Ant Drewery

I’ve been loading up my iPod with video in preparation for a trip to the USA. Consequently I ran out of disk space on my laptop. As a temporary measure I wanted to move my entire iTunes music/video library to an external drive. Here’s the process that I followed:

• Under the iTunes preferences Advanced tab I changed the iTunes music folder location.
• I made sure that ‘Keep iTunes music folder organised’ was selected.
• Then back in iTunes under Advanced I chose Consolidate Library. This then copied my entire library to the new location and updated iTunes accordingly.

This process doesn’t remove the files from the old location so you’ll have to do that manually.

Technorati Tags: iTunes, iPod

I’ve just bought a PocketPower device from Gear4. It’s a rechargable power pack that can charge/power any of your USB devices. I bought it mainly to add some battery life to my iPod Video on long trips but I can also use it for my BlackBerry and mobile phone.

It comes with 4 rechargable AAA batteries but regular batteries can also be used. If using rechargables you can charge them in the device via the USB port on your PC/laptop. The device is light, compact and slips easily into my laptop bag.

Gear4 claim it will add up to 8 hours playback time to your iPod. The real test for me will be an 11 hour flight to the USA next month.

Technorati Tags: iPod, Gear4, PocketPower

This morning I tried to watch some of my downloaded TV shows on my video iPod whilst on the train to London. After about 20-30 seconds the playback would freeze for a couple of seconds then resume without any sound. This happened on every TV show I tried but video podcasts were fine. A bit of Googling once I reached the office shows that this is a known bug with version 1.1 of the firmware. This site has a procedure for downgrading your firmware without needing to reformat your iPod. I’ll be trying it as soon as I get home.

Update: The downgrade procedure at http://www.ipodbank.com/showthread.php?t=143 worked perfectly. I’m back on the original firmware without needing to wipe my data and I no longer have the video playback issue.

There are plenty of tools out there for converting videos files to iPod and PSP compatible formats but my favourite is 3GP_Converter. It’s a free tool that lets you select your desired output format then simply drag and drop your source files to queue them up for conversion. It’ll accept any source that you have an installed codec for e.g. DivX, XviD etc.

Download and extract the Zip file then run the setup file. Note that the setup does not install the files, merely sets up the config so make sure you have extracted them to a suitable location.

Choose your language and the output format you wish to use.

Choose your specific output settings and the output directory. Now all you need to do is drag and drop your source files. When finished the software will open iTunes and add the completed video file to your library.
The config files can be manually edited to tweak the settings. You can find them in \default_setting in the 3GP_Converter folder. After you change any config files you’ll need to run the setup again.

I’ve made a tweak to my config file to handle widescreen source files. If you don’t make this change the output will appear stretched. You can download my updated config file here (change the extension to ini). These settings give me respectable quality when I hook my iPod up to the TV.

If you’ve stumbled across this posting because you have a Play-yan device then you can download a Play-yan config file for 3GP_Converter here (change the extension to ini). You’ll also need a file called playan.fup in the root of your SD card to play MPEG4 on a Play-yan.

I’ve been listening to various podcasts over the last few weeks, mainly during my commute. A few of them have made it to my subscription list in iTunes:

43 Folders

Handy tips to improve your organisation and productivity in a compact format.

Inside the Net

The latest products, tools and technologies on the web.

Security Now

Security guru Steve Gibson discussing security related topics.

This Week In Tech

Leo Laporte hosting discussions about all things tech.

The Ricky Gervais Show

A humorous podcast with Ricky Gervais, Steve Merchant, and Karl Pilkington.

One of the things that prompted me to buy an iPod was finally being able to connect it through the factory fitted radio/CD in my 2005 VW Golf. I did consider replacing it with a unit that had a dedicated aux input or iPod connection but then you have the hassle of remembering to remove the fascia as a security precaution.

First I tried an FM broadcast gizmo that powered from my cigarette lighter. The sound quality was a bit hit and miss though depending on the strength of the local FM radio signals in the area you were driving through. I bought mine from eBay as they are technically illegal in the UK.

Next I tried an FM transmitter that you wire in-line with the car aerial. In theory this ensures a good signal with minimal interference. Unfortunately after removing my head unit I discovered that it has non-standard aerial connectors so this idea was a non-starter.

Finally I came across a product from Connects 2 that connects to the CD changer port to give me an aux input. My stereo has a built-in single CD drive so this seemed like a good option. Installation was easy and now I get perfect sound quality from any auxiliary source by connecting to the headphone jack of the device and switching to the CD changer. I can finally get rid of the CDs cluttering up my car and listen to podcasts during my commute.

Well I finally crumbled and bought myself a new black 60GB iPod video. My previous MP3 player was a 5GB Zen Micro which was pretty good but limited in space and lacked the slick interface of the iPod.

Despite my music collection being in WMA format, iTunes and the iPod swung it for me on a few key points:

And finally, video playback. I download a lot of US TV shows as I get fed up waiting for them to come to the UK, if indeed they ever do. I also like the fact that I can watch them on my Media Center whenever I like and I’m not governed by programming schedules. I like to be able to watch my downloaded TV on train journeys and with an additional cable I can also hook my iPod to any TV in the house to view them.

People criticise the iPod for it’s lack of supported formats but conversion is a simple process using a single free tool (which I’ll blog about soon). They also criticise the screen size but let’s face I’m never going to sit and watch the Lord Of The Rings trilogy. In my opinion the screen is fine for watching a TV show. Previously I’ve used an iPaq and an i-Mate Jam to watch shows on the go but have ditched these devices in favour of my Blackberry. My most recent gadget for portable video viewing was the Play-Yan cartridge for my Game Boy Advanced. This allows you to view/listen to media stored on a SD card. The snag is that the interface is in Japanese but you soon find your way around. This has now been ditched in favour of my iPod.