TV Playback Stutters with Video iPod Classic

[JennyBear]

When I play back the downloads on the TV the playback stutters, with the pauses so long that the workouts are unusable. Has anyone else experienced this problem? I have played back full length movies on the TV with no problem in the past.

Have tried all the TVs in our house as well as other family members, it's not a problem with the TV.

Video iPod Classic 60gb, Software version 1.3
iTunes 9.0.3 (15)

[JennyBear]

I just purchased a Jillian Michaels video from Itunes and it plays fine on my iPod. As do all other videos that I have downloaded or purchased other than the Cathe videos. If anyone else is having this problem please post.

Thanks

[SNM Videos]

An iPod classic can stutter when the hard drive gets near capacity or if it becomes fragmented. Two things you can try.

First - Hold down the menu button and the select button (centre button) simultaneously for up to 10 seconds, until the apple symbol appears. Release said buttons and the IPod will restart. This will reboot your iPod Classic and in many cases will solve a stutter problem.

Second - If the above doesn't work. I would suggest deleting everything from your iPod (make sure you have copies in iTunes). Then add one Cathe download back to your iPod Classic and test to see if the stuttering problem goes away. If it does continue to sync more workouts to your iPod, but don't fill up your hard drive. I've seen this problem on an iPod Classic before and this solved the issue.

[Calendar Girl]

Jenny,
Now that you mention it, I think my Cathe downloads are the only ones that stutter. I have an ipod classic but it is nowhere near full. I will have to check my other videos but I don't think that they do it.

Deb

[msmik]

My videos are doing the same thing. I have a 80 gig ipod that is less than half full. I did reboot it and it did not help. Any other suggestions?

Annie

[SNM Videos]

The next step is to delete everything on your iPod classic (make sure you still have copies in iTunes) and then reinstall your files. I would suggest syncing just one workout and testing to see if the stutter problem disappears and then adding the other workouts if successful.

Here is why you're seeing a problem. A first generation iPod (iPod Classic) uses a hard drive while the more modern iPod Touch is all Solid State. Just as in a computer your hard drive becomes fragmented with time and use. This slows down the processors ability to read the hard drive and sometimes causes stuttering. All of our files are encoded within the required specs for even first generation iPods, but our files are encoded at a higher quality than most other downloads. If your hard drive becomes too fragmented stuttering can occur on iPod classics. Let us know if this helps.

[Calendar Girl]

Mine is a 5th generation.

[SNM Videos]

5th generation still uses the same hard drive, but the hard drive is bigger. The steps for solving a stutter issue are the same for all iPod Classics.

[JennyBear]

I have already tried all the documented troubleshooting including completely re-formatting / re-setting the ipod.
The iPod is not full. I tested with a single Cathe video.

The problem is with the files themselves as no other video I have purchased or downloaded in the past or recently has this problem.

There seem to be particular files that are worse than others. The 3 Stretch Max videos for example are quite bad.

I tried the "Create iPod Version" in the advanced menu again and it seems to have fixed the file. The converted file size is smaller than the original so it did change it in some fashion. Hope it does not lose information or quality.

I will have to run through a few full workouts to be sure and post back.

Note that it takes a long time on my setup for these files to convert so not a fan of that option. Although it will probably be better than downloading them again but I would like to see this fixed for future downloads.

[Curt Kapus]

We are troubleshooting the issues that you are having with the iPod Classic, but need a little more information in order to recreate what may be going on. Could you please let us know which iPod you own. From your description, it sounds like it is not the Classic, but the 5G iPod Video with a 60GB hard drive (I can't find any reference to that capacity being available in any generation but the 5G...please let me know if I am incorrect). The easiest way to tell is that the 5G has a glossy black or white, sharp angled front panel with matte controls, while the Classic (6G) has a matte black or silver metal, rounded front panel with glossy controls. Having this information will help us because the two devices use very different operating systems.

Please let us know any more information you may uncover from your own testing. Thanks!