Non-Apple Solutions
It's also possible to stream movies to your
device without using iTunes. Apps such as StreamToMe and Air Video have two
components, one that runs on your Mac and the other on your phone or iPad. The
app on your Mac works as a sort of server, and you point it at folders
containing videos. If these are in an iOS-friendly format, they can be streamed
wirelessly to the app on your device. So far, so familiar, but there's more to
it than that. If the video is not in a compatible format it can be transcoded
on the fly, provided your Mac is relatively recent and has a fairly fast CPU. A
compatible stream is generated and sent over the network to your device.
Or if you want to copy the video, an iOS
version can be created and then dragged and dropped to your device. There are
quality settings, so everything can be set up to suit your computer and network
speeds. The apps come in free and paid versions, with the main limitation of
the free ones being that you can only access the first few items in a playlist.
Remember that when it comes to watching
videos on an iOS device, you have all kinds of streaming options from the web
as well as from the App Store or your local network. Two big subscription-based
streaming services are Netflix and Hulu, both of which offer streaming to all
your devices including your Mac and Apple TV. The great thing about these is
that for one subscription you get access to the whole library as often as you
want, which is pretty hard to argue with. There's full search capability, and
an ever-growing catalogue of content to choose from.
Best Of The Rest
Mirror
the screen of your iPhone or iPad to your HDTV via the Apple TV.
If you’re a film fan, you'll want to take
advantage of IMDB's free iOS app. which is a treasure trove of information
about every movie ever released, and great for solving arguments about who was
in what movie. It even supports trailers, and you can log in to submit reviews
and ratings. There's also the YouTube app, which lets you stream any content
from that site, plus an excellent Vimeo app that does the same sort of thing.
And there's a long list of networks that offer apps filled with clips and full
episodes of their shows, such as NBC, ABC Player, HBO Go. Watch ESPN, TBS. The
CW Network. Cartoon Network, WATCH Disney Channel, PBS KIDS Video, and more.
Third-party
apps like VLC allow you to drag video files that aren't natively supported to
your iPad and play them back.
Your iOS device can even be used as a mobile
projector, of sorts. Well, perhaps not a projector, but certainly a way to play
video out while on the move. An app like Algoriddim's Vjay is able to mix
videos in real time and apply effects, turning you into a visual DJ, hence the
name. Of course, people aren't necessarily going to want to crowd around the
screen of your iPad or phone to watch, so you can always send video out over
AirPlay if there's an Apple TV handy. Or if not, use one of Apple's video
cables to connect your device to the nearest TV or projector using the relevant
connection format like HDMI or component video. There’s more on these handy
hardware add-ons in the next section.
Using
AirPlay, any of the 50,000 music videos from the VEVO app can be beamed
directly to your Apple TV for big-screen viewing.
Essential Accessories
Get even more creative and work
faster with these handy items
Apple TV
Price: $99 Apple
Website: www.apple.com
Apple
Tv
We’re big fans of the Apple TV for
streaming media to an HDTV because of its silky-smooth integration with all
Apple's devices. It connects directly to your HDTV, and allows you to buy and
rent movies from Apple, stream your local movie collection via iTunes, and
listen to the radio, watch trailers, and access YouTube online. Better still,
it enables AirPlay from your Mac and any iOS device, so you can play back music
and videos wirelessly on your TV with no setup. For the price, it’s an absolute
bargain.
eyeTV Mobile
Price: $100
Website: www.elqato.com
eyeTV
Mobile
You can use TV streaming services over a
cellular connection but these eat up your data allowance at a surprising rate,
as well as being heavy on your battery. The Elgato eyeTV mobile plugs into your
Dock connector and provides over-the-air access to TV stations. It has a
built-in antenna, with a larger antenna also available for better reception.
(Newer iOS devices sporting the Lightning connector will need a Lightning to
30-pin adapter.)
Lightning Digital AV Adapter
Price: $49
Website: www.apple.com
Lightning
Digital AV Adapter
This Lightning model works with the latest
iPhones and iPads, but there’s also a 30-pin version available for Dock
connectors. Connect one end to your iOS device and the other to an HDMI cable
that leads to your HDTV, and you can mirror the display of the device straight
to the TV. You can also output movies, TV shows, or videos recorded on the
device in up to 1080p resolution, and all without the need of an Apple TV.
LaCie Rugged
Price: $199.99
Website: www.lacie.com
You can never have too much storage when it
comes to digital video, since it uses up lots of space. If you are using a
laptop, particularly a MacBook Air that might have a smaller solid-state drive,
consider investing in a portable hard drive for storing your movies, saving
space on the internal drive. This model has USB3 and Thunderbolt, though there
are plenty still around with USB2 and FireWire if your Mac is S slightly older.
You could also opt for a less flashy but higher-capacity desktop drive with its
own power supply.
Elgato turbo.264HD
Price: $100
Website: www.elqato.com
Elgato
turbo.264HD
If you do a lot of video encoding, you know
that although H.264 format looks the best, it also takes the longest. A
combination of software and hardware, Elgato's device boosts the speed of video
encoding whether you're converting for iOS devices or iTunes. It manages this
by being specially optimized for this kind of process, and can save you lots of
time. The software works on its own, too. but is enhanced by the addition of
the hardware.
