"video can't be copied to ipod" but its mp4

Although a video may say it's an "MP4" file, that does not actually mean it is the same format as another "MP4" file. In basic terms, (from what I can understand - I'm not an expert!) MP4 is a general term which can include different formats, not all playable by the iPod.

Forum contributor Jeff Bryan has mentioned the requirements for a video to play on the iPod in another post (here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8341329&#8341329 ), but as he has quoted an Apple spec, I'll re-quote it here (hope you don't mind Jeff).

There are the specs Apple quote.

The file must meet the following specifications to play correctly.

H.264 video: up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240, 30 frames per sec., Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3 with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats
-or-
MPEG-4 video: up to 2.5 mbps, 480 x 480, 30 frames per sec., Simple Profile with AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 Khz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4 and .mov file formats.

You'll notice that MP4 appears twice - two different specifications! Those are simply the ones that play on the iPod though! So presumably, the videos you have which will not play do not meet these specifications. If you read the complete post/thread, you may find more information that will help you, including methods of converting videos so they play on the iPod.

Good luck.

Can you recommend any software that will convert this other MP4 file format to the one that is compatible with the iPod Classic 120GB? I am having the same problem as the user above and don't know what to do to get these videos on my iPod.

Thanks

I have a 120GB iPod Classic and I am having trouble adding an MP4 file. It must be a format that is not compatible with this iPod. Has anyone else had this problem and what have you done to resolve it? Is there some software out there that is easy to use and can convert this file to one that is compatible with my iPod?

Thanks.

Hello. I used a program from: www.pqdvd.com.
Called "DVD to iPod Video Suite" It works, I got around 11 movies on my iPod. You could even convert that mp4 movies that can't be copied to your iPod.