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May 4, 2010 3:08 PM

How do I add m4v movies to my iphone from my work computer?

My iphone is synced to my computer at home. I edit videos for work and convert the quicktime file to m4vs to watch them on my iphone on my commute home. I tried to drag them on through itunes and it told me no go because I'd have to change which computer I sync to.
I can't believe this is the case (Iphone is about to become bye-phone if this is the way it is). Is there a reliable hack or work around.

This is my work material. There is no weird DRM issues or anything. Sorry to ask an iphone question, what I found online seemed like it was all from 2005.

Thanks.

posted by history is a weapon to computers & internet (5 answers total)

Welcome to the sandbox. Enjoy your time. This is a 'feature' not a bug. I love my iPhone, but I hate it for reasons like this.

Anyway, instructions:
http://www.ismashphone.com/2009/05/how-to-sync-your-iphone-to-multiple-computers.html
posted by defcom1 at 3:21 PM on May 4, 2010 [1 favorite]

You might want to try Air Sharing. It's a different process than loading the files onto the phone with iTunes, and it'll require a wireless network and home and one at the office. If those aren't issues for you, it'll be a great solution. You can load any files onto the iPhone like it's a USB flash drive, only wirelessly. What I like about the app is that you can also view the files through the app, so rather than just moving the videos from A to B you can watch them on the go too.

But yeah, the very existence of Air Sharing is because of Apple's sandbox. And it's a bit more inconvenient than syncing in the usual fashion.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 3:45 PM on May 4, 2010

There is also the option of installing one of many apps that let you treat your iPhone as a fileserver and copying files to it over WiFi. Once you've done that and transferred your files, you can use the app on your phone to browse the files you copied over and view/play them using the iPhone's built in viewer. One option is Goodreader. It's main purpose is as a PDF reader, but it also works with video files and its cheap. (There is a free version, which may be limited to 5 files, and then a pro version for $0.99).
posted by Good Brain at 3:51 PM on May 4, 2010

If your work computer happens to be a Mac, you can also use a program like PhoneView, which is a desktop program that gives you two-way read/write access to virtually all of the media and contact data on your phone.

I have it and love it -- it really makes it easy to do exactly the sort of thing you are describing, but doing it via the sync cable instead of BT or WiFi.
posted by mosk at 4:54 PM on May 4, 2010

After having used it at length on my iPad (it's a Universal app), I strongly recommend Air Video if it'll work in your environment. You'll have to run a little server app on your desktop, but the transcoding and streaming all works fantastically.
posted by Remy at 6:13 AM on May 5, 2010