Nexus 7 purchase for Christmas; help for "older" person.

[buckhornbonzai]

Hello. I just purchased a 32 GB Nexus 7 tablet ("unlocked") version via the GooglePlay Store. It is intended as a Christmas present for my husband and intended for use while traveling. Neither of us are young (60), and we are the antithesis of "techies" so assistance would be appreciated. My main question is what is the best converting device for iTune videos that we have already purchased on our Mac & iPad, given this caveat: We live in a rural area of PA. We connect to the internet via Verizon MiFi mobile hot-spot; there is no cable, public WiFi or DSL available in our area. I barely get 3G on my (Android) phone, depending upon where I am at the time. At home, when downloading videos via iTunes to the Mac or iPad via our mobile "hotspot" (it really is not too "hot" ...... LOL) it can take HOURS to download even a non-Hi Def movie, and sometimes the connection is dropped! We are on a 5GB monthly data plan and are charged $10 per each GB beyond this. I usually purchase and download iTunes movies while staying at a hotel with free MiFi, but many hotels have now slowed down their free MiFi connection speed and require you to pay for "premium" MiFi service. Sometimes I attempt to download a movie while at restaurants in our home area that have MiFi (same deal - very slow).

Anyway, I have searched the internet, done some homework and have bookmarked recommended video converting tools (Pavtube ChewTune, Freemake, Handbrake, etc.). So, here comes the "dumb" question - brace yourself: Will it take just as long to convert the movies I already own (utilizing one of these video converting tools) and download them to the Nexus as it did when I originally purchased them? Or, is the conversion process simpler/faster than the original purchase and download? Does anyone have experience in use of one vs. the other of these conversion programs, given our SLOW connection speed @ home?

Thank you in advance for any constructive advice you can provide.

 

[stoneysilence]

There is no conversion of purchased videos from iTunes. You must use a apple device to play them back. (legally I should say)

 

[tflash]

There is no conversion of purchased videos from iTunes. You must use a apple device to play them back. (legally I should say)

BS. Here is how to do it.
How to Convert and Play iTunes Movie on Android Phone

You have to use a Windows program to remove DRM then convert to MP4 and transfer to the N7.

 

[GMJeff]

Which as the poster before you mentioned is not legal. Stripping DRM from a purchased itunes video is the same as pirating in the eyes of the law. Apple is rather strict with their DRM, but if you purchase the media DRM free, you should be able to download the videos to a dvd or thumb drive at your leisure.

I have used handbrake before, both on a mac and a pc and can say that if you are converting a dvd to a mobile format for viewing, the process can be in the 15 to 30 minute range depending on the length of the movie and the overall resolution you are converting to. For instance, going from a 720p dvd cut to a ipod resolution would probably take only about 15 minutes. It also depends on whether you want the Dolby surround sound or 2.1 audio etc.

I feel your pain on the hotel issue as well. We stayed at a hotel for a weekend and they would only allow one device to log into their Internet at a time. If we wanted to log in 2 devices at once, it was an extra 10 dollar fee.

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[bigtroutz]

Jaywalking, spitting on the sidewalk and urinating on trees in also illegal in the eyes of the law. Since we effectively already live in a police state, you can not avoid breaking the law with 10s of thousands of pages of rules and regulations. I doubt that apple could get a jury conviction (or would bother going to court) on someone who wanted to backup their PURCHASED electronic media but then I am not a lawyer so you have to decide for yourself.

You might consider using freeware available for PCs to perform your backups (no costs ever). Explore what is available via this link and it's links in turn if you are interested.
DVD Shrink - freewaregenius.com

 

[buckhornbonzai]

Thank you to all who have replied. I don't quite get the "pirating" issue ........ I have already paid for the few movies that I would be interested in transferring to the Nexus. Apple allows me to do this freely with up to 4 "authorized" Apple devices (I can easily and freely move my purchases via the "cloud" and even before it's invention) between my 2 iPads and Mac and to an iPhone. Why should it be any different if I want to transfer a legally purchased movie to a non-Apple device? I personally don't think it has anything to do with "pirating" per se, but rather Apple's proprietary issues, keeping purchase "all in the family", etc.......... When it comes right down to it, maybe it will just be simpler to purchase a few movies again thru the Google PlayStore. I do not purchase and store a ton of movies; I have only ever purchased about 15, and I use them mostly to pass the time while on an airplane or in the airport. To those who have provided a few links, thank you. I intend to give it a whirl! But, I have little patience for this type of thing, am not at all in the age group that was born and raised with this kind of stuff, and I have more money than time (not meant to be snotty - just playing around with the conversions, etc. may not be worth my time and not worth the frustration!). Also, we have no children/grand-children to learn the newest computer/electronics things from - just myself playing with emerging technologies, VERY slowly over a period of days to accomplish things.

