wondering about backlighting of videos
Has apple added this sort of option to the ipod, or will I keep having to change the backlight settings when I play videos or music? Thanks.
[479 byte] By [jcpiebald] at [2007-11-10 22:01:53] 
Hello. I just ordered my new 5g ipod and I'm wondering if there is some sort of setting on the ipod itself to keep the backlight on continuously while playing a video. I can't imagine watching a video without the backlight on, but when I'm listening to my music I don't want to waste battery life needlessly.
Has apple added this sort of option to the ipod, or will I keep having to change the backlight settings when I play videos or music? Thanks.
# 1 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
For me, the backlight automatically stays on when watching videos and turns off after a specified amount of time when performing other tasks (in this case, 20 seconds). That is one reason why video battery life is so low compared to music life, not to mention the decoding power and the hard drive usage.filburt1 at 2007-11-15 12:45:32 >
# 2 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
good, that's what I was hoping. Thank you.jcpiebald at 2007-11-15 12:46:32 >
# 3 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
I suppose there's no way to disable the backlight for video playing in order to increase the battery life?dvdmon at 2007-11-15 12:47:42 >
# 4 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
The shortcut is to hold down the Menu button. I haven't tried that while a video is playing, but the screen has to pretty much be in direct sunlight to be viewable if the backlight is off.filburt1 at 2007-11-15 12:48:37 >
# 5 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
BTW, it turns out you can turn off the backlight while watching videos (hold down Menu).filburt1 at 2007-11-15 12:49:36 >
# 6 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
Originally posted by filburt1 The shortcut is to hold down the Menu button. I haven't tried that while a video is playing, but the screen has to pretty much be in direct sunlight to be viewable if the backlight is off.
It would be great to test out how long you could watch videos when the backlight is off...
dvdmon at 2007-11-15 12:50:46 >
# 7 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
Originally posted by filburt1 BTW, it turns out you can turn off the backlight while watching videos (hold down Menu).
I just tried this with my 5G in a well-lit room. Video is virtually unviewable this way.
Interpol at 2007-11-15 12:51:39 >
# 8 Re: wondering about backlighting of videos
Originally posted by dvdmon It would be great to test out how long you could watch videos when the backlight is off...
Probably about 12 hours on a 30GB. It's the backlight that kills the battery, more than the disk access. On a 3G iPod you can knock out a full charge in about 30 minutes with the backlight on.
But, yeah, you can't use a color LCD screen of this type without a backlight. I'm amazed you can even see the Now Playing information without it -- and that not very well.
san at 2007-11-15 12:52:43 >
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