If you take your tablet with you on vacation, you probably want to watch a movie every now and then. How you do this depends, among other things, on the type of tablet and whether you have an active internet connection. In this article, we'll look at the best-known options for watching movies on your tablet.
Tip 01: Which tablet?
The best way to watch a movie depends, among other things, on what operating system you have on your tablet. If you have an Android tablet, you can easily copy movies from your PC to your tablet. On an iPad – with iOS as the operating system – you need the iTunes program to copy movies to your tablet. Of course you need enough free space on your tablet to copy movies. Another option is that you use a streaming service and movies only temporarily take up space on your tablet. A disadvantage of a streaming option is of course that you must have a subscription with a film service and you must have a good WiFi connection at your holiday address. In addition, some services also offer you to rent movies. You can read which option works best for you in the following tips.
Tip 02: Specifications
If you want to use a tablet specifically for watching movies, it is a smart idea to choose a tablet with a good screen. In the case of an Apple tablet, this is no problem: every iPad is perfectly suited for watching movies. The screen is clear and has a high resolution, so that movies in HD quality are also displayed well. If you want to buy an Android tablet, you have much more choice. The physical size of a tablet is important: a 7 inch tablet is not really suitable for watching movies, a 10 inch tablet provides a lot more viewing pleasure.
The screen resolution is also important and is directly related to the size of your tablet. Do not only look at the resolution, but also at the number of ppi (pixels per inch). 1920 by 1280 pixels is actually the minimum for a 9 or 10 inch tablet to enjoy movies. An iPad has a resolution of 2048 by 1536 pixels. With a screen size of 10 inches, this equates to 264ppi. Also check that your tablet is running a recent version of Android: this is because some apps can no longer be installed on older versions of Android. Android 7 is the most version, a tablet that runs at least Android 5 is recommended. In terms of RAM, at least 2 gigabytes is useful and your processor must also be strong enough so that your film does not falter. If you want to be able to watch movies via your data bundle, your tablet must have a SIM slot.
Tip 03: Android
The advantage of an open Android system is that you can easily copy movies to your tablet. On your PC you simply do this from the explorer, for the Mac you download the Android File Transfer program and connect your tablet to your computer via a USB cable. You can now easily drag files up to 4 gigabytes from Windows Explorer or Android File Transfer to the correct folder in Android File Transfer. In most cases, choose the folder named Movies or Movies, but of course you can also choose a different folder yourself. Just make sure your movies have the .mp4 extension so that your favorite Android app can play your movie properly. If you use a program to rip movies from a DVD, choose the setting h.264 (avc), this codec is supported by Android from version 3.0. If you have a modern Android tablet, you can also choose the h.265 (hevc) option. A handy program to convert movies is, for example, Freemake. In Android, you can now just open the Gallery app to play your video.
If you use a program to rip movies from a DVD, choose the setting h.264 Tip 04: Buying in Android
If you don't have movies on your computer, you can also buy or rent movies directly on your tablet. This is easiest via Google Play on your tablet. Open the app and tap Movies. The price is immediately displayed per film. To find out if the movie has Dutch subtitles or is dubbed in Dutch, tap the name of the movie and scroll down to More information. below Audio language see what language the movie has. Some films have two prices, the highest price is the purchase price. rear Rent from In most cases, you will find two options: a rental price for the SD variant and a rental price for the HD version. The HD version is a bit more expensive. You can watch a rented movie within 30 days of purchase. After you start the movie, you have 48 hours to watch the movie. After the 48 hours, the film is automatically removed from your tablet.
After 48 hours, the film is automatically removed from your tablet Tip 05: iOS
Since iOS is a closed system, you cannot simply copy movies to a folder of your choice. You need iTunes to transfer files to your iPad. Connect your iPad with a USB cable and launch iTunes. In iTunes, click your iPad icon. Click in the left column on Movies below On my device and drag a movie file to the right pane. The file will now be copied to your local iTunes library. Then click on Sync. On your iPad, open the Videos app and you'll see that your newly added movie appears in the app. Tap it to play the movie. iTunes is not only a program to copy movies to your tablet, you can also buy or rent movies through the store option in the program. Open the iTunes Store app and tap Movies. Movies are usually offered in HD quality by default, but if you tap on a title and navigate all the way to the bottom, you will find an SD option with some films. Tap on Also available in SD and you see that the purchase and rental price for the sd version is lower. rear Size you see how many gigabytes the download temporarily takes. As with Google Play, you have thirty days to start the movie and you must watch the movie within 48 hours.
Pathé Home
Cinema chain Pathé also has a store for your tablet called Pathé Thuis. The collection is similar to that of iTunes, but there are some differences. You can view the library for free by installing the app on your tablet.
Tip 06: VLC
If you want more options when watching your movie, download the VLC app. This app is available for both Android and iOS. In the App Store it is called VLC for Mobile, in Google Play you have to look for VLC for Android. The VLC app can play many more different formats and offers useful additional features. For example, you can quickly add subtitles that you have downloaded in srt format to a movie by tapping the subtitles icon and Select subtitle file / Internal storage to tap. There are several websites where you can find srt files – the legality of these files is not entirely clear, but this aside. In the iOS version of VLC, you can also send files wirelessly from your PC or Mac to your iOS device via the WiFi Upload option. If you have an Apple Watch, you can use it as a remote.
