transfer of music/ video to/ from phones, music players, iPods etc...

[NetworkGuy]

Not sure how many of you buy music tracks from iTunes or Google's store, but it would be useful if those who do would explain what restrictions (if any) there are concerning making a copy for use on some other player.

I downloaded some (free) "ripping" software a few years ago, so when I buy a CD I can insert it and within a few minutes I can have some high (or lower) quality MP3 copies on the PC hard drive. I have a couple of MP3 players (not Apple, one is by Archos, the other by Digimate) that together cost me under 35 quid, and a number of mobile phones (mostly Android) which I can use to play MP3s, as well as being able to play them on a few other devices.

With the kit I have, it's usually a case of plugging a phone / MP3 player / USB stick into the PC and simply copying a set of MP3s off the PC hard drive, but I know various phones and the iPod range depend on software to index and copy files to/from various devices.

I'm no expert in use of either items bought online from iTunes, Google's store, or Amazon (or elsewhere) so would urge those who are happy to do so, to make some notes and post (brief if possible) guides (eg "Copying music from iTunes on a Windows PC onto an Android mobile", or "Copying music from Google Play store to an Apple Mac", etc) so they can be mentioned in future and found via searches of Geeky Stuff.

Obviously I'm not wanting to suggest anyone does anything illegal, but it is often the case that someone may get something better / different and has a wish to keep what is already on their current phone / player, and add to that, and as so many devices exist to play music and video these days, it would seem quite sensible to have a few "crib sheets" to be able to work from...

[NetworkGuy]

I expanded the title of the thread to include video as that's probably going to be a growing interest, whether it is home made video of a wedding or other special family event, or something bought and downloaded but you want to make a backup copy in case of theft or failure (eg disk drive problems).