How to Put Video on Your iPod

Simple ways to download and import movies, shows, and music videos to your iPod

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Last Updated: January 31, 2023

Want to load videos onto your iPod? You can do it easily if you own an iPod Touch, iPod Classic, iPod (5th generation) or iPod Nano (3rd generation and up). Depending on what video you want to sync, its format, and its source, your methods may differ slightly, so make sure to read the appropriate method of the ones listed below.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Buying from iTunes

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Any video you buy from the iTunes Store will play in your iPod.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Converting Files for iTunes

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Your iPod can only play .m4v, .mp4 or .mov files. Your video should be a .mov file. If it doesn't have this extension, you'll need to convert it. Otherwise, simply open it in iTunes and sync to your iPod.
2
Convert with Apple software. If you're using a Mac, you can use QuickTime Pro to convert your file into an iPod-friendly format.
- Download and install QuickTime Player Pro 7.0.3
- Select or import your video file.
- Select File->Export
- From the Export drop-down list choose Movie to iPod.
- A new file will be created on your Desktop. Import this file into iTunes and sync your iPod.
3
Download third-party software. There are several third-party applications available for download online that will convert your video file to .mov.
- For Windows, Videora, PQDVD, 3GP Convert, Leawo Free iPod Converter, Any Video Converter (that is the title), and Handbrake are popular choices.
- For Macintosh, use Handbrake or VideoMonkey.
- If you're having a hard time figuring out the process, type "[software] help forum" into an online search, with [software] filled in with the name of the application you downloaded.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Importing Correctly Formatted Videos

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The movie imports into iTunes.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Troubleshooting

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1
Figure out if your file is muxed. If your video plays on the iPod but you have no sound, that means your sound is muted or in an incompatible format. When files are muxed, they contain interleaved audio and video tracks, which are mixed together instead of being stored as separate tracks. Here's how to figure it out.
- Open the original movie file in QuickTime Player.
- From the Window menu, chose Show Movie Info.
- Click the More Info disclosure triangle in the Movie Info window (if it's closed).
- Note the entry next to "Format."
- If the format is "MPEG1 Muxed" or "MPEG2 Muxed," the audio portion of your video file is incompatible with your iPod and iTunes applications, and with anything else based on QuickTime. There is not fix for this other than to use a third party application to convert all of the file.

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Tips

Always use the latest software version you can, especially for QuickTime.

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If your video is a muxed video, it will lose sound when you convert it with iTunes. Make sure you use a third-party application for this, and save a spare copy of the video first.

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Get an app from the App Store that downloads free movies. Then when you are happy connect your iPod to iTunes and transfer the movie onto your computer. Save on to iTunes and sync!

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Warnings

If iTunes produces an error message when converting your video to iPod format, it means you did not use the correct format to import into iTunes.

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CSS is an anti-piracy scheme for DVDs that uses encryption to protect the disc's contents. In some countries, like the United States, you could be in violation of the US Criminal Code (Chapter 17, Section 1201) by taking video from your DVDs.

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Always use the latest software version you can, especially for QuickTime.

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