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Stream or Download Movies for Free on Android or iOS
With so many video formats and devices out there, sometimes it’s hard to figure out the best way to watch movies when you’re on the go. With Netflix seeming to increase it’s rates on an hourly basis, it’s great to have an alternative. A new website has made the process much easier no matter what device you’re using. And the best part is you don’t need a computer to do it!
Movieonhand.com is a website that you can view on your desktop or laptop computer as well as your iOS device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad) and Android phone. Once you punch in the web address, you’ll see a basic home screen with a search bar at the top and then a list of years at the bottom. You can search their catalog or browse based on the year the movie was released.
Search by Year
For this example, we’re typing ‘X-Men’ into the search bar. When we have the results, we select a movie and then see various viewing options. We can stream from a few different locations and we can also download directly to our device. The download option will take you to a file share site where the movie is being stored at. Occasionally the link download link will take you to a page that says the movie you’re looking for was removed. Not much you can do about this…you’ll just have to keep looking. It’s great to have the option to stream when you have a data connection or to download to watch when you don’t have internet access.
Search Bar
Download to iOS Devices
Depending on your device, the download process is a little different. For the PC, it’s a straightforward affair. If you’re on an Apple iOS device, you’ll need another application first. Follow the link below to download Downloads Lite from the App store…
Click Stream or Download to view
Once you have Downloads Lite installed, open the program and use it to navigate to Moviesonhand.com through the built in browser. Go through the same process to get to the download or stream options and select download. It should take you to the download location (usually megaupload.com). It may require you to wait until a download counts down before the download link appears. Click and the app will start the download process. Once this is done, you can go to the files tab and there’s your movie! You also have the option for moving the video file into your Photos folder so it’ll be easier to find.
Download to Android
Luckily, the Android download process is much simpler since it doesn’t require any other apps to work. Just follow all the steps before and click on the download link from moviesonhand.com. Next, click the download link once it appears on Megaupload.com and the download should start. That’s it…once the download completes you should be able to find it in your videos or gallery.
Movieonhand.com is a great tool for getting a huge number of movies on your device or for streaming and is a great alternative when Netflix keeps jacking up the rates. Occasionally the format may not be the best for your given device but in the end it’s a great option to have especially when you’re on the go.
Free iOS Apps With Installous
One of the first questions anyone asks after jailbreaking is “Where da free apps at?!” Granted, some people may ask the same question in a more grammatically correct manner.
Once you are jailbroken, the process of being able to install free apps is fairly painless. First off, we have to address the issue of why someone would do this. The purpose of this hack is to be able to download apps for free to try out before you buy (emphasis being on “BEFORE YOU BUY”). If you find an app that you like, you should always, always, ALWAYS download the paid app from the App Store to support the app makers.
Step 1: Begin by going into Cydia (which you should have once you jailbreak your iOS device).
Click on Cydia
Step 2: Once inside Cydia, click on Sources on the bottom row of buttons
Click on Sources
Step 3: This screen shows the app repositories you currently have. (A repository is basically a big bank full of apps.) We want to add a new repository so click on the Edit button on the top right corner. On the next screen click on the Add button on the top right corner.
Step 4: Now we are going to tell the program where to find the new repository. Type the following into the search box, exactly as it appears so that your search box has only this text: http://cydia.hackulo.us
Once you have done that click on Add Source.
You’ll see this next screen as everything is installed.
The install screen
Step 5: Now your list of app repositories will have a new option…Hackulous. Click on it.
Step 6: Once inside the Hackullous app, click on the Install button on the top right corner.
Click Install
Step 7: Click Confirm on the next screen to finalize the installation
Click Confirm
Step 8: Once the installation is complete, you will see the Installous icon on your screen. Just tap this to launch your new Installous app store.
Tap on Installous App
Once you’re inside Installous, you can see the categories of apps listed on the left. There is also a Search button on the top bar to search for specific apps.
The Installous App
Installous is run and maintained by regular people that are working hard to bring you a great and easy way to try apps before you buy. As a result of the grass roots basis of the program, it can be frequently out of service due to high traffic. Always be patient when using things like this and understand that people are working hard to bring you this. If you want to help out, you can always make a donation to those dedicated few bringing you these great services. Just go to http://hackulo.us/ for more details on the app and to donate.
