Help Required

[itchybubble]

Hello all,

I am new to apple and the "i" revolution and need some assistance if anybody can help.

I have 2 ipads which i bought my daughters for xmas, they want to watch films on the ipads and also are very keen photographers all of a sudden using the ipad as a camera.

I have a 1tb external hard drive which i currently use for storage on my windows 7 based desktop and would like to know if and how i can utilise the hard drive for storing/backing up both ipads?

I have been thinking along the line of somehow making the hard drive wifi so then they can also stream films that i have stored on the hard drive whilst also storing all the photos they would want to keep.

Any info much appreciated.

Thanks

Andy

 

[giradman]

Hi Andy - welcome to the forum!

Well, you're asking two somewhat different questions, i.e. photos exposed on the iPad (you might want to provide info on model & iOS installed) and movies to be watched on the device.

First, are you planning to use iTunes on your PC to backup & sync your girl's iPads? This will allow you to transfer pics & movies between your computer and the iPads, so read up on that program which is available for Windows. Second, there are a number of 'wireless' options for this exchange, just one that I've used is PhotoSync.

Finally, movies can be purchased/rented from the iTunes Store - you may want to tell us what movies they may want to watch, i.e. new ones rented or old ones (or both) that you transfer to their iPads from your PC (a lot of considerations there)? So, I'll stop there and let you respond, because many 'avenues' are open and need to be narrowed down somewhat. Dave

 

[itchybubble]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your reply,

The 2 x ipads are 16GB 2nd gen, I know now that maybe i should have got the more storage ipads but as i say i am not really up with apple..

I have installed itunes on the PC as this is how i have currently save all the photos which they have taken, and actually dont mind continuing hooking it up using the usb cable to save photos.

My main question is down to being able to watch films using wifi.. they have loads of DVD's many of which they watch over and over again, this takes up our family TV so i thought that if i can rip those dvd's and store them on my 1TB seagate external hard drive and by purchasing some kind of wireless hub/router, they can then access those films and watch them over wifi, whilst i enjoy having my TV back...

I have wifi internet at home so they access and have already purchased from the itunes store.

Any suggestions welcome.

Andy

 

[giradman]

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your reply,

The 2 x ipads are 16GB 2nd gen, I know now that maybe i should have got the more storage ipads but as i say i am not really up with apple..

I have installed itunes on the PC as this is how i have currently save all the photos which they have taken, and actually dont mind continuing hooking it up using the usb cable to save photos.

My main question is down to being able to watch films using wifi.. they have loads of DVD's many of which they watch over and over again, this takes up our family TV so i thought that if i can rip those dvd's and store them on my 1TB seagate external hard drive and by purchasing some kind of wireless hub/router, they can then access those films and watch them over wifi, whilst i enjoy having my TV back...

I have wifi internet at home so they access and have already purchased from the itunes store.

Hi again Andy - I also own an iPad 2 (since spring 2011) - let me first state the the 'back camera' on this device is poor, i.e. only about 0.7 MP (vs. 5 MP of the iSight cameras on more recent models) - you might want to asked your daughters whether these photos are adequate for their purposes(s) - OK for internet use but will not tolerate enlargement and certainly will not make a good quality print.

Concerning watching movies, also keep in mind that their are plenty of apps for audio & video (some that I own are Netflix, Amazon, & Pandora - there are certainly others), so content is available in addition to using the iTunes store. Now I've not ripped DVDs since my original purchase & have rented just one film to view on my iPad, so I'm not an expert - there are plenty of threads here on the topic & many members who rip DVDs, and some supporting vendors on the forum dealing w/ this topic, so hopefully others will comment w/ more detailed advice; but I can offer some preliminary thoughts.

The video formats supported by the iPad 2 are quoted below, so if you plan to rip DVDs, then one of those formats should be selected; you will also need DVD ripping software for Windows (you may already have that on your PC); again, there should be plenty of help here already w/ a little searching - Google will also provide help, e.g. take a look @ this SITE (Handbrake seems to be a popular one). Once you have DVDs ripped and in the proper format, an iTunes sync can put them onto the iPads. Now getting your PC w/ an attached external HD to stream via Wi-Fi is a more difficult question - there are devices that can provide Wi-Fi streaming that you many want to explore, such as the AirStash, Apotop Wi-Reader, & Seagate Go-Fle, - there are two dedicated threads here on the first 2 devices & plenty of information on the Amazon website - take a look, if interested. Dave

• Video formats supported: H.264 video up to 1080p, 30 frames per second, High Profile level 4.1 with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; MPEG‑4 video up to 2.5 Mbps, 640 by 480 pixels, 30 frames per second, Simple Profile with AAC-LC audio up to 160 Kbps per channel, 48kHz, stereo audio in .m4v, .mp4, and .mov file formats; Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) up to 35 Mbps, 1280 by 720 pixels, 30 frames per second, audio in ulaw, PCM stereo audio in .avi file format

 

[Fred Garvin]

I rip DVD's all the time to make a backup digital copy of DVD's that I own. I store the physical media in a closet and the digital copy on my data drive for use.

I use the previously mentioned Handbrake software to make my personal backups.

There are many ways to manage your media. I use iTunes. I move my .mp4 file (ripped movie) to the proper directory, then add it to my iTunes Library database. I can then complete the metadata and add artwork, typically the movie poster. It is now available on my home wi-fi for streaming on many devices.

On my iPad, I select the Videos app. Touch Shared, and wait. Eventually my iTunes Library will come up and I can flick through the movie posters of all my movies. When I find the one I want, just tap it and start watching.

Simple.

iPad Air 32Gb Wi-Fi; 17" MacBook Pro; 24" iMac; iPhone 4; iPod Nano 6th Gen; iPod Shuffle; Apple TV 2