Basic iPad questions

joelk2 said:
personally im all for itunes. it keeps all my music/videos organised.

getting films/music into it is easy.

music i pop in the cd and it sorts it out, downloaded from amazon etc just drag and drop them into itunes and it copies them over.

for movies i drag the movie file into iflicks, it grabs all the metadata, converts it and adds it to the itunes library.

it backs up multiple phones and ipads.

i dont see the hate for it.
Click to expand...

I was like you for years until i tried to use another program to listen to my music (Zune or XBMC) and discovered that for years iTunes had completely ***** the file organisation. It doesn't change ID3 tags so after years of just using iTunes, the actual files and folders were in so much mess it took me months to sort it all out.

Once you've sorted it out... iTunes doesn't know where the files are anymore so you have to start again. Fortunately I found a program which will sync my iTunes library with the tags and locations of the actual files.
 
kristmace said:
I was like you for years until i tried to use another program to listen to my music (Zune or XBMC) and discovered that for years iTunes had completely ***** the file organisation. It doesn't change ID3 tags so after years of just using iTunes, the actual files and folders were in so much mess it took me months to sort it all out.

Once you've sorted it out... iTunes doesn't know where the files are anymore so you have to start again. Fortunately I found a program which will sync my iTunes library with the tags and locations of the actual files.
Click to expand...

iTunes does change the id3 tags if you set it to copy and organise the music folder. Once set this way it also puts the files in folder order of artist then album, which is the normal organisation most programs follow.
 
Dangerous Dave said:
iTunes does change the id3 tags if you set it to copy and organise the music folder. Once set this way it also puts the files in folder order of artist then album, which is the normal organisation most programs follow.
Click to expand...

thats what i have it set too.

ive not had any problems with it.

itunes has been running fine for me since 2006, ive in which time i have moved from

A laptop(wifes itunes) & PC(my itunes) to A new PC(combined library)

From that PC(combined library) to another New PC(wifes itunes) & Macbook(my itunes)

then from Macbook(my itunes) & PC(wifes itunes) to an IMAC(2 logons 2 librarys)

even after all of that its been running fine.
 
I won't sync my pad with iTunes don't see the need really unless I need it for plane train journey but even then I doubt I'd watch a film on a train more likely to read a book. I have an iphone so all my podcasts and music goes on that unless I'm playing a game then I can stream the music from the pc Kindle and iBooks looks great on the pad browsing the net is easy and air video is really great for watching movies on the pad at home. I went with apple because its the best online movie rental provider in Belgium bar none and coupled with a US account means my choice is vast. I can't compare with android hardware because google has a long way to go to match apple in terms of music and movies here in Belgium.
 
Watching videos is a large part of my iPad experience and although almost all have thick black borders above and below the video it's a great experience.

I would recommend CineXPlayer and AVPlayerHD for playing movies with a few pros and cons I give the most weight.

CineXPlayer has a nice clean interface and fetches information from IMDB for your video.
Swiping up and down while the video is playing doesn't mess with the playback (when cleaning dust of the screen, so I do it quite often)
It has nice big buttons and touch "friendlier" interface compared to AVPlayerHD.

AVPlayerHD has the ability to be a FTP server so you can upload videos from your PC wireless directly to the app (it transfers at about 5-6mB/s for me so doesn't take too long), I use this when I can't be bothered to plug the iPad into the PC.
Swiping up to clear dust fast forwards the playback and is annoying (you can probably turn it off, haven't checked though).

Also I watch mp4 files exclusively because it takes literally about 30-60 seconds to remux it from mkv to mp4 meaning you can play 1080p files flawlessly.

Also I have only tried this on an iPad 3, so if you have something older a 1080p video won't do you much good.

EDIT: Just wanted to add that I don't use iTunes at all for transferring videos as it's so slow on Windows! Instead I use iFunBox, a free software, it needs iTunes installed though for the drivers and what not.
 
Last edited:
lemoon said:
a) one iPad only support one iTunes installed.
yes, just use the same iTunes account.
c) yes, there are. this list you could take a look and choose the one you like: Top 10 Best Video/TV Apps for iPad
Click to expand...

slightly incorrect.

for example, my mrs ipad/phone was synced to our home pc.

if there was ever anything on my macbook that she wanted i connected the ipad/phone to my macbook.

itunes recognises it and then i can just drag and drop the item she wanted on to it.
 
@joelk2, thanks for point out the little mistake :)
The Nexus tablets feel cheap and horrible - I want something the functionality of an Android tablet but the look and feel of the iPad. This something doesn't exist so I'm probably going to compromise on the functionality in favour of the look and feel.
Click to expand...
Well, in a photo spread showing, and with popular apps running, the Nexus and iPad mini are almost same, but compared to iPad, the Nexus may be inferior.
read this: http://www.zdnet.com/ipad-mini-and-nexus-7-go-head-to-head-7000007563/
But I would still vote for iPad, if you have already got some other apple devices and Apple have a really cool encosystem.
 
Last edited:
Easiest way to transfer files videos onto an ipad is within app like iFiles. It creates a web upload facility you can access over your wifi network and allows you to upload files directly to the app. It's pretty quick to upload as well. Much quicker than drag and drop iTunes.

I've had an ipad for a couple of years now. It's not a replacement for a laptop, but it's a lot more convenient for general everyday tasks. I only really use the laptop now for backing things up, and managing the content I put on the ipad.

I find myself doing a lot more streaming of content to the ipad than bothering to copy files to it. Iplayer, Sky Go, 4od, youtube etc.
 
Fox, I'd be interested in knowing whether you got a Mini in the end, and whether it is reasonably easy to deal with. I'm in a similar position, having always had Android, and before that drag and drop MP3 players, so have never used iTunes.

How has it been getting all of your media into iTunes and onto the iPad? Are you happy with it overall?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom