need help for iPad streaming/downloadng

[sadavissr]

I am ignorant about the iPad, but I have 5 movies (Holographic Universe Workshops) I want iPad owners to be able to stream and/or download and watch. I know they can't stream Flash files (which I currently offer on my website). So I have several questions....

1. If I provide a .mp4 file on DropBox, for example, can someone stream that movie on an iPad simply by clicking on the DropBox link I give them? Do they need Air Video or StreamToMe or DropBox's iPad app in order to stream it?

2. If an iPad wants to download the movie to watch later (rather than streaming it), is the .avi file I offer sufficient, or do I also need to offer a separate .mp4 file for download as well? In other words, does this download .mp4 file have to be separate from the streaming mp4 link, or does the streaming file download automatically?

3. Just to make sure, I understand that .mp4 is currently the only file type I can offer (NOT .m4v, for example) that would eliminate the need for an iPad to make a conversion. True?

Or am I making this way too complicated? I have an .avi file for download and a .flv file for streaming, and I want iPad owners to be able to stream and download these movies. What the best way? What do I have to do to make it as easy as possible?

Thanks.

 

[Heisler98]

Hi,
First off, I believe that if you upload either an mp4 or mp4 (look down for supported iPad video formats) to Dropbox, if a user clicks that link, the iPad will stream the video down, no problem. (As I remember, that's how that works. It could possibly work a different way, I'm not entirely sure.)

2. The iPad does not have a user-accessible file system (an unjailbroken iPad, that is). Therefore, the only way a user could download a video file to their iPad is through an app that supports watching video (Dropbox for iPad, other video-viewing apps). The AVI format is not officially supported on the iPad--I would always stick to M4v or MP4 with dealing with Apple's tablets and phones. How the download and the streaming links work I'm not entirely sure--you might have to consult someone else about the difference between streaming and downloading for the iPad.

3. No, that's not true, as of what I know, iPad supports two file formats - MP4 and M4v. You could look on Apple's website or other sources to find the others that are supported native.

Sorry, that's about all the information I have. I would do some testing and see what works and what doesn't. I apologize if I wasn't much help.

Best of luck,
H.

 

[dickweed]

short videos on IPad 3

...I'm aware that IPad does not run flash... is there someone out there who can offer simple instructions (an app etc) that will allow me to watch short vids on new/ business sites... I have downloaded Iswifter- can't figure out how it works)

Thanks in advance,
DW