Migrating movie library to iTunes

[tro0787]

Hey guys, I have a question about moving all of my avi movies from the movies folder into iTunes. I do have toast titanium which I was planning on using to convert the files before moving them. I guess my question is would it be possible to convert all of my movies into iTunes and A. Be able to watch them in good quality on my tv and B. Be able to check off which videos I want to ne synced to my iPod to take them and display them on a different tv via the nano. I would just like to hear if anyone has the same setup going on or if it would work better keeping all of my avi movies in a folder and converting them to iPod format on the fly. Thanks for the help

 

[GermanSuplex]

1. Download Mediainfo and use it on your AVI files. You shouldn't need it, but its a good tool to have.

Mediainfo let's you see the resolution of your files. You may as well convert to the same size. If your AVI is 640x480, convert it to the same using Toast or Handbrake. I use Handbrake.. I've never used Toast, but maybe you should use both to see which gives you the best quality (Handbrake's constant quality setting using the Universal preset makes vids look great).

I'd imagine if your AVI files are decent to start with, they'll look good when converted. I downloaded The Sopranos from iTunes and the resolution is 640x360.. that's pretty low, but surprisingly, they look great on my Apple TV.

For your second question, yes, you can sync as few or as many movies to your iPod as you want, it really is as simple as checking the ones you want synced and checking off the ones you don't.

 

[tro0787]

Thanks for the reply and that's good to know. Does handbrake support batch converting because I have about 100 avi files that need to be converted. What are your thoughts on i squint I know that that Is another way of doing this but which would produce a better quality video keeping the size around what it is already. The only reason I ask is because I know i squint supports batch converting and may make things a little easier in moving the library. Thanks again

 

[GermanSuplex]

Thanks for the reply and that's good to know. Does handbrake support batch converting because I have about 100 avi files that need to be converted. What are your thoughts on i squint I know that that Is another way of doing this but which would produce a better quality video keeping the size around what it is already. The only reason I ask is because I know i squint supports batch converting and may make things a little easier in moving the library. Thanks again

Yes, Handbrake supports batch conversion, you select the settings you want for each video and queue them all up in Handbrake to convert while you're sleeping/working/doing whatever.

I have never used iSquint... I've used Handbrake for three or four years now because they improve it with each release and it does what I need it to and it does it well. You have a lot of control over your encodes too, you can do constant quality (mantains a certain quality level, bitrate and size are not considered), convert to a certain bitrate (size will be consistent, quality will be limited to bitrate) or keep it close to a certain filesize (bitrate and quality may or may not suffer depending on the size selected).

I suggest giving Handbrake a shot on one or two vids and seeing if it will work for you. It's free, so you've got nothing to lose.