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Converting Flip videos to play on iPad?

Hi
I have a MacBook and iPad. I normally use VLC to convert videos. I cannot find any settings to make the videos sync to the iPad, I only get warnings that the file is unplayable.

Any tips/tricks?
Thanks
Jeremy

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.3)

Posted on Apr 4, 2010 9:40 PM

Reply
22 replies

Apr 5, 2010 2:35 AM in response to jtoeman

Have a try with VisualHub - Flipvideo I recall is just a standard WMV file which is played by QT by using OSX based codecs, which will not be present on the iPad.

There are plenty of other options out there - VisualHub is just one of them and one of the oldest so it will not have a default iPad setting, but can be set up for a whole lot of other devices.

There's also a sourceforge project caled VideoMonkey I believe.

Apr 5, 2010 6:38 AM in response to jtoeman

I can't try this because my Flip (and all my raw Flip video) is at work, but either should work. 1) Handbrake, using the Universal setting, has been working like a champ to convert the files I've been able to play on my Mac but not transfer to the iPad (or iPhone). It is an open source application and free. 2) open them in iMove and then exporting as a QuickTime movie should also work.

Apr 6, 2010 1:57 PM in response to theKlingster

theKlingster wrote:
If your videos play under QuickTime on your Mac, simply do a Save As and choose iPod as the format. I shoot 1080p video with my Canon 7D DSLR, producing MOV-format files. This conversion works just fine and requires no additional software.


Not with Flip video IMO - they are not actually Quicktime files but are windows WMV files played through the QT engine using Flip codecs. I don't believe that Qt can convert wmv to other formats.

Apr 8, 2010 5:00 AM in response to jtoeman

I cannot find any settings to make the videos sync to the iPad, I only get warnings that the file is unplayable.

You may need to be more specific regarding the particular model. Some models produce H.264/AAC files in an MP4 wrapper while other use advanced profile MPEG-4 in an AVI wrapper. In addition, profile hybridization and certain specification combinations are trapped by iTunes when attempting device synchronization or trapped on import to video editor applications. Your best bet is to use your own favorite choice of available conversion applications to create compliant clips for iPad use. My preference would be an TV preset.




User uploaded file

May 18, 2010 10:59 AM in response to Jon Walker

It just shouldn't have to be this difficult. With the advanced technology Apple has, it just shouldn't be this difficult. What happen to the day where Software/Hardware developers made things "idiot proof" for people. I should just put my flip video on my ipad or iphone and it should just play it. I gotta say this is beginning to be my biggest pet peave with the ianything. But not being able to watch flash video content on websites or even downloading a simple movie (MPEG-4 video) from my flip device on to ipad/iphone is really irrating.

Jun 4, 2010 9:27 PM in response to Glorfindeal

@Glorfindeal - Your solution seems to work but boy is this frustrating.

I have a Kodak Zi8 (HD camera like Flip) that records in beautiful HD in native .MOV format. I can download the videos to iPad via "DropBox" or "Good Reader" and they play nicely on the iPad BUT..... if I try to sync that exact same file via iTunes I get the "can't sync video to iPad" message.

So obviously the iPad is loaded with the codecs to play these hi-res videos but iTunes does not support the transfer of these files. (IMO)

The good: iTunes shrinks the heck out of the files
The bad: I have to convert every stinking video if I want to see it on iPad

Jun 21, 2010 3:27 PM in response to jtoeman

I was able to play videos from my Flip Mino HD without any conversion on my iPad by sending them to the iPad via GoodReader or Dropbox. The videos played in those two applications just fine.

So why can't I play them in Apple's "Videos" application?

Ultimately I'd like to send them to ReelDirector for editing on the iPad, but that won't work either.

So my question is - if GoodReader and Dropbox can play them, why can't Videos or ReelDirector?

See my blog post for a little more info:
http://www.midwood.net/blog/?p=1299

Jun 23, 2010 11:04 AM in response to brentmid

brentmid wrote:
I was able to play videos from my Flip Mino HD without any conversion on my iPad by sending them to the iPad via GoodReader or Dropbox. The videos played in those two applications just fine.

So why can't I play them in Apple's "Videos" application?

Ultimately I'd like to send them to ReelDirector for editing on the iPad, but that won't work either.

So my question is - if GoodReader and Dropbox can play them, why can't Videos or ReelDirector?

Don't know abut ReelDirector but I suspect that Videos would play them just fine if you could get them past the gatekeeper, iTunes. Something in the profile or metadata causes iTunes to reject them-- likely because the profile isn't fully supported by the iPad. It plays in GoodReader probably because the full capabilities of the profile aren't utilized by the Filp.

Aug 8, 2010 8:06 AM in response to jtoeman

Hi Jeremy,
I had the same issue. When trying to sync my videos created with a Flip Ultra HD, I would get a message that the format was not compatible with iPad.
I upgraded my QT to the Pro package and performed an Export to iPod fomat (yes iPod) and they came out great. I had no issues getting them into my iPad at that point. Hope this helps.

Regards,
David

Dec 18, 2010 7:37 AM in response to jtoeman

Hi
An easy way to play Flip vides on your iPad is via FlipShare. Simply create a Flip channel using your Flip software on your Mac. Then drag your Flip movie to the newly created channel. Finally download the FlipShare app to your iPad. You'll be able to play the Flip movie without any conversion.

You can also easily stream your Flip movies to Apple TV without any converter and without loosing quality. First export your Flip movie to your Mac, then import it into iMovie and, finally, drag it from there into your Movies on iTunes. Using home sharing you'll be able to stream it to your Apple TV.

Hope this helps some of you!

Gofallo.

Converting Flip videos to play on iPad?

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