How to Share songs, videos with friends and family
2012-05-16 00:56:08 /
Posted by Ivan Cook to iTunes Tips
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What about transferring your favorite songs or videos with your friends and family to share your joy? Admittedly, trying to copy your contents to others' Mac even iOS devices is extremely difficult if you haven't a good helper. The Apple Company is masterful at sharing media files especially with those files purchased in iTunes store. But it's not hopeless just like what it's talked: if you have a helpful assistant, you are definitely the master of your own media files and can share them to anyone you want. The article is just such a guide showing you how to share songs, videos with your friends and family in a darn easy way. It includes two parts:
Part 1: Share songs, videos with your friends
If your friends have PCs or Mac instead of iOS devices like iPod, iPad, iPhone, you can directly copy your items to them using your hard drive. But there is one thing you have to acknowledge: if the items, say, your videos are purchased on your iTunes store, you need authorize your friends' computers first then they are able to play the files on their computer: launch iTunes > "Store" > "Authorize this Computer...". Remember that you only can authorize five computers.
If you are about to share your files with your friend for playing them on iOS devices, you then have two options (the first one is highly recommended for its convenience and easy-to-use feature.):
- Connect your friends' iDevices to your Mac then download and install SyncPod for Mac to help you share your media enjoyment with your friends. This Mac app is a professional application to enable you to transfer media files both from Mac to iOS devices and from iOS devices to Mac (Snow Leopard, Lion included). It allows you to manage multiple iOS devices at one time and sync contents between them as freely as possible. In addition, with the SyncPod, you can directly drag your items from your Mac/iOS Device to your friends' without opening iTunes.
- If your friends' iDevices are not connected to your Mac but their own computers and only want to copy your media files, you also can use your hard drive and copy your files to your friends' computers and do the authorization for playing those DRM protected files.
Part 2: Share songs, videos with your family
There are also two choices here for you to choose for sharing your songs, videos with your family.
Suppose your family is in the same Wi-Fi or Ethernet network, then you can turn it on, and use iTunes' home sharing function which enables you up to five computers in a single household share iTunes libraries easily. To know how to activate the Home Share function, you can go to Sharing iTunes Libraries at Home for detailed guide.
But this method has some serious failing grades which would cut your enjoyment down and the most significant two are:
- The automatic-transfer feature works only with the contents purchased from iTunes store. Those music you ripped from CDs or purchased online from other sources like Amazon, eMusic etc. would appears in Home sharing but won't be automatically copied.
- You can't use other's iTunes library even it's shared when that computer is offline.
So you are highly recommended to use SyncPod for Mac which can sync songs, movies, TV shows, playlist and photos etc. from Mac to iDevices even if they are not synced with the iTunes library on Mac. Detailed information about SyncPod in User Guide of SyncPod fro Mac.
Have a nice media experience with your friends and family!
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