Okay so question- Is it possible to take video files I have downloaded and save them to/play them on iPad 2? Like .mkv files or the like? I remember trying on the original iPod Video and having trouble, like I had to have them converted to an Apple video file or something of that sort. I'm sure this is newbie stuff, but I couldn't find anything about it so thanks in advance for the help!
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Video formats on Ipad 2
- Thread starter mmmtastybusch
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I believe the iPad only accepts .mov and .m4v video files. To convert your videos, use Handbrake.
"Video formats on Ipad 2" are same as video formats on iPad 1. 
There are apps available that can play most video files. I use one called cineXplayer, there are other like VLC and AcePlayer maybe more . . . . Otherwise the post above seems correct regarding native file formats.
There are apps available that can play most video files. I use one called cineXplayer, there are other like VLC and AcePlayer maybe more . . . . Otherwise the post above seems correct regarding native file formats.
There is an app called AVPlayerHD. It will play just about any video format you can imagine, including japanese ones. I like AVPlayer, because you can add folders, delete vids after you watched them, add subtitles, and even transfer files via wifi, all from within the app. This is the only video app I recommend and use all the time. I don't bother converting to mov or m4v file formats, if I am going to put the vid on my ipad.
To put a video file on the ipad, download file on computer, connect ipad to computer, open itunes, hit your ipads apps tab in itunes, scroll down to avplayer, click on it, then click and drag file from wherever it is on your computer into the avplayer box. Done.
I'm currently using "Ace Player Lite", which is free. I like this one because the "Ad" that appears in the free version is only a tiny popup ad that comes up at the beginning of a movie, you can just click it off. It also supports subtitles in multiple languages.
Bear in mind that the iPad has a dedicated video decoder that takes the load of playing back your videos. It *only* supports mp4/mov (technically just mp4 and h264). If you play anything else, it gets decoded using the CPU which burns through battery life a whole lot faster.
Real world use says otherwise. Sorry, but avplayerhd appears to be very efficient. I got well over 9 hours of use flying from London Heathrow to LAX.