The iPhone is an amazing portable media device. Even the vocal iPhone haters have to admit that. A gorgeous screen, the ability to listen with or without headphones, and silky smooth playback all add up to creating an exception viewing experience. Yet when it comes to video players, content is king!!
A video device is only as good as the media available for it and the easy of getting that media on the device. Having owned a first generation Creative Zen Vision PVP, I know first hand how frusterating it is to have a decent device but no easy way to get content on it. The device was great but getting viewable material on it was downright aweful. I sold it two months later.
Lucky for us there are a growing number of ways to get great content on the iPhone and a new device for streaming TV over wifi may shake things up even more.
So lets take a look at the current options and this new, groundbreaking device, that may take it all up to the next level.
1. The iTunes Store–
From Day One television programs and movies have been available for purchase on the iTunes store. Transferring content to the iPhone was as simple as transferring music.
The introduction of movie rentals and the availability of a 16 gigabyte iPhone makes a good thing better. It is quick. It is easy. Nothing could be simpler. But it can get rather costly over time.
2. Tivo and Toast 8 Titanium–
If you already use Tivo, TivoToGo and Roxio’s Toast make for an excellent and easy way to get television shows and movies into iTunes and on your iPhone. While there are solutions for Windows users, I’ll speak specifically to Mac users here.
An included add-on in Roxio’s Toast 8 Titanium makes it simple to transfer programs recorded with Tivo to your desktop. In addition, once set up, an auto transfer feature will transfer programs recorded on Tivo to your desktop without your having to give it a second thought. Once on the desktop, Toast easily converts the large (often more than 2GB in size) Tivo files into a smaller format that can be played within iTunes or synced to your iPhone like any other media. These files range in size based upon the quality you choose but they are always significantly smaller. Mine tend to run 500MB or less per hour.
It is simple, easy and, after the initial cost of setting it up, inexpensive. In addition, many movies and TV shows from premium channels like HBO can be recorded and transfered (for personal use, of course) along with broadcast programs.
3. Elgato’s EyeTV–
One of my hesitations about moving from Windows to Mac was the fact that my desktop ran XP Windows Media Center Edition. I used it to watch and record television programs. Fortunately, Elgato sells a number of excellent usb devices that turn Macs into media centers, as well.
The EyeTV Hybrid records both analog and over-the-air HDTV,
while the EyeTV 250 Plus combines the hybrid’s tuner with a powerful hardware encoder.
Both come with Elgato’s EyeTV software and Roxio’s Toast Basic software. The EyeTV 2.0 software I initially used was excellent and only got better with the release of EyeTV 3.0 last month. EyeTV is a powerful and easy to use way to record programs. It even comes with a setting that allows for on-going program recording which, while not as powerful or intuitive as Tivo’s “Season Pass” gets the job done. On the “Best” setting an hour program takes about 2GB of space.
Fortunately, there are two way to easily get programs from EyeTV to your iPhone.
The first solution is a setting that allows streaming of programs over a local wi-fi network.
EyeTV’s WiFi Access automatically converts recorded programs to H.264 format that take only 375 MB per hour. Yes, it only works over a local network, but it is a nice feature when you want to watch something but do not want to be tied to your desktop. Oh, and its free.
The second solution is better still.
There is a simple setting within the EyeTV preferences that tells EyeTV to convert programs for the iPhone, iPod or Apple TV and then export them to iTunes. The result, depending upon the quality and setting, is a file of between 400 and 800MG. It is as simple a solution as you can find and it works amazing well. It is currently my preferred method for getting content on the iPhone.
4. Packet Video’s Mobile Broadcast Receiver—
There is a 4th, soon to be released, solution coming from Packet Video and it may be the best option yet. Their Mobile Broadcast Receiver was demoed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week. It receives digital broadcast signals and then sends that signal over Wi-Fi to your iPhone or other web enabled device. In addition, the device apparently has an intelligence that allows it to know what kind of device you are using and selects the appropriate format for it. Unfortunately, according to Gizmodo Packet Video tends to market to service providers rather than end users so a delay, and a significant markup in price, may be an issue.
All in all, there’s never be a better, or an easier, time to take your media with you wherever you might go.
Continue reading:
- Everything New Apple Just Announced (Septembe
- Apple Watch Pre-Order
- Apple Research Kit launches with 5 Apps
- Apple TV now only $69
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