Even though Apple’s tablet supports a wide variety of media content, the way you could add videos to iPad can still feel like a hassle. And that’s one of the underlying problems we plan on addressing through this guide. We all have a list of favorite movies and music videos stored on our local drives. Well, getting them onto the iDevice shouldn’t be a problem if they’re encoded in a format that’s supported by the slate. And if not, there’s no need to worry. A number of ways are available to get the job done. And today we’re going to share with you how to do it in a few simple steps.
1. Supported file formats and requirements:
Before we begin, it’s important to know what formats are supported by the tablet. The list is rather long; so we’re going to cut it down to only the most popular ones that deliver quality in both audio and video. So here’s what the choices are – H.264 up to 720p at 30fps, MPEG-4 up to 640 x 480 pixels at 30fps and M-JPEG up to 1280 x 720 pixels at 30fps. Also, if you plan on viewing videos on an external display that supports full HD playback, the Apple Digital AV and Apple VGA adapters provide an output resolution of up to 1080p. When it comes to requirements, our list reads as – an Apple USB adapter, the latest version of iTunes (we’re currently on 10.5), a little patience and obviously all the videos you want. Whether you get content through sources such as DVDs or even online from YouTube, you can still add videos to iPad in spite of their file format, through a simple trick called ‘conversion.’
2. Video conversion:
Assuming that you’ve got all your videos ready and in one place, it’s time to give them a makeover, an iPad friendly one, that is. To begin, we’re first going to need an application capable of converting files to different encodings. We’ve already listed out the formats that are supported by the tablet. So you can knock yourself out by using any video converter of your preference. If you’ve got nothing up your sleeve yet, there’s still no need to worry. We have freeware applications in our suggestions box to help you out here. Firstly, there’s iTunes and then an alternative called the Free iPad Video Converter tool.
i. iTunes –
Now we’re going to show you how to to add videos to iPad through iTunes. This method is extremely simple. However, there is no guarantee that it’ll convert all format types. To begin, launch iTunes and click on the File menu. Then select the Add folder to Library option and navigate to the place where your videos are stored. Once that is done, the software should automatically add your files to the library under the Movies tab. So here’s how we’re going to make your content iPad friendly in 3 simple steps.
– Click on the file you wish to convert.
– Head over to the Advanced menu and select the Create iPad or Apple TV version.
– Sit back and let the software do its job.
The entire process might take a while according to the length and size of the video. Additionally, you can also convert files in a single batch by selecting multiple ones and then hitting on the Create iPad or Apple TV version from the Advanced menu. After you’re done with the encoding, a second copy of each file will appear within the Movies tab.
ii. Free iPad Video Converter
If iTunes didn’t work for you, do give the Free iPad Video Converter a try. Converting videos in this method is also as simple.
– Run the application and select the Add Video button from the right panel.
– Navigate to where the files are located, then pick the desired ones and hit open.
– Once that is done, click the next button from the bottom of the application’s interface.
– Now you’ll be presented with a few options, so make sure you choose them right. Firstly, set the output directory to any folder that you desire. Further on, select the Devices tab and make sure you’ve got the To iPad button highlighted as well.
– After following all the aforesaid steps, hit on the Convert button to set the process in motion. Also, on completion, all files can be found in the destination folder or in My Documents if you haven’t assigned one.
3. Syncing to the tablet:
So the last part for needed to add videos to iPad is syncing the converted files to the tablet. To do this, we’re going to stick with iTunes or you can feel free to use any other software alternative. First run iTunes and add the files to your library as explained earlier. Once that is done, connect your iPad to the computer and head over to the Movies tab in the sync menu. To initiate the transfer, tick the Sync Movies box, then select the videos you want to synchronize and finally hit on Apply in the lower right corner.
So was our guide on how to add videos to iPad hard or easy to comprehend? Well, if you’ve followed each step precisely how we’ve noted down, there shouldn’t be any reason for errors to occur. Do let us know if everything went smoothly or even if you hit a bump along the way.
