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iPod (with video) [#2]: Can no longer function as a bootable startup drive; Converting video files
The iPod can no longer function as a bootable startup drive The fifth generation iPod (with video) no longer includes a built-in FireWire controller. This means that while the unit can charge via a FireWire port using an optional dock-connector cable, it cannot synchronize data or be recognized as a FireWire device.
This also extricates the iPod from functioning as a bootable FireWire hard drive (since USB devices currently cannot be used as Mac OS X startup devices), as all previous full-sized (and mini) units had been capable.
Converting video files to a format playable on the iPod There are several methods for converting movie files into a format playable on the fifth generation iPod.
You could use iMovie for the clips that you have, just open a new project, import the clips and export to quicktime. You can make all sorts of custom settings so you can find out what suits you best.
First, if you are a QuickTime Pro owner, you can simply upgrade to version 7.0.3 of the software and export files in the appropriately labeled (.m4v) format.
However, you can also use iMovie to do the conversion. This can be accomplished by starting a new project, using the import function to open your target video, then exporting the movie as in H.264 format.
The same can be accomplished with Toast 7.0.x -- access the "Video" pane, and drag the desired video into the main window. Click on export, and choose H.264. Dragging an dropping the resulting video into iTunes will result in it appearing next to purchased video files, and it should properly synchronize to a video-enabled iPod afterward.
Also, note that exporting your video at the maximum resolution for the video-enabled iPod -- 320x240 -- can save significant volume space relative to leaving the file at a higher resolution.
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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long time.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58430
(found this in Macintouch.com)
Such document was created back in 1999, before Mac OS X. It was modified on
2003, yet as far as I know you can boot Mac OS 9 from a USB device but you
cannot boot Mac OS X from a USB device.
Apple: no bootable iPod, no purchase. A shame! --Please, reintroduce the great
Firewire interface to the new iPods. We have tons of Macs with Firewire and USB
1.1 (not USB 2.0) and we do need to boot from the iPod. Thanks.
More:
It seems that you cannot boot Mac OS X from USB devices:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106474
Amazingly, such Apple document contradicts the previpously indicated:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58430
Time for Apple to edit and update them!
That is a shame. I was considering purchasing one. But not now. Why on earth would they eliminate that feature? This is going to hurt sales.
I spoke today with Apple's returns department intending to request an RMA to
return the iPod video, unopened, as soon as it was received. The reason I gave
was that it is unacceptable this model iPod won't sync via FireWire or boot my
iMac. After much time in research and a few consultations with the supervisor, I
was assured the iPod video would indeed sync via FireWire and that I could
safely go ahead and try it out without having to pay an open-box restocking fee
if it doesn't work. The iPod is due to be delivered Friday . . . I'll post the results.
I'm curious how, if the video iPod doesn't include a Firewire controller circuit built-in, how the Apple rep can say it can sync with a Mac via Firewire. The Dock-to-Firewire-plug cable doesn't contain a Firewire controller circuit either, so it won't do the job. Do you use a docking station? Do they contain a Firewire controller circuit? Or did the Apple rep just tell you to try it out, hoping that once you've tried it, that even if you find it actually won't sync via Firewire, that you'll still like the video iPod so much that you won't raise the issue again?
That thought certainly occurred to me. However the iPod video is going
back as I definitely can not use and do not want an iPod that can't use FireWire
except to charge.
Apple Knowledgebase article 300277, "Learn About iPod Universal Dock", says: "Note that some iPod models will not sync via FireWire." Since this article is about the new Dock, and it doesn't say anything about enabling sync via Firewire for iPods that don't contain a Firewire circuit, and in fact simply says that some iPods don't sync via Firewire, I think we can conclude that Apple rep is definitely wrong. cheapFanDave's response also points out that the chipset used in the video iPod doesn't include Firewire. Looks like Apple needs to educate their reps a little better, whether or not they're considered supervisors.
