History
Traveling with children has changed over the years. When I was a child (okay, so I still am a child at heart), we were not restrained by seat belt safety, brought several toys, and on rare occasions, even books. When my children were young, portable DVD players both built into cars and after market versions became available. Next came the iHome devices for iPods with video capability on larger screens. Now we have tablets and smart phones.
You can still get portable DVD and even Blu-ray players. This process typically involves packing your physical movies into a binder to save space. Binders can range in size from 10 to 300 capacity. The fun is swapping out the discs while in the car and getting past all the previews and menus to play the movie.
iHome devices (if you can find one or have one) are one of the first versions of of portable digital movies. They include a screen like portable DVD players but have the luxury of select and play movies from a list instantly. The issue with these players is they require you to load the movies from your library before leaving. My original video iPod appears to hold 20+ SD digital movies per 30 GB of space.
Finally, you have today's modern tablets and even smart phones. These will playback HDX movies that are typically about 5GB per 2 hour movies. At this point, you are probably saying you would be better off with a movie binder and DVD player vs a modern tablet or smart phone. I have found that the issues with a binder and a DVD player is when it is cold, the physical discs become brittle. I have lost more than one disc with kids swapping the movies by themselves. Plus, do you really what to take part of your library with you forgetting the one movie they want to watch on the trip home or worse taking your entire disc library only to forget it at the hotel when you are two hours away.
Using modern tablets or an smart phone with Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes, or Vudu will allow you to take your entire library with you wherever you go. Granted you will not be able to download all your movies at one but you can download and delete movies from your tablet or smart phone as needed. Downloading the movies will allow you to watch without using your cellular data. Below are the instructions on how to download and remove digital copies from Amazon Video, Google Play, iTunes, or Vudu. Note that I show the download from the same movie that I reviewed (Google Play has my Once Upon a Deadpool as Deadpool 2 for some reason) on each app but I am using a TV episode to show the downloaded and remove steps.
Amazon Video
From your Amazon Video app, simply go to the movie you wish to download and use the Download link to store the movie on you device. You will want to download the content while you are on WiFi to prevent the use of cellular data. Once downloaded, you will be able to watch the movie without using any cellular data. All downloaded movies and TV shows can be found unto the Downloads menu at the bottom of the app.
When you want to remove a video to make room for another, use the Edit link at the top right of the app. This will allow you to select one or more videos you want to Delete from the device. Once you have them all selected, use the Delete link at the bottom of the screen.
Google Play
From your Google Play Movies app, find the movie from your library and use the download icon either from the movies list page or from the movie details page. Go to the menu at the top left of the app and select Downloaded only to limit movie selection to items that are on the device. You will need to change this selection back when you wish to download new movies to your device.
To remove a movie, select the downloaded check icon on the movie. This will bring up a selection to remove the download from your device.
iTunes
iTunes uses the TV app for its movies and TV shows. It also links to other applications allowing you a one stop place to keep track of the shows you are watching. Once the movie is downloaded, use the Library menu option at the top left of the app to go to your Downloaded selection.
From the movie details screen, you will see DOWNLOADED check. Selecting the word in the app will bring up a menu to remove the selected video from your device.
Vudu
With Vudu, you have the option to download either HDX or SD versions of the movie. This makes it nice if you wish to conserve space by selecting the SD version which will very similar in quality on a smaller screen. Once downloaded, selecting the Download again will list all the movies you have downloaded to your device.
To remove a video, select the Edit link at the right of the app's My Downloads page. This will allow you to select the videos you with to remove. Once selected, use the trash can icon at the top right of the app.
Thoughts?
I hope you found the article useful. Did I miss an app you use for downloading your digital movies to your device? Let me know in the comments section.
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