MP4 file not getting copied on to the iPad ?

[augustya]

Hello Guys,

I am trying to copy a MP4 file to the iPad, which is 1920x1080 Resolution and is around 72 MB. The file gets added to the iTunes Library, but when I try to copy the file to the iPad after syncing the iPad gives a message that the file cannot be added to the iPad because it is a format the iPad cannot play ?? I mean WTF ?? It is a MP4 file ?

What do I do ?

 

[flaubert]

Hmm, what you have to realize is that an MP4 file is a container for a digital multimedia file, and within that file the actual video data may be encoded with a codec that the your iPad doesn't support natively. There are two possible solutions that I can think of off the top of my head: the first one is easy, download the VLC app from the iOS app store to your iPad, and see if it has support for the codec used within your file (you just see if it will play or not). VLC is kind of a swiss army knife of video players, and very likely will understand how to play the file. You may have to go through some gyrations to get the MP4 file downloaded into the VLC data space on the iPad; when you start VLC for the first time it will lead you through some options for transferring data, including USB cable through iTunes, wifi browser access, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

The other thing you could do is re-encode the MP4 using a utility like Handbrake, which will generate an iPad-compatible MP4 file. I don't recommend this as a first option, only a last resort; whenever you re-encode a compressed media file you lose quality.

 

[augustya]

The other thing you could do is re-encode the MP4 using a utility like Handbrake, which will generate an iPad-compatible MP4 file. I don't recommend this as a first option, only a last resort; whenever you re-encode a compressed media file you lose quality.

Absolutely my point, I already know about Handbrake solution, the only reason I do not want to reincode it is, it will further deteriorate the quality of the file, which I do not want to.

 

[jdogg836]

As flaubert said, MP4 is only a container. The actual audio/video codecs can vary within that container. Whatever it is, it is not compatible with the native player on iPad.

Download the VLC app and load the file using the "File Sharing" feature or use the sharing via wifi feature within the app to get the files onto the iPad. Unless it is a really odd codec, the VLC app should play it. Otherwise you'll have to re-encode it.

 

[augustya]

There are two possible solutions that I can think of off the top of my head: the first one is easy, download the VLC app from the iOS app store to your iPad, and see if it has support for the codec used within your file (you just see if it will play or not). VLC is kind of a swiss army knife of video players, and very likely will understand how to play the file. You may have to go through some gyrations to get the MP4 file downloaded into the VLC data space on the iPad; when you start VLC for the first time it will lead you through some options for transferring data, including USB cable through iTunes, wifi browser access, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.

As flaubert said, MP4 is only a container. The actual audio/video codecs can vary within that container. Whatever it is, it is not compatible with the native player on iPad.

Download the VLC app and load the file using the "File Sharing" feature or use the sharing via wifi feature within the app to get the files onto the iPad. Unless it is a really odd codec, the VLC app should play it. Otherwise you'll have to re-encode it.

Yes Guys, This thing worked, The files got copied in the VLC Player APP which can Play it. I am just wondering if playing it through VLC does it have any disadvantages like Inferior Quality Playback versus Playing it through the Native iPad Player ?

 

[flaubert]

Yes Guys, This thing worked, The files got copied in the VLC Player APP which can Play it. I am just wondering if playing it through VLC does it have any disadvantages like Inferior Quality Playback versus Playing it through the Native iPad Player ?

Well, for the videos in question that prompted you to create this thread, that's a moot question: they won't play in the native player. For MP4 files where both VLC and the native player can render the movie, I would think that the VLC player is likely to be just as good as the native player; it's a large, well supported open source project available across a variety of platforms, not some single developer in a garage somewhere. I would hazard a guess that there's a decent chance that VLC and the native app might actually using the same open-source codec underneath the hood; Apple doesn't write all their code from scratch.