If you get this to work drop a comment below and let us know what device and version you ran it on. And remember… if you find an app you like, spend a few bucks to buy the real version from the App Store. Keep app makers cranking out quality apps.
Video Footage into iPad 2 for iMovie
One of the points Steve Jobs made sure he emphasized during the iPad 2 unveil was that it was now powerful enough to be a portable video editing tool. He rolled out the new iMovie made specifically for the iPad and demonstrated how you would edit footage you shot with the iPad 2’s built in camera.
However, that’s where the problems begin. Unfortunately, the camera on the iPad 2 really isn’t very good, not to mention that fact that you would probably look rather ridiculous walking around on vacation with a 10 inch tablet in front of your face. So how do we get footage we shot elsewhere (either on our cell phones or dedicated still or video cameras) into the iPad to edit on iMovie.
If you just transfer footage in, you will be able to see the footage in your photos folder, but you won’t be able to access it in iMovie. The reason for this is that iMovie is very particular about the type of encoding the videos have to be in to be recognized. Photos, for the most part, will be ok to be transferred in, but video must be transformed into a format that iMovie and the iPad 2 like.
After much research, a user on the Apple forums seems to have discovered the secret. Forum member Zwiller5 has found a program that will do the conversion as well as the correct settings to make your video footage and your iPad 2 live in harmony. You can see his original settings at this following link…
Apple Forums: Settings for Video for iMovie on iPad 2
(You’ll have to scroll down a little to find his post.)
The program he suggests using is a PC application called Aleesoft Free iPad Video Converter (the name sounds pretty self explanatory). He also includes all of the settings. The application itself is relatively user friendly so you should be able to enter the information without too much hassle. I tried it myself and have converted footage shot on my Nexus S as well as footage shot on my Panasonic point and shoot that does 720p video. Both times the footage came out very well and the editing in iMovie was a breeze.
I’m going to keep looking for a more suitable program for the Mac that can do the same thing, but in the meantime we can now start transferring footage over to the iPad and let out the Scorsese in all of us.
More DVD Ripping Goodness
Ok, let’s say you weren’t a big fan of the VLC approach. Now we’re going to talk about another free program for your computer that can convert DVD’s into formats that can be transferred to your mobile device.
Handbrake is an open source, free program that is downloadable for your Mac or PC. It’s a very powerful program that can rip DVD’s as well as convert video files from one format to another. For example, let’s say you already have a video file that is an AVI file but you want to put that into your mobile device. You’d have to convert that to an MP4 video file, which is what most portable devices like. When it comes to ripping DVD’s, Handbrake can rip a lot of formats, but not all of them. DVD’s are all encoded a little differently in their copy protection style, so you’re going to have more success with some programs versus others.
Now we’ll get started and first download Handbrake. Follow the link below to go to Handbrakes site and download the version for your computer…
Click Here to Download Handbrake
Once you’ve gone through the installation process, go ahead and pop a DVD into your computer and then open Handbrake (actually, you can do that in either order). The program is virtually identical for Mac or PC, but for the sake of this demonstration we’re looking at the Mac version.
The main interface with the Presets menu open on the right side
Sometimes when you first open the program, it will prompt you for the Source (where is the video or DVD you want to convert). If it doesn’t, you will get a the main window of the program. Click on the Source icon on the upper left corner. If you’re ripping a DVD, select the DVD drive and hit open. If you’re converting a video file into a different format, find that video file on your computer and click open.
The program will say “Scanning Source” for a few moments and then a screen like this will pop up. Now we’re going to adjust the settings depending on the device you’re going to be watching the movie on in the end. On the right side of the program is a slide out menu that shows some device presets. If you don’t see that, click on the Toggle Presets Icon on the top right of the program. If you’re converting to an Apple device, just pick that device from the menu and you’re basically set. For Android, you want to select the Normal profile under the Regular group.
Next, back on the program’s main interface, go to the box labeled File and enter where you want the finished video to appear. You can even have it just save to the desktop so you can find it easier.
