Introducing the To-Go Option for Mobile Videos
The free EZTakes Download Manager makes it simple for you to download and burn thousands of DVDs in the EZTakes catalog. Now the Download Manager has a new plug-in, called the To-Go option, that makes it easy for you to put those same downloads on Apple iPods, iPhones, Microsoft Zunes and other portable players. This page contains a description of the EZTakes To-Go option and provides information about how to get it and how to use it. If you still have questions after reading this page, please contact EZTakes technical support.
Table of Contents:
The EZTakes To-Go option is an add-on module for the EZTakes Download Manager that lets authorized customers export titles they purchase from EZTakes to portable players, such as Apple's iPod, iTV and iPhone, as well as Microsoft's Zune player and the many other devices that can play iPod-compatible MPEG 4 videos. EZTakes charges a one-time license fee of $9.99 for the To-Go option. Back to top Supported Operating Systems:
- Windows XP
- Windows Vista
NOTE: To-Go is not available for Apple OS X right now, but we're working on it.
Required Input:
- A DVD title that you downloaded from EZTakes and that is still accessible from the "My Library" tab in the EZTakes Download Manager.
NOTE: The To-Go option does not support third party DVDs or DVDs that have been deleted from the My Library tab of the Download Manager. Output:
- MPEG 4 video file (Bit Rate: about 650kbs, Resolution: approx. 320x176, Codec: H.264 simple profile, Audio: AAC)
NOTE: All videos are digitally imprinted with a unique transaction code. Tested Devices:
- Apple Video iPod
- Microsoft Zune (NOTE: Zune software automatically performs additional conversion)
NOTE: The To-Go option should work with any device capable of importing and playing iPod-compatible videos. Additional Features:
- Lets you select main movies and/or special features for export.
- Lets you select from available DVD audio tracks.
- Lets you select from available DVD subtitle tracks to be encoded into the extracted video.
Back to top Please note that only the Windows version of the To-Go option is available now. We are working hard to get the Mac version out soon.
You can buy the To-Go option the same way that you buy DVD downloads from EZTakes. If you do not have the Download Manager installed, you will have to install it. When you click on the "Export DVD" button in the Download Manager for the first time, you will be prompted to log in and approve a charge to your existing payment profile (i.e. a credit card that you used before to make an EZTakes purchase). If you have not set up a payment profile, then you will be prompted by the Download Manager to do so. A more detailed example of how to get the To-Go option is illustrated in the next section. Back to top In order to use the EZTakes To-Go option, you should take the following steps: If you have not installed the EZTakes Download Manager on your computer, then click here to install the Windows EZTakes Dowload Manager (NOTE: To-Go is not available on the Mac yet, but we're working hard on it). If you have already installed the EZTakes Download Manager, then make sure that you're running the latest version. You can upgrade to the latest version of the Download Manager from the update page. - With the latest version of the Download Manager installed, you should be able to see the "Export DVD" button in the "My Library" tab, as shown in the following screen shot:
When you click on the Export DVD button for the first time, the following dialog will display: 
- To purchase the To-Go option, click the "Purchase To-Go" button shown in the preceeding dialog. You'll then be given the option of either using a previously entered credit card or entering a new credit card to make your purchase. Once you confirm the purchase, the EZTakes Download Manager will display the following dialog while it downloads and installs the To-Go option:
- After the To-Go option is installed, you will be able to export titles listed in the My Library tab of the Download Manager. To use the To-Go option, select a title by clicking on it in the My Library tab, and then click the Export DVD button near the top of the My Library tab in the Download Manager. When you do that, the following dialog will display:
As shown in the preceding screen shot, the To-Go module gives you several options for the file type that you export: - Select Movie to Export - There are sometimes multiple videos (or "titles") in the same DVD, which typically include the main movie as one title and special features and/or trailers as other titles. This option shows you all of the video titles available in the DVD that you selected. Please note that since many different types of authoring programs may have been used by many different authors to create the DVD, the "titles" shown may not always have very descriptive names. But since this option also shows you the duration of each title in the selected DVD, you can usually tell which title is the main movie (as opposed to a trailer or special feature) because it will have the longest duration.
- Output Format - Currently this option enables you to select Apple iPod and Microsoft Zune. Please note that since the To-Go feature exports a standard MPEG4 file, many other devices will be able to play the video too. EZTakes has only tested it with the Zune and the iPod.
- Picture Format - This gives you the option of preserving the aspect ratio of the original video, which for most DVDs will be either 4:3 (traditional TV) or 16:9 (wide screen). You can choose the "Fit to Screen" option, which will format the video to fit the screen of the target device.
- Audio Track - If the title you selected from the source DVD has multiple audio tracks, then this option will let you select one the available tracks. You will most likely want to choose the audio track of your native language.
- Subtitles Track - If subtitle tracks are present in the title you selected from the source DVD, then you will be able to select one by using this option.
- Saved Exported Videos To - The directory, or folder, on your computer's hard drive to which the To-Go option will save the exported video file. By default this is the "My Videos" subdirectory of the "My Documents" directory on Windows XP, the "Videos" folder for your user ID on Windows Vista, or the "Movies" folder on the Mac. If you've already set up a special directory for transferring content to your media player, then you may want to change the default to that directory.
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When all the proper settings are made, you can export titles by clicking the "Export" button shown on the preceeding screen shot (i.e. the dialog entitled "Select The Export Settings For Your Portable Player"). Depending on the run time of the video, the export may take a while (e.g. 30 minutes or so for a 1-hour video). -
After the export finishes, the EZTakes Download Manager may give you the option of automatically importing the exported title into the Apple iTunes software, from where you can load it onto your Apple iPod (if that's what you want to do). You can do this by clicking on the "Add to iTunes" button shown in the following screen shot: 
Back to top EZTakes provides the To-Go option because we believe that consumers who pay their hard-earned money to buy content should be able to enjoy that content the way they want, provided that they abide by the restrictions imposed by copyright laws and stay in compliance with the EZTakes Download Manager End-User License Agreement (EULA) and EZTakes Terms of Use. Content may only be exported from the Download Manager for personal, non-commercial use. Users may not redistribute content to third parties. Back to top |
