iPhone video format- smallest possible

Hi,

I'm wanting to put a large number of films on my iPhone 3GS to watch whilst I am travelling.

So I will only be watching them on the small 3" screen.

I have many films, that are compressed as little as 325mb (mkv) at 720x304, and the look amazing on a the big screen.

So surely- I can half that for my iPhone, and get an even smaller size?

Do I need special software to do mkv format?

 

To my knowledge, apple does not allow 3rd party video players in iOS. Might be wrong though

 

I've got Buzz player.. I think that plays the MKV's, i'll check...

 

There are a few 3rd party video playback programs for iOS. VLC was actually really, really good but it was taken off of the App Store due to a patent complaint (VLC used proprietary tech for the app without permission). I think Cinex player is still in the App Store but, if I remember correctly, it doesn't work with MKV files.

Either way it sounds like you want to convert videos instead of watching them as-is on your iPhone. You can easily do that with Handbrake. It is a free program for both Windows and OS X. All you would need to do is decrease the resolution to get as close to the iPhone 3GS as possible (without changing the aspect ratio of each movie) and then decrease the video bitrate. Handbrake even has a built-in iPhone & iPod touch preset that will decrease the resolution and bitrate enough to make things more manageable.

Just keep in mind that the videos will look like crap on your computer, on a TV, and they won't look good if you ever upgrade to a new iPhone/smartphone.

 

I'll confirm that buzz player does infact play mkv encoded movies (ie 1.5hrs at almost HD in 317mb).

I also need a method to get the films onto my iPhone. My plan is to load up a bunch on my USB, then when I get the chance to use a computer, I will delete the seen TV & Movies, and put on new ones.

I can't sync my iPhone to these computers iTunes, so is there a good portable app around I can use on my USB to copy straight across? I've used iPhoneBrowser (1.9) but it's very slow at it! Any other ideas?

 

Use iTunes, that will be your only option unless your iPhone is jailbroken. You don't have to sync your iPhone to get the MKV files over. Plug your iPhone in, disable auto syncing, click on the Apps tab, scroll down to the bottom for shared files, select the app you are using for video playback, and then add whatever files you want. Additionally, if you have a Dropbox account, you should be able to copy MKV files over using the Dropbox app. You can get 2GB of free storage and they are always having promotions to increase it.

 

iTunes won't be an option for me as not al the PC's will have it. Dropbox is too slow/not practical for travelling.

The iPhone is jailbroken but... So what are the other options?

 

There are a few apps out there (you will have to Google them, my iPad isn't jailbroken) that allow you to browse an iPhone's file structure and even make changes that iOS will accept (such as adding new media files). The main issue is that you need to access Buzz Player's storage location as that is the app you are using to playback the MKV files.

Dropbox will not be a slow option since you are working with ~300 MB files. Even over an 802.11g network, you should still be able to download those to your iPhone in a few minutes even on a slow 1Mbps connection. You can have three movies downloaded by the time you find a computer to use in a hotel room, plug your iPhone in, get setup with whatever software you are going to need on either end, and start copying over just one file.

 

I will not always have access to the internet so Dropbox is out.

I've tried iFunBox, but it doesn't pick up my iphone. I've installed afc2add and it still will not recognise it. iPhoneBrowser does work, but it is really slow (6-7 minutes for 300mb)

 

if you "star" as in favorite something while viewing in your Dropbox app, it keeps it downloaded locally so you can go back to it without an internet connection.

 

The only issue with that is when the video is opened in Buzz player, it will be copied to Buzz player's directory meaning their would be two copies of the movie on the iPhone.

I hate to bring a little logic into this situation but if you aren't always going to have access to the Internet, odds are extremely high you won't always have access to a computer to copy things over. Have you thought about buying a wi-fi hard drive allowing you to store 500GB of content and access it wirelessly with your iPhone (whether it is connected to a wi-fi network or not)? You are going through all of this trouble just to cycle out some movies when you aren't going to always have access to the Internet, carry around an external hard drive anyway, and won't always have access to a computer to copy all of this over.