[mellow_sparky]

I just got my wife and kids an iPad for an upcoming trip. I'm looking for the best "service" or "app" that allows you to purchase/download/rent/whatever movies on the iPad - the catch is:

- I want the movies to be available for multiple viewings (kid 1 watches movie today and kid 2 watches it 3 days later)

- I want the movies to be available when not connected (like on an airplane or in a motel without WiFi).

So I think issue 1 above eliminates iTunes - they delete the movie after 24 hours of playing. and issue 2 eliminates netflix (they stream only, no download).

Thoughts?

 

[Toshi]

I torrent movies/TV shows (btjunkie.org) then use VLC to play them without transcoding on the iPad. You'll have to jailbreak these days to get VLC, but I was lucky enough to grab it from the iTunes Music Store.

Alternatively, you could just buy the movies from the iTunes Music Store, or buy physical DVDs that more and more often come with a promo slip to download a digital copy legally from the iTunes Music Store (or the Windows equivalent).

 

[zdubyadubya]

what he said. source your movies however you can beforehand (rip dvds, buy from itunes, buy from amazon) then use a utility like handbrake to convert them to .m4v (the format you can play in iTunes) or get your hands on VLC so you can play them without re-encoding.

 

[jonKranked]

steve jobs doesn't like it when people have options, so the itunes store is your only choice.

 

[IH8Rice]

just buy the movies from the itunes store...they are yours to keep

 

[zdubyadubya]

steve jobs doesn't like it when people have options, so the itunes store is your only choice.

just buy the movies from the itunes store...they are yours to keep

there are other ways... but will BV shut us down if we talk about circumventing DRM?

 

[IH8Rice]

there are other ways... but will BV shut us down if we talk about circumventing DRM?

toshi already mentioned jailbreaking

 

[jonKranked]

toshi already mentioned jailbreaking

not everyone is interested in or willing to jailbreak their device.

 

[binary visions]

there are other ways... but will BV shut us down if we talk about circumventing DRM?

Why would I do that?

All I ask is that you not link directly to illegal torrents.

 

[zdubyadubya]

sweet... in that case, to the OP:

step 1) source all of the dvds and digital video files you can get your hands on (rented from redbox, rented through netflix, bought through iTunes, bought from amazon, wherever).

step 2) use DVD43 (windows) or fairmount (mac) to decrypt and HandBrake (free!) to process dvds and movie files into .m4v files using "iPad" preset.

step 3) use iTunes to import files into movie library and sync with iPad

step 4) profit?

 

[jonKranked]

sweet... in that case, to the OP:

step 1) source all of the dvds and digital video files you can get your hands on (rented from redbox, rented through netflix, bought through iTunes, bought from amazon, wherever).

step 2) use DVD43 (windows) or fairmount (mac) to decrypt and HandBrake (free!) to process dvds and movie files into .m4v files using "iPad" preset.

step 3) use iTunes to import files into movie library and sync with iPad

step 4) profit?

just a reminder, not everyone has the level of computer proficiency to do this kind of stuff.

 

[IH8Rice]

not everyone is interested in or willing to jailbreak their device.

if theyre going to illegally strip the DRM from the file, then i wouldnt count on them writing jailbreaking off.

just a reminder, not everyone has the level of computer proficiency to do this kind of stuff.

he pretty much broke it down on how exactly to do it.

 

[jonKranked]

if theyre going to illegally strip the DRM from the file, then i wouldnt count on them writing jailbreaking off.



he pretty much broke it down on how exactly to do it.

again, i reiterate, not every user has the proficiency to do this. To you and me something like this would be simple and a non-issue. But now consider the average apple user; I'd be willing to be that half of them haven't even heard the term jailbreaking. This is pretty much the reason services like the Geek Squad still exist (not for things like video encoding and jailbreaking, but because large numbers of computer users don't have the most basic repair skills).

 

[Toshi]

again, i reiterate, not every user has the proficiency to do this. To you and me something like this would be simple and a non-issue. But now consider the average apple user; I'd be willing to be that half of them haven't even heard the term jailbreaking. This is pretty much the reason services like the Geek Squad still exist (not for things like video encoding and jailbreaking, but because large numbers of computer users don't have the most basic repair skills).

I agree with this, and this is why I agree with Apple steering people towards the iTMS. Know how to get content in the proper format or get a proper player? Knock yourself out. Don't know? iTMS.

 

[MtnBikerChk]

just a reminder, not everyone has the level of computer proficiency to do this kind of stuff.

even I can do that - dvd43 and handbrake!!

....not that I have....just sayin

 

[Silver]

I have a big long netflix queue, but I never actually watch the discs. They get ripped and are mailed back the same day, I watch on my laptop on planes at my leisure or stick a USB drive into my 360 and watch it that way.