Dear Aunt TUAW: Apple TV and oddball video formats
Hey Auntie TUAW,I just ordered my new Apple TV, and have a ton of footage in MKV, AVI, etc. which probably won't work with iTunes, let alone my Apple TV.
What can I do to batch convert and import all my movies to iTunes, which will work with Apple TV and be as high-rez as possible?
With all my love,
Ari
Dear Ari,
If you're willing to wait for Apple to get AirPlay working consistently on iOS devices (and hopefully on OS X, but that's another story) your problem might be mostly solved. With AirPlay, you'll be able to use apps like YXplayer (although I understand that there's some hard feelings out there about that particular app because of GPL violations) and VLC for iPad to play your media "through" to Apple TV.
Any iOS application that already uses standard media playback components should get free and immediate access to AirPlay add-ons. Unfortunately, as Engadget points out, the unreleased AirPlay is still in its early days and appears to be audio only at this time. Hence, the need for patience as Apple finishes building this new technology so it can start shipping around November.
Still, waiting for AirPlay is probably a lot easier than converting everything, especially if you've already spent a lot of time ripping the DVDs you own into non-iTunes-compatible formats.
As for OS X support, Apple has yet to announce let alone promise a date for AirPlay integration. However, when it does, it's likely that apps like QuickTime X will be able export to Apple TV as well. Add in Perian's power of multi-format playback and you'll be able to bypass iTunes without all that extra work.
If you can't wait for AirPlay solutions to go live, there are any number of terrific video-format converters, rippers, and transcoders out there for OS X. Auntie tends to use Handbrake, an old copy of iSquint, VLC, and ffmpeg but doesn't really have an endorsement for an all-formats solution. Uncle Brett is fond of Evom as well. Maybe her TUAW nieces and nephews can recommend their favorites in the comments.
Love,
Auntie T.
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Hey Auntie TUAW, I just ordered my new Apple TV, and have a ton of footage in MKV, AVI, etc. which probably won't work with iTunes, let...
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The software I use is Aunsoft Video Converter which is able to convert various video files to Apple TV h.264 or mpeg4. And it is also a powerful tool to convert MKV DTS to AC3.
More info: http://www.aunsoft.com/video-converter-mac/
Dear Aunt TUAW,
FYI, I love the articles, but the "Dear Aunt TUAW" articles are no longer under the "Ask Aunt TUAW" category, and don't have their own category either. It's actually a bit hard to find the latest ones without a lot of scrolling or google help. As much as I would like to, I can't read every article every day either ;P
On to the question:
I just picked up an Apple TV 2G.
I also have a MacBookPro (10.6.4), Airport Extreme, & Airport Express.
I currently have NO internet access except via USB Tethered iPhone.
***Is there any way to set up Home Sharing for the AppleTV, using only the tethered internet access?***
Apple support docs say an active internet connection is required for SETUP of Home Sharing. (I have no idea if it is required for use AFTER setup as well). I can start a WIFI network on the MBP, or on the Airport Extreme, which AppleTV CAN see and join. However, the MBP dumps the tethered iPhone internet whenever there is a WIFI network, even if the wifi network has no internet connection. So when I try to setup Home Sharing, AppleTV repeatedly tells me my "AppleID can't be found and/or password is incorrect" (I have repeatedly checked to make sure the info IS correct). I THINK this is just a misleading "no internet" response. I'm also fairly certain I have Home Sharing set up correctly on the MBP.
Help?
Pipedream solution #1: Is there any way to tether my iPhone via USB into the Airport Extreme instead of MBP?
You too, that it isn't ;-)
and yes, its been discussed and clarified in my country
There is a free and excellent product called Handbrake as mentioned.
http://handbrake.fr/
Definitely my choice. Will also do DVD rip if you have VLC installed as it uses VLC lib for decryption.
And no, it is not steeling to rip a friends DVD. It is the equivalent to rip a friends CD or tape an LP record. The text say that it is illegal, but its not really true even if they want it to be. The law is the same as always in this case.
You might want to consult with an actual IP lawyer before you say that ripping your buddy's DVD/CD is totally legal.
October 09 2010 at 12:17 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAs an owner of the old Apple TV (ATV) I use ATVFlash. Great add-on 'hack'. Works like a charm. Will stick with it until a Jailbreak or some new ATVFlash is released for the new ATV before I upgrade.
I've been looking into this recently. Handbrake makes it too difficult to do any sort of bulk operations (you need to write your own script to do it). Also, handbrake doesn't support tagging so you need another app to tag the shows once you rip them to mp4.
The best I have found is iFlicks which I've been using for a couple of days. You just drag your avi files into the app and it looks up all the metadata online and then converts and tags the video.
There are places for both Handbrake and iFlicks. Handbrake is great if you want full control of the output and high quality video. For speed, ease of use and bulk transcoding iFlicks would be my choice.
Note: Not affiliated with iFlicks in any way, just discovered it a few days ago when surfing around for a solution to pretty much the exact problem listed above.
Exactly, Handbrake and iFlicks are complementary. VideoDrive is in the same category of iFlicks. While I like the interface of iFlicks better, VideoDrive is much more powerful for bulk processing and headless configurations. I use both: for the occasional movie I use iFlicks, for 250 episodes of TV Shows, I go with VideoDrive. Also, iFlicks tends to crash a lot.
October 08 2010 at 5:18 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyI was also going to recommend iFlicks. It's not free, but the automatic metadata filling is incredible.
It sometimes has trouble identifying older stuff, but the data is there--case in point, I ripped a copy of M (1931) and it would only find the Japanese movie (much more recent). However, adding Fritz Lang's name made it find the data otherwise effortlessly, down to the case cover.
Since I use Front Row/TV Row, it's an invaluable part of the workflow.
I use AirVideo (see the apps store). I"m not sure about mkv's but it converts avi's perfectly.
October 07 2010 at 9:14 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIf you can find a copy and license of VisualHub, I'd highly recommend it.
October 07 2010 at 9:07 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyNo need. One can just get VideoMonkey, which is based heavily on the VisualHub code. And it's free.
October 07 2010 at 10:26 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHello, I have 3 Apple TV's (2 Old and 1 new) I have 1500 plus movies and about 20 full TV series. I have 6 TB of storage connected to my Mac Mini and I stream to all 3.
I use the following.
To rip DVD's I use Mac the Ripper then encode with Handbrake or Handbrake directly to rip the DVD and encode all at once. (Depending on how long I have the DVD for. I use Mac the Ripper normally when I just want to get the files off the DVD and then I can encode it later)
To bulk convert I used to use Visual Hub but the developers stopped making it, so now I use redux encoder: http://blog.easelnet.net/
Redux multithreads based on how many cores you have on your machine (One video for each core) Some times I find odd videos that wont work (Not very often) and I then use Visual Hub which works like a champ so you may want to look for a copy floating around just in case (Like VH is better at stitching videos together in the right order.)
Then after I finish encoding I use MetaX to do my Meta data and I get the Meta data from Netflix (You can browse even without a user account and get info like the DVD cover, description of the movie, date made, actors, director etc)
http://www.kerstetter.net/index.php/projects/software/metax
I have been using this process since the Apple TV first came out and it works very well. I encode almost everyday.
I always find it fascinating when people post their very illegal habits like ripping DVDs they don't own. That's called stealing.
October 07 2010 at 10:27 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply"With AirPlay, you'll be able to use apps like YXplayer and VLC for iPad to play your media "through" to Apple TV. "
What? That makes absolutely zero sense.
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TUAW (or The Unofficial Apple Weblog) is a website devoted to tips, reviews, news, analysis and opinion on everything Apple.
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