Elkrog,
I don't need to wait until Friday to hear your results. The answer is that your supervisor is wrong. You will not be able to sync with FireWire. Apple's using a chip set from PortalPlayer that doesn't support FireWire for the 5G iPods.
You might as well try to boot your Mac from a cereal box connected by mint-flavored dental floss.
"You might as well try to boot your Mac from a cereal box connected by mint-flavored dental floss."
Wait, I've tried that--it works better than booting from a new video iPod.
As the others here have noted, OS X can't boot from a USB drive, though OS 9 can. This is because Apple simply decided to prevent it, in OS X's software, since USB 1.0/1.1 is so slow--it's not a hardware limitation, except for speed. Now if Apple would only allow USB 2.0 to boot OS X, they'd at least address this one issue to some extent, even though USB 2.0 is not the same speed as Firewire 400, regardless of the numbers quoted for maximum data transmission speed (400 Mb/sec for Firewire, and 480 Mb/sec for USB 2.0)--on average, USB 2.0 is about three-quarters the speed of Firewire 400, due to different ways that USB 2.0 does things. But at least being able to boot from USB 2.0 would be a sort of consolation prize.
I soon realized why booting from an iPod should be considered a last resort:
1) It's slow.
2) The iPod disk does not have as long a life. If memory serves, the iPod disk has a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 20,000 hours while a garden variety hard drive is over 140,000. Using your iPod to boot up your Mac often is likely to kill your iPod.
Also, it's not designed for the repeated reads and writes that are involved with ordinary computing. I thought one cool app of the iPod would be putting my home folder (and maybe even my system, too) so I could use "my" Mac on someone else's computer. My enthusiasm for this was dampened when I learned more about iPod's disc's actual capability.
Get an external drive to do what you wnated to do with the iPod. Sure, they don't look as cool, but they'll get the job done.
But many Macs lack USB 2 and do have Firewire.
And it would be good to boot from the iPod nano. No problem breaking the
disk there, because there is no disk. It is solid state flash memory! It may be
slow, but that would do a nice job as an external repair or emergency disk.
But for all that the iPods must have Firewire!!!
I agree that an external hard drive, containing a 2.5" drive, is the better way to go for frequent booting (that's what I use to do troubleshooting onsite at client locations), but it was a nice extra to be able to use one's iPod as an external hard drive too, for the occasional need that might arise for some people who like to carry their iPod around, and don't want to carry a separate hard drive too. I suppose the number of people with this need/desire is small, so Apple simply dropped the Firewire circuit to save a little money. But it's the sync issue that should have led Apple to keep the Firewire circuit--as FixMaX points out, most (not just many) Macs have Firewire ports, but only USB 1.1 ports. Too bad Apple didn't include a Firewire circuit in the new Docks.
This seems like another move on Apple's part to push people into buying new Macs, and "leave the old behind"--never mind that the "old" was perfectly usable until Apple needlessly changed something else that made it not so.
music. What's the point in being able to charge off Firewire if you then have to
swap the cables to sync?
USB 2 shouldn't be noticeably slower than FireWire. (It can actually be faster
under certain circumstances.) Did you mean USB 1.1?
He meant his Mac has no USB 2.0 ports, just USB 1.1.
USB as a protocol, and that includes USB2, may have good "burst" speeds for
data transfer, but Firewire has better sustainable transfer speeds across the
entire amount of data. That is why digital video cameras come with Firewire
ports to transfer DV--the video files would take too long to transfer using USB
or USB2.
- by kiancheong October 19, 2005 11:07 AM PDT
- No Firewire really is a letdown! We all know how 'fast' USB2.0 can be... it only
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(19 Comments)reaches its max speed for a few moments, and eventually, drops to slower
speeds for the remainder of the transfer...
Not on Firewire though! I've used on Firewire external hard drives with my
iBook, and I know how fast my transfers are... constant high speed!
Now... look further, Apple... have you forgotten about the iPod Halo effect?
Consider the switchers... they'll scream in joy once they found out that their
iPods sync much better with their new Macs using Firewire compared to
USB2.0...