 

[anon(847090)]

Thank you to all who have replied. I don't quite get the "pirating" issue ........ I have already paid for the few movies that I would be interested in transferring to the Nexus. Apple allows me to do this freely with up to 4 "authorized" Apple devices (I can easily and freely move my purchases via the "cloud" and even before it's invention) between my 2 iPads and Mac and to an iPhone. Why should it be any different if I want to transfer a legally purchased movie to a non-Apple device? I personally don't think it has anything to do with "pirating" per se, but rather Apple's proprietary issues, keeping purchase "all in the family", etc.......... When it comes right down to it, maybe it will just be simpler to purchase a few movies again thru the Google PlayStore. I do not purchase and store a ton of movies; I have only ever purchased about 15, and I use them mostly to pass the time while on an airplane or in the airport. To those who have provided a few links, thank you. I intend to give it a whirl! But, I have little patience for this type of thing, am not at all in the age group that was born and raised with this kind of stuff, and I have more money than time (not meant to be snotty - just playing around with the conversions, etc. may not be worth my time and not worth the frustration!). Also, we have no children/grand-children to learn the newest computer/electronics things from - just myself playing with emerging technologies, VERY slowly over a period of days to accomplish things.

Its called as DRM. Apple digital contents are drm protected which wont let you play it in other devices. only apple products can play it. and you are not pirating too. you have the rights to convert and play it in android but Apple just dont want you to do it. Google play is less drm protected. you can purchase songs for example and you can download it play it in any device. thats one reason i stay away from Apple. I am not saying google play store is DRM free but its less than Apple. mostly the movie and music companies push big companies to drm protect or they wont license it.

about your actual question, just remove the DRM and use it in your android. its not pirating at all.

 

[gaijin82]

This may be bad advice but if you have a Best Buy in the area a member of the geek squad will probably convert them for you (for a small fee because it's on their "off" time). I don't know how wide-spread it is but I know a buddy of mine who works there that says it's common practice in his store. (it may be bad advice because you need to leave both devices with them)

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[badbrad17]

Hmmm. Hate DRM. Hate Apple. Logic seems to escape the powers that be when it comes to digital files. Imagine if the dvd you purchased could only be played on your Sony dvd player and couldn't be played on a different system. Or loaned to a friend or family member for that matter. The system inconveniences good honest people who have paid for the product. This type of messed up system is the reason piracy continues to grow at a massive rate.

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[Minkey1]

.....The system inconveniences good honest people who have paid for the product. This type of messed up system is the reason piracy continues to grow at a massive rate.

There's no doubt the ultimate rights holders (the studios) have a hand in it but it's often the hardware makers who also provide content wanting to ring fence us. In any other context this would be unacceptable. Can you imagine a film released by Sony Pictures Entertainment only playing on a Sony TV?

All the stakeholders need is to set a reasonable price for the unlimited loan of their content (as we never *own* the original work) and provide it in a user friendly way, and no-one would bother with or risk using filesharing. We've always shared the physical stuff - they only try and restrict the digital stuff because the technology to do it exists, and they are terrified their business models will not survive given the way we want to use content these days. They'd be better accepting it and going from there.

 

[anon(1024093)]

Minkey1 is spot on.

The entire reason DRM actually exists is because they can. The initial goal was/is to keep us from sharing content we've purchased from the publisher. Never mind that I can loan you any book in my library that they wounded a tree to produce. If it's electronic there are new restrictions placed on how I use & share my media.

Exactly how DRM is implemented is up to an agreement with the content provider and the distributor. In the case of iTunes, Apple and the publishing houses agreed that it was ok for you to watch your movies on four registered devices. Why not three or five I have no idea, but four is the number they came up with. They have to be Apple devices as that's where they (Apple) have control over the architecture. With that control, they can deal with recognition & registration. That's not to say that there's not better ways of doing digital distribution (*cough*Steam*cough*) just that it's what they came up with. Sharing the media across multiple Apple devices is a requirement of Apple and a concession on the part of the content providers.

Technically, removing DRM from any media is breaking a law. But doing it to watch a movie you purchased on your Nexus doesn't really break the initial intent of the law. Giving it to your buddy to put on her Nexus would be doing that.

 

[Mikesnexus]

With the limited amount of space we have on these devices. I really think I would use any of the cloud services that offer movies. They are reasonably cheap to rent or purchase. Would save you the headache of converting and storing on his Nexus.
Just my two cents.

Sent from my Nexus 7

 

[Minkey1]

Yep. For holiday use (we like camping) I'll probably spend ?10 on renting 3 or 4 movies just before we leave, so that we get playback within Google Play's 30 day timeframe. Wi-fi not required as you can download in advance. These days I'm trying to avoid purchasing content outright. I've eBayed all my DVD's and just have a few stand out blu-ray box sets these days.

 

[buckhornbonzai]

Hey, Mikesnexus - which cloud services do you recommend for purchase of videos? I am beginning to think it would just be more simple to "move on" and not dwell on converting/shifting a few videos to the Nexus. After all, I purchased the Nexus 7 because it got RAVE reviews, and is small and a lot less expensive to carry about when traveling than the iPad. I had an iPad stolen last March (stupid me, my fault - and thankfully covered by my homeowner's policy, even though it was lifted from a rental car) - so now I want a smaller, less expensive tablet for travel. I do like Apple products and have several, but this Nexus 7 totally beat the iPad mini in all parameters, so that is why I purchased it.