How get non-iTunes movie into iTunes? How xfer an iTunes movie to a family member?

[rcook349]

I wanted to buy the movie "Toy Story" for my son via iTunes. My family has bought into the whole Apple thing and we're trying to be iTunes-centric with all of our respective movies. I have 2 questions:

1) Toy Story is not available via iTunes. I'm told I can buy the DVD, rip it to a file, and then import it into iTunes but this is not so legal? Do I have any other options? The goal is to get the movie on my kid's iPod so he can watch it on the go.

2) Since my kid's iPod is low on space, I want to buy some kid movies on iTunes via my account (titles that are available). That way, my kid can watch movies on my iPhone. In the future when we replace his iPod with one with more space, I'll want to transfer those movies to his iTunes and get them off mine. Can't I do this?

Thanks for any help.

[plinden]

Originally Posted by rcook349

1) Toy Story is not available via iTunes. I'm told I can buy the DVD, rip it to a file, and then import it into iTunes but this is not so legal? Do I have any other options? The goal is to get the movie on my kid's iPod so he can watch it on the go.

Depends on the country you're in. It's a good guess that you're USian, where there's a fair use provision in law allowing you copy stuff you buy. But there's also the DMCA which criminalizes breaking of DRM, which you need to do to rip movies.

If you buy the DVD and rip it, and don't pass it on to anyone else (either for free or sell it) you'll probably be technically breaking the law (I don't think it's ever been tested in court). But it's unlike anyone will go after you. It's an ethical decision you have to make yourself. Most people would (overtly at least) draw the line at copying and not share anything.

If you do decide to buy the DVD and rip it, you need to encode the DVD so it's in an iPod compatible format. Handbrake is the tool of choice for that, but you'll also need VLC for the DVD decryption libraries. Some movies have extra DRM that makes it difficult to rip them. You'd need to ask around on forums if you find Toy Story is one of them.

Originally Posted by rcook349

2) Since my kid's iPod is low on space, I want to buy some kid movies on iTunes via my account (titles that are available). That way, my kid can watch movies on my iPhone. In the future when we replace his iPod with one with more space, I'll want to transfer those movies to his iTunes and get them off mine. Can't I do this?

Thanks for any help.

Do you mean you have multiple iTunes libraries, or did you mean to say "I'll want to transfer those movies to his [iPod]"? If you get movies from iTunes, you can copy them to up to five different computers or unlimited iPods/iPhones. If you sync with one computer/library, you can pick which movies to put on the iPod/iPhone.