# 30GB iPod Video Battery Life



## Chrispy (Jan 17, 2005)

Hey All..
So yeah I got my Black 30GB iPod Video...and I like it...but i'm noticing that the battery life isn't anywhere near what it should be. Like it seems to drain just as fast (maybe only a bit slower) than my 20GB 4G iPod (non-color screen)...like maybe 6 hours of runtime?

I'm not hitting buttons continuously, it's just running on shuffle....I dunno...maybe i'm on crack lol....

Anyone else notice this?


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## Howard2k (Feb 9, 2005)

When you run it on shuffle does the hdd spin up between each song?


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## RicktheChemist (Jul 18, 2001)

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## Chrispy (Jan 17, 2005)

Howard2k said:


> When you run it on shuffle does the hdd spin up between each song?


I've noticed that *sometimes* but not regularily...

I haven't played videos on this thing yet, it's all just music, and it's draining quite fast for that. That's why I was curious.


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## Chealion (Jan 16, 2001)

Chrispy - Backlight? How long is it on? Also the music files, how long and large are they? Are they your standard MP3, Apple Lossless, AAC? Are they a standard 2-4 minute song or are they 11 minute trance mixes?

The reason I ask is that files that are larger then 9 MB will cause the hard drive to spin some more since they won't fit completely in the cache.


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## Chrispy (Jan 17, 2005)

Chealion said:


> Chrispy - Backlight? How long is it on? Also the music files, how long and large are they? Are they your standard MP3, Apple Lossless, AAC? Are they a standard 2-4 minute song or are they 11 minute trance mixes?
> 
> The reason I ask is that files that are larger then 9 MB will cause the hard drive to spin some more since they won't fit completely in the cache.


Standard songs, there are some long ones, but 98 percent are regular length (3-5 minutes give or take)...

Backlight is on default settings, however, as it's on shuffle, the backlight isn't used that much. All files are Mp3's...

Thanks all for your input!


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## Jet_Star (May 20, 2005)

Did you properly charge the battery the first time?
Plus the battery usually takes a few charge cycles before it gets up to its full potential. Or so I've read. How about EQ and Sound Check? Do you have those on? Using those will lower the battery life also.

Plus remember that the stated battery life by Apple is based upon playing 128 kbs AAC files.


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## HowEver (Jan 11, 2005)

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## Corin (Jun 8, 2005)

I have a 30gb iPod Photo and I found the best way to get the battery to last is to turn the backlight of completely.. and not touch it too often... that way I can get the battery to last about 12-13 hours...


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## soapsud (Jul 25, 2005)

RicktheChemist said:


> I find a lot of the time it depends on how you charge the iPod also.. plugging it to a computer does not give the same level of charge as plugging it to a power adapter.


Is that so!? Hmm...I've noticed that my iPod (5G 30GB) doesn't seem to have the battery life that Apple advertises. Then again, it might be the indicator, which seems to be all over the place. Green, red, half full, almost nothing. It changes constantly. Kind of weird.

All that said, is it recommended to buy the adapter, instead of charging from the computer?


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## Banny (Jul 8, 2005)

Chealion said:


> Are they a standard 2-4 minute song or are they 11 minute trance mixes?


..Or 11 minute "regular" songs...  I've got quite a few of those!


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## konradx (Oct 23, 2005)

apparently its a bug in the ipod..it doesnt show the battery well..ive played 3.25 hours on video on my 60g..and it says 3 hours...ive played 4 minutes of movie and it showed 1/4 of my battery gone even though i know it as still there..so ignore the meter


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## jbot (Oct 20, 2005)

soapsud said:


> Is that so!? Hmm...I've noticed that my iPod (5G 30GB) doesn't seem to have the battery life that Apple advertises. Then again, it might be the indicator, which seems to be all over the place. Green, red, half full, almost nothing. It changes constantly. Kind of weird.
> 
> All that said, is it recommended to buy the adapter, instead of charging from the computer?


Personally, I don't see the difference between charging off an adapter or off your computer - it doesn't logically make any sense that this would be different. You are still charging your battery with electricity!

Perhaps someone could explain why there would be a discrepancy here?!?


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## RISCHead (Jul 20, 2004)

http://www.apple.com/batteries/
http://www.apple.com/batteries/ipods.html

In more general terms,
http://www.mpoweruk.com/chargers.htm


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