Besy way to get movies on an iPad

It is possible to sync(and transfer data I think) to your iPad with one Mac/PC via wifi. However you can put data on it from a different computer by connecting it with the usb cable.

I haven't used the iPad with an Apple TV, but that should allow you to stream connect from your Apple TV to iPad and vice versa. This however does not allow you to copy data.

mumbles2701 wrote:

i want to put movies on my iPad, do i still have to connect the iPad to the computer i have Movies on? In this new world on syncing with multiple computers i still cant sync my iPad with multiple computers can i? It always wants to wipe and sync a new sync with each computer.

If you want to synchronize them and strictly with the stock Videos app, then, you'll need to switch to Manual synch / managemenet. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1202

(If you use third-party video players, no such restrictions apply. You can use iTunes File Sharing on even unknown computers.)

mumbles2701 wrote:

I have a Mac Mini and attached drives and Apple Tv. Is there anyway if downloading a Movie wirelessly to my device as the iPad can see all my movies and play them wirelessly on the device itself or via Apple TV. So i should be able to grab them wirelessly and save on the iPad shouldnt i?

Download the movie where? On the Mac Mini? Then, you'll be able to access it via Home Sharing (needs to be separately enabled: read http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4620 ) on both the iPad and ATV. Furthermore, you'll be able to stream it via AirPlay to the ATV.

If serious about streaming movies, my son put me onto an app called, StreamToMe for a couple of bucks. with associated ServeToMe for your MAC. Put movies of any variation onto your MAC and then open in iTunes. Point your new ServeToMe to your iTunes folder. You're good to go with iPad driving iTV in any movie format via AirPlay. Sadly, my AirPlay quite about 10 minutes into the drill, and I'm now seeking to figure out how to get it back again. For 10 minutes everything worked great. Good luck.

BTW, why should one prefer it to Apple's own, 100% working and 100% free Home Sharing? Personally, I haven't checked it out, but based on your explanation, it needs a powered-up desktop and iTunes' having imported the video. Then, you could also use Home Sharing without any hassle (installing additional apps) and paying any money for a third-party streamer.

Apple's movies are lovely and the system is as good or better than you describe. It is, however, quite limited in its library at least so far. It also coster per movie, and there are many out there for free, albeit in formats that can't always be read by Apple. This system, I'm told, can stream any format.

Now I understand. In this regard, it's indeed superior to Apple's solution - as are several other streamers and UPnP on-the-fly transcoding servers like "Playback".

However, there's another, much easier and portable (no streaming needed for playback) approach: remuxing (or if it in no way can be done, transcoding) those files.

It's invisible in the file system (and also to iTunes) UNLESS you use third-party apps to access them.

For this, I recommend "SyncPod" (for the Mac). It has a free trial also able to transfer the first 5 minutes of video files. Note that I've only tested this with non-protected videos. (I already had the protected ones I've purchased from iTunes Store in my desktop iTunes so there wouldn't have been any point in transferring them back - as you can only play these files in iTunes, I coudln't copy them to the file system either.)

Note that SyncPod isn't compatible with Lion; under my Snow Leopard, it works just fine with my 5.1.1 iPad 3.

Even when you sync wirelessly (as is built into iOS 5) using the Movies tab on the local network, the same restrictions apply as in wired mode.

However, if you make use of iTunes File Share, you can also drag-and-drop movie files to third party apps - even on non-authorized desktops. In this regard, using File Share results in a far more portable solution than the built-in video synchronization of iTunes.

Check in "Synch with this iPad over Wi-Fi" on the first tab in iTunes:

mumbles2701 wrote:

forgive my ignorance by can i sync wirelessly? how do i do that? like a wired connection but wirelessly?

Yes.

See this -> iOS: Syncing with iTunes

mumbles2701 wrote:

this is all done and working but can i 'sync' or just download a movie from Mini to iPad now with the download/sync initiated from the iPad?

You have to select it to sync in iTunes but you don't need to plug it in to sync.