Fifth-generation iPod (with video) [#3]: Units start arriving in users' hands, problems synching home compressed video

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 8:10 a.m. PT

2 min read

Fifth-generation iPods with video capabilities are beginning to arrive in first purchasers' hands, and a few issues have been noted.

MacFixIt reader Lewis Stoleman reports problems sending videos he compressed in-house with QuickTime 7.0.3 Pro (using the correct format) to the iPod. Purchased videos transferred correctly in his case.

Lewis writes:

"Just tried to synchronize my QuickTime 7.03 compressed movie files to my new Ipod Video without success. The files appear in the iTunes window and can be played within the iTunes application. However, they can not be transfered to the iPod. Purchased videos from the music/video store do transfer as expected."

Some users report receiving the message:

"Some of the videos in your iTunes library, including the video '(name of video)', were not copied to the iPod '(Your) iPod' because they cannot be played on this iPod."

when attempting to transfer seemingly valid video formats to the device.

If you are having these issues, you may want to try using a different tool to compress your videos into the MPEG-4 format [.mp4] (remember to select MPEG-4 Video / AAC Audio) for playback on the iPod. Among the available options are:

According to Apple's Web site, the fifth generation iPod can play video in the following formats:

H.264 video

File formats: .m4v, .mp4 and .mov
Video: Up to 768 Kbps, 320 x 240 pixels, 30 frames per second, Baseline Profile up to Level 1.3
Audio: AAC-LC up to 160 Kbps, 48 KHz, stereo audio

MPEG-4 video