How do I convert video files into a compatible file type for my ipad?

1. iPad 3 supported video format: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second.

2. There are many online apps can do the video conversion for you, such as zamzar, Acethinker Video Converter, mediaconverter, etc. They are totally free, and you don't have to download or install anything. Take Acethinker as sample, You can follow these steps to convert video to MP4 video for iPad 3

1. Launch your web browser and go to Acethinker Online Converter
2. Click ‘select files to start’, and then drag and drop your video into the app.
3. Click the Format drop down list, select MP4 as output format.
4. Click the Convert button, the App will ask you where to save the converted file.
5. Click Start the run the conversion, it will take a few minutes to finish the task. When the conversion done, you will find the converted file in the folder you set in step 4. Done.

.mp4 and .m4v

http://handbrake.fr/

enjoy 🙂

iPad Supported Video Formats & Movie Formats

• H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
• MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
• Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

 Cheers, Tom 😉

I'm hitting various .mov, .mp4, m4v files that meet those specs but obviously have something else that Apple objects to but isn't saying.

One, Dr Zhivago, I had to splice together in QT as it was 2 DVDs, which is a possible reason for failing but that doesn't say much for QT.

The others I really have no idea. I use presets for my conversions and they are straight off my disks, so what the problem is is a mystery.

Be nice if Apple provided real feedback instead of just rejecting the files. I shall be having a closer look at the alternative Android devices, as I have encountered endless obstacles to doing the simplest of tasks on the iPad. Apple may say it is intuitive but in my experience as a UI designer all I can see is holes in its operation that you could drive a truck through and virtually no documentation to help the user out.

Peter

I doubt Apple will provide any real 'how to' for videos. First, and I'm not opening the debate on the topic, but APple cannot and will not support ripping movies. Whether you agree or not, it's their stance and so that topic is forbidden, as well as assistance to do that. Giving you feedback on what to do can be interpreted as assistance in breaking CSS encoding so they simply will not go there. Not to mention the fact that the variables are simply too much to give any real troubleshooting.

Second....they want you to buy stuff from iTunes. That's the workflow that they support.

Texas Mac Man wrote:

iPad Supported Video Formats & Movie Formats

• H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
• MPEG-4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats;
• Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

 Cheers, Tom 😉

Note that this list lists AVI files, which are in no way compatible with the iPad unless you import them via the Camera Connection Kit.

Generally, you have two ways:

- recompressing or, if you're lucky, remuxing

- getting a third-party playe, which plays these formats natively.

What formats are your videos in?

O player app will allow u to play different formats check it out app store

PeterBreis0807 wrote:

I'm hitting various .mov, .mp4, m4v files that meet those specs but obviously have something else that Apple objects to but isn't saying.

One, Dr Zhivago, I had to splice together in QT as it was 2 DVDs, which is a possible reason for failing but that doesn't say much for QT.

The others I really have no idea. I use presets for my conversions and they are straight off my disks, so what the problem is is a mystery.

Most probably they have

- either had a bad (not standards-compliant) file format (some digital cameras are known for this). This is VERY rare.

- you had too high a H.264 level. This is the problem in 99.99% of the cases. Apple has deliberately? by mistake? locked out a lot of, otherwise, absolutely playable and compliant H.264 videos by not allowing anything with higher than 4.1 H.264 level to be synched to the iPad.

Please don't recommend players BEFORE we exactly know what formats the videos are in - particularly because OPlayer isn't one of the best video players. (It's Playing, GoodPlayer, BUZZ Player, AVPlayerHD / ProPlayer are the best players.)

Skydiver119 wrote:

Second....they want you to buy stuff from iTunes.

It's really a pity only a fraction of their iTunes movies have CC's, which should be a must for most non-English native speakers. For example, none of their Monty Python movies / sketches have closed captions, making them almost un-understandable.

And, unfortunately, there are some other respects too where Apple should catch up to DVD / Blue Ray discs: image quality (see http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1340463 ), multiple audio tracks, not only one, but several subtitle tracks, re-downloadable content for non-US iTunes store accounts etc. There is a very interesting discussion on all these questions at http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=14917928#post14917928

tpm985 wrote:

Thank you, I'll try that out. I appreciate it! Hopefully this means I'll be able to put more videos on my iPad.

HandBrake (and, in general, recompressing) should be the last resort you should turn to. Remuxing is much easier, faster and doesn't at all decrease the image quality - assuming your videos can be remuxed (they're H.264 MKV or MTS files, for example.)

I'm new to this business and also getting frustrated. I'm using freemaker (shareware) to convert my AVHCD videos to MP4. The conversion works fine until I upload to iTunes (on a PC). There I get variable results. Some of the MP4 files slow down and eventually grind to a halt. I then try 'convert to iPad format' and iTunes tells me the file is in the correct format. Some of converted MP4 files work fine, but it's not consistent.

I'm trying to view my own videos and finding this more than a little complicated.