For most iPod owners, how to watch Television shows on your iPod is pretty much the same as you would watch TV shows on a normal TV set. This is only in terms of actually seeing the Television shows as aired over normal channels but there are significant differences, too. Indeed, you can say with a certain amount of certainty that how to watch TV shows on your iPod is not as easy as just turning on the TV set and clicking on the remote; a little knowledge of technology will definitely help.

Before you can go into the niceties of watching TV shows on your iPod, first you have to buy and download television shows to a video iPod. There are many sites over the Internet that offers this kind of service, most of them on an unlimited basis for a fee.

Some of these sites offer DVD quality movies and you can subscribe to shows like the suspense-thriller “Lost”, the fast-paced “24″, the overtly sexual “Desperate Housewives”, and other reality shows and sports events.

In actually downloading TV shows, this is where a little knowledge of video technology helps. There are two ways how to watch television shows on your iPod. You can either convert TV shows video files into iPod format or you can record and convert Televison shows to iPod. On the first means, you have to download, install and launch the iPod movie/video converter software. Click the “Open File” button on the TV shows you like to convert, and then select “Convert”. Drag the iPod video files and transfer to your iPod. There are step by step tutorials on this process, if you need them, to actually transfer and convert shows to your iPod. You can then watch your favorite TV shows on your iPod!

The second way on how to watch TV shows on your iPod involves the purchase of an appropriate TV tuner card, which should include a PCI card and a USB external card. You have to attach the cable or antenna and then download the TV to iPod transfer software, which you will have to install and configure. It will then commence transfer of shows to your iPod. Again, there is a step-by-step tutorial for this should you need it.

The emphasis is sometimes on possessing working knowledge of video technology as the transfer can be a bit tricky. However, with practice and diligent adherence to the tutorials, watching shows on your iPod can become as easy as clicking the Televison remote!

As mentioned, there are significant differences between watching TV shows on a normal TV set and an iPod. For one, downloading Televison shows to an iPod is definitely slower than watching real-time TV. It can take at least 30 minutes to download and can take up significant memory space in your iPod. For another, the iPod screen (at just 2.5 inches) can be taxing to the eyes though the portability feature is great. Plus, it is just no fun holding the device all the time. Also, there are problems with video quality in terms of pixilation and color, which can sometimes result in lower-quality videos.

Indeed, starting with installation until actual viewing, watching TV shows on your iPod can be a little bit taxing on your time and knowledge, not to mention your money, but the benefits can outweigh these costs. The convenience of portability and anytime, anywhere availability are enough advantages to offset the trial and error frequently associated with first-time application regarding how to watch Television shows on your iPod.

If you have a load of DVDs, and have been dying to watch them on your iPod for free well, here’s an answer to your prayers: HandBrake.

HandBrake is an open-source, multiplatform, multithreaded DVD to MPEG-4 converter, available for MacOS X, Linux and Windows.

To use HandBrake and start ripping your DVDs for the iPod you would need the following:

An iPod

500 MHz processor or better with at least 16MB of video RAM

QuickTime 7.0.3 or later

iTunes 6.0.1 or later

Below, are the steps on how to rip DVDs with HandBrake:

1. Download HandBrake and install. Make sure you have the latest version for any improvements.

2. Insert a Standard video DVD (these are DVDs that you would normally play in a DVD player), into your computer’s DVD drive. (Note: HandBrake will NOT be able to convert individual video files saved on a DVD-ROM.)

Launch HandBrake. A screen will ask you to choose a DVD. Choose the DVD you inserted and click Open. (Make sure that only HandBrake is accessing the DVD.)

3. HandBrake will now scan the DVD, which may take up to two minutes depending on the speed of you drive and DVD contents.

By default, the longest title in the list will be selected. This is because; main features in DVD movies usually have long titles. If the selected title is not what you want, just change the selection.

** You can use the Picture Settings button to manually move through several frames of the title to see what it looks like.

4. On the Destination section you can specify 3 settings: file destination, format, and codec . For file destination, make sure that the location has enough disk space to accommodate the ripped file. (1GB is the average size for full length movies.)

5. Select an iPod preset by clicking on the Toggle Presets button on the top right corner.

**For a high quality file that works well on a small iPod screen but with a reasonable file size, it’s advisable to adjust the bitrate lower than the average.

6. Choosing a preset, HandBrake will have synced the picture quality for the iPod. However, via Picture Settings you can offset the grainy, interlaced or compressed-look of the video. Change the Deinterlace option to fast to remove any interlacing (horizontal lines in the video.)

5. Lastly, click on the Rip button to start ripping the DVD. Encoding time depends on the following: video length; computer speed; are there other applications running; codec selected; and whether you chose 2-pass encoding.

An ETA will be posted as you rip the file and may increase if there are other applications running that might eat up processor usage. So, it’s best to rip DVDs either overnight or when the computer is not in use.

After encoding, you may quit HandBrake. Finally, you may now import the encoded video to your iPod via iTunes.

Quick note, however, for the not-so-tech-savvy consumer there are tons of paid software that offer a much easier solution. No need to worry with the codecs and various settings that would make your head spin. You can convert DVD to iPod video in just one-click or provide step-by-step interface in a way that is user-friendly and simple.  Go to DVDtoiPodReview.com to see the latest paid software that convert DVDs to the iPod.

In any case… do enjoy your movie!

If you have already completed converting your free audio books download MP3 files into several iPod track files, you will now need to complete the following steps to be sure your free audio book download can be played on your iPod. These are simple steps to help you ensure your audio book will play correcting and in the right order on your iPod.

Once you have converted the MP3 files, you will find duplicates of every track of the book. You can click on the “Kind” column header to sort out these files by file type. This is an easy way to select all of the MP3 files and delete them. After you have deleted these files, be sure to click on the “Move to Trash” button so you can regain the disk space.
Now select all of the AAC formatted files.

At the “File” menu, click on “Get Info”. You will see a window entitled “Multiple Song Information”. Here you need to enter all the information that is the same for all tracks like the author, free audio books title, and genre. Finish by clicking on the “OK” button.

Select the first part or track of the book. Go again to “Get Info” under the “File” menu. Now you should see all of the individual tracks available for this book. Now comes the somewhat tedious part. You will probably have to rename each track.

Try using the book title followed by the track number and then the number of total tracks. Add an additional zero if your total tracks are more than ten or these tracks won’t sort correctly. (3/32 should be 03/32) Abbreviate the title if it is long or your track numbers maybe off your iPod screen, especially if you have an iPod mini.

Now go to the “Options” menu. Check the line “Remember playback” and be sure to uncheck the shuffling options. This probably would ruin the mood of your book! Now continue renaming your iPod tracks and clicking the appropriate playback buttons for your entire free audio books download tracks.

It may take you a little while to complete this, but it’s better than having to swap out ten to fifteen audio book CD’s. Save your work and you are now ready to sit back and enjoy your new free audio book on your iPod.