iTunes tv shows on car media player?

[Famudeedo]

Hi, so I have a few tv show episodes that I’ve purchased in the iTunes Store. I wanted to play them for my kids on our car DVD player thing (which also accepts thumb drives with .avi video files) while we go on our vacation. I burned the episodes as a data DVD (was the only DVD option that iTunes gave me) from an iTunes playlist, but the files won’t play on anything that’s not my Mac. The files are .mp4.

Btw, I also tried using my video converter software to convert the files to .avi for the car player but it won’t convert, just like they won’t play on any other player or device. All I ever get are errors about codecs and/or just a blank screen.

I understand there must be some sort of “protection” encryption on the files but that’s pretty lame. Is there really no way for me to watch my purchased tv shows outside of my iTunes/Mac? I just want my kids to be able to watch the shows I purchased for them so they don’t drive me insane on our long car trip. I don’t have 2 iPads so that’s not an option. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks for any replies!

 

[ferrarr]

When you burn a dvd as a data dvd, that is usually only for computer to computer or backup. iTunes can't burn movies onto dvd or disc.

If you have a USB drive, use that for the shows. In Disk Utility* select the drive and then select Erase, then Format: MS-DOS and Scheme: Master Boot Record, and it should work with your cars player. Note that MS-DOS will not accept individual files any larger than 4GB. If the shows are larger than that, then you would need to use a tool to shrink the file size.

*Use the View menu to Show all devices/connections.

 

[Lifeisabeach]

Hi, so I have a few tv show episodes that I’ve purchased in the iTunes Store. I wanted to play them for my kids on our car DVD player thing (which also accepts thumb drives with .avi video files) while we go on our vacation. I burned the episodes as a data DVD (was the only DVD option that iTunes gave me) from an iTunes playlist, but the files won’t play on anything that’s not my Mac. The files are .mp4.

Btw, I also tried using my video converter software to convert the files to .avi for the car player but it won’t convert, just like they won’t play on any other player or device. All I ever get are errors about codecs and/or just a blank screen.

I understand there must be some sort of “protection” encryption on the files but that’s pretty lame. Is there really no way for me to watch my purchased tv shows outside of my iTunes/Mac? I just want my kids to be able to watch the shows I purchased for them so they don’t drive me insane on our long car trip. I don’t have 2 iPads so that’s not an option. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks for any replies!

Yes, they are DRM-protected, which means you can only use iTunes or the newer TV app to play them. I'm not a fan of DRM restricting when and how I watch my media either. Unless your system accepts something like video input via HDMI, in which case using an iPhone or iPad with an adapter would be necessary, then you are out of luck.

 

[Raz0rEdge]

Breaking DRM protection and burning videos aren't discussed here. Do your own search and see what you come up with.

Or just buy a bunch of DVDs they like and use them.