸ˜‰ wide screen iPod. 720p High Def playback to TV would be the icing on the cake for me.

  • Maaike says:

    I've had an iRiver mp3-player with video playback for over a year now, but I've never felt the need to watch video's on it. I prefer a bigger screen. But then, I work in a cinema πŸ™‚

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Steve,

    Ha ha, if they do, I sure hope they market it as a "full-frontal" model. πŸ™‚

    Maaike,

    Then I understand. πŸ™‚

    For me, it's mainly my long commuting time that gives me the opportunity to watch something, I would never do it at home.

  • Jules says:

    Oh, oh! Did you buy too early?

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Jules,

    Yeah, maybe. πŸ™‚

    But it has been a life-saver for the last three months, so it was worth it anyway. Even if a new video iPod is released soon with a gargantuan screen. πŸ™‚

  • Jules says:

    I forgot that you stated you had purchased it in December: I was thinking that it was a very recent purchase. <envy>Glad you are enjoying it.</envy>

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Jules,

    Nah, I think you were just gloating! πŸ˜‰

  • I have a 30gb black video iPod, and i've been using the iTunes to convert my videos to *.mp4 but i'm not haveing sucsses with the mpg files, i only get the image without sound. With .mov is perfect.

    I'll take a look on this Videora, thanks for this tip!

    I'm from Brazil, sory for my bad english.

    Cya.

  • Robert Nyman says:

    Dudu,

    I don't think you can do it in iTunes. But try Videora, it will save your day! πŸ™‚

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