[P1] iBook and DVD movies

[Richard McKay]

Ken Anderson wrote the following:

> Question #1 - I am taking a trip in the near future and want to use my
> iBook for my own "in flight movie".  What are some things I can do to
> make sure I get the longest battery life out of it in these conditions?
> I do have headphones so as not to disturb my neighbors and run at a
> lower volume.  I've never use my Book for this before and am unsure
> what to expect.

I found the best set up to be:

while still connected to mains power start all the programs that you will
use during the flight and have the windows / program interfaces at the stage
where you will use them (and then minimize them to the dock), as well as
having the DVD in the drive and started to at least past the legal bits and
then put your iBook to sleep (I would also suggest disabling the unused
network / internet connections in system prefs by unchecking the boxes next
to each type of interface...airport especially as this will otherwise
constantly search for new networks and drain battery power).

Other notes to consider are that the noise level is really quite high in an
aircraft and the volume will need to be near full (at least for these poor
ears of mine!) It may sound counterproductive but I use earplugs that you
should be able to find in any drug store to cancel the noise of the aircraft
and then use headphones with the volume at near max to enjoy the movie...

Screen brightness is again dependant on what time of day you fly but it may
also need to run at full...or you can wait till the lights go down and most
are sleeping...will help tremendously with brightness and sound volume as
well as interruptions.

unless you are going overseas or completely across the country you may find
that there are many distractions that will require sleeping mode
again...food and beverage passes of the crew, etc..

I don't have them but it may be worth trying the Bose sound cancelling
headsets to see if they are worth the money should you travel often.

BTW, you can happily leave your iBook in sleep mode during take off and
landing (indeed during the entire trip!) as it will not interfere with any
plane electronics in this mode and may be useful when going through security
zones of airports.
 
> Question #2 - Are the sizes of the movie able to be changed beyond what
> is offered in the menus or are we limited to whatever the disk plays
> and or the player decodes?

I have personally run the movie in full screen mode as it makes it easier on
the eyes. I have always wondered if the full screen mode or the window is
better for battery power and without supporting evidence suggest the full
screen mode is lower drain. I can only go on the experience of using iTunes
visual effects with the same issue (full screen vs. window) where I found
that the window mode required much more battery power due to the need to
refresh the rest of the desktop and contrast differences as well as any
other changes to the desktop.

HTH,

Richard