Beyond that, I recommend leaving most of the settings alone. If you want the video file to be a certain size (maybe a little smaller to conserve space) you can click on the Video tab near the center of the program, then check the Target Size box under Quality. Now enter the size you want the finished video to be and Handbrake will adjust the video settings to get as close as possible to that size. Naturally, the smaller the file size, the lower the quality of the audio and video.
Once you’re happy with the settings, go to the top of the screen and click on the Start icon and let it do it’s thing. Handbrake is much faster than VLC, so depending on your computers speed you could have a DVD ripped in as little as 15 minutes or less.
If you are planning on converting multiple files that you have saved on your computer, you can click on the Add to Queue button at the top of the program. This adds your video to a list that will do all at once. Then just keep adding sources like you did before and hit Add to Queue for each one. Once you’re ready, press Start and it will do them all, one at a time.
Drop a comment below if this worked for you and how the video quality was once you were done. We’ll have another post coming up soon on how to get those video files onto your mobile device.
Rip DVD’s To Your Computer
At some point, you’re going to want to put movies onto your mobile device, whether it’s an iPod, iPad, iPhone or Android device. With screens becoming higher and higher resolution, they’re just begging to be made into your own personal movie theater. The question is how does one start with a DVD and end up with a file on your portable device? There are a few steps involved here so we’re going to start off with the first phase…getting the movie from your DVD onto your computer.
For this lesson, I’m going to be teaching you how to use VLC to rip the DVD’s. VLC is a media player application for Mac and PC that is completely free. It’s a very robust program that can play just about any file you can think of. There are other programs out there that can probably rip movies a little faster or with one or two fewer steps, but I’m starting with VLC since it’s available for multiple computer systems and most importantly…it’s free! We love free things!
Download VLC onto your computer from here…. VideoLan.org
Open the file and go through the appropriate steps as it prompts you to install the program on either your Mac or PC. For the sake of this demonstration I’m going to be doing this on the Mac version but it should be essentially the same as PC. If you have any questions as you follow along on the PC version, drop a comment below and I’ll walk you through it.
Now you have VLC installed on your computer. Go ahead and put a DVD into your computers disk drive. Open the VLC program and click on the File Menu, then select Open Disc.
Now we’re going to change a few quick settings. Make sure the DVD check box is selected, and below that check the box that says “No DVD Menus” (we’re just ripping the movie, not the menus). For Device Name, that should be your DVD drive. If it doesn’t fill in automatically, you’ll have to click the drop down menu and select the drive you want. In the box marked “Title” make sure that you put “0” (the number zero, not the letter o).
Now below all of that, click the box that says Streaming/Saving. This will enable the button on the right labeled “Settings.” Click on that.
Now we have some more settings to adjust. The first line says “Display Screen Locally” and has a check box. If you select that box, you can watch the movie play as it is ripping it. Generally, this program is very slow and takes just about as long as it would take to watch the movie, but leaving this unchecked will make it just slightly faster.
In the file box, type in the location and file name you want the video saved under. I usually make a folder in my Documents folder called Converted Movies and save all of them there, but you can put it wherever you like. Just remember where you put it so you can find it later.
Next, for Encapsulation Method we’re going to select MPEG 4 from the drop down menu. This is the file most commonly read by most mobile devices. Below that, under Transcoding Options, set it up as I have in the picture. Video should be mp4v and Audio should be mp4a. The Bitrates have to do with the amount of data in the video file. The higher the Bitrate, the bigger the file and the higher quality the image and sound. I find that 1024 is a good compromise of picture quality and file size. Feel free to experiment with different settings if you like.
VLC Ripping the DVD
And that’s it. Click OK then Click Open on the next screen and you should see the VLC player start playing the DVD. It will look like the DVD is just playing but it’s actually ripping the movie. It will take just about as long to rip it as it would to just play the movie, so now would be a good time to go grab a bite to eat, take a nap, or better yet…tell all your friends about how cool HackMondo is! (Shameless plug…sorry)
Like I said, there are faster programs out there but most of them would require you to part with your hard earned dineros and that’s something we’re trying to avoid. In the next part of this series, we’re going to start looking at transferring this new video file onto your mobile device using programs like iTunes, DoubleTwist and even just doing it manually! I know…we’re getting crazy!
HackMondo 