Julie Selllars
Level 1 (4 points)
iPod

Q: Syncing SD TV shows

I have a 120 GB iPod classic which I use to watch TV shows.  I recently purchased a second season of a SD series of TV shows - I cannot seem to get them to load to my iPod.  Any suggestions?  I have searched these posts and can't find anything that doesn't relate to SD tv shows - I have confirmed they are SD.  Thanks.

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3)

Posted on Apr 16, 2016 8:32 PM

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Julie Selllars

Q: Syncing SD TV shows

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  • Helpful answers

  • by lonewolf3898,

    lonewolf3898 lonewolf3898 Apr 18, 2016 12:47 PM in response to Julie Selllars
    Level 1 (43 points)
    iPod
    Apr 18, 2016 12:47 PM in response to Julie Selllars

    I'll give this a shot before Kenichi comes along with a better answer...

     

    Do the shows have specs which fit within the specs of what the iPod can handle? Check the info in this link versus the specs from your videos (about one-third down the page, look at the "audio" and "video" sections):

    iPod classic (120GB) - Technical Specifications

     

    It's not just a matter of being "SD"; the videos must fit within the parameters of what the iPod can handle. This includes such things as audio/video formats, video resolution, and possibly codecs. Kinda like the old "square peg in a round hole" thing...

  • by Kenichi Watanabe,

    Kenichi Watanabe Kenichi Watanabe Apr 18, 2016 5:24 PM in response to lonewolf3898
    Level 8 (39,278 points)
    Mac OS X
    Apr 18, 2016 5:24 PM in response to lonewolf3898

    That's a good answer. I left it alone to see if it would get a Community Specialist reply (with the official Apple logo), which often happens when a new topic does not have a reply for a day or two.  The odd thing is, this topic (when viewing the forum category topic list) IS currently marked with the Apple logo, which usually means it has a Community Specialist reply, but I don't see any such reply in the actual topic thread.  Like maybe it had one but it was removed.

     

    There seems to be a category of purchased video resolution format, between what Apple previously categorized as SD and HD, called high-quality SD.  From what I've seen, the resolution for high-quality SD is typically 853 x [something].  The maximum video resolution supported on most video-playing iPods (that is not an iPod touch) is 640 x 480, which is why these high-quality SD videos do not sync to the iPod.

     

    There's a setting in iTunes preferences Store tab; it's a checkbox for Download high-quality SD videos.  Since such a setting exists, it makes sense that if it is unchecked, the downloaded video (in SD) would be the "lower quality" version that can sync to iPods.  As a test, I deleted one of my recently purchased videos, which was in high-quality SD format at 853 x 362 resolution.  I downloaded it again from my iTunes Store Purchased screen (as SD with Download high-quality SD videos unchecked in iTunes preferences), and it came back with the same high-quality SD resolution.  So that did not work for me (at least for that one movie)... but Julie Selllars can give it a try with her purchased TV show episodes.

  • by joe_7399,

    joe_7399 joe_7399 Apr 25, 2016 9:04 AM in response to Julie Selllars
    Community Specialists
    Apr 25, 2016 9:04 AM in response to Julie Selllars

    Hi Julie Selllars,

     

    Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities!

     

    I understand that you would like to sync a newly purchased TV Show season to your iPod classic, but the shows don’t seem to sync as expected. We know that syncing issues can be very frustrating, but we are here to help!

     

    Before we begin troubleshooting, I would make sure that all of your purchased content from iTunes is located in your iTunes library. Use the following article to make sure all of your past purchases have been downloaded.

     

    Download your past purchases - Apple Support

     

    Once all of your purchased content is in your iTunes library and is working as expected there, we’ll begin troubleshooting the sync issue.

     

    To begin troubleshooting, I would suggest removing all TV Shows from your iPod classic completely using iTunes. This will give us a blank slate to work with so we can sync your content back to your iPod fresh.

     

        1. Connect your iPod to iTunes and select it

        2. Select TV Shows under Settings in the left hand side of iTunes

        3. Remove the check from Sync TV Shows (You may get a warning that all TV Shows will be removed. You are okay to proceed)

        4. Select Apply in the lower right corner of iTunes to apply the changes

        5. After the sync finishes, verify on your iPod that all TV Shows have been removed

     

    Once all of the TV Shows have been removed from the iPod, we’ll go back through the syncing process to move your TV Shows back to the iPod.

     

        1. You are probably still on the TV Shows pane in iTunes, but if not, follow steps 1-2 in the previous instructions to return

        2. Check the box next to Sync TV Shows and make your selections to automatically include the shows or episodes you want, or manually select the specific TV Shows and episodes you want to sync in the Shows section below

        3. Select Apply in the lower right corner of iTunes to apply the changes

     

    Sync your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch with iTunes using USB - Apple Support

     

    If you are still experiencing a content issue on your iPod after syncing, please let us know in further detail about your situation so we can provide continued support.

     

    Best!