Alright. After about 8 hours of searching the forums on http://www.ipodlinux.org/, I've finally gotten video to work on my 3rd Gen iPod. It was quite a hastle getting it to work, especially on my mac, so I felt like a tutorial was in order. If you ask me, video is just about the coolest thing ever to happen to iPod linux. So let's get started...

So, first things first. If you don't already have linux on your iPod, go download Jeffery Nelson's Mac OS X iPod-Linux installer. This is by far the easiest way to get everything setup on your iPod. If you want, you can go through the installer and get linux up and running. The iPod-Linux installer website says that "Additionally yes, the latest downloadable installer updates do include preliminary video support.", but (for some reason or another) it didn't work for me. So I concluded that: If you want video, there are a few changes you need to make before you install.

To enable the video feature of iPod linux, you'll need the latest beta build. The version built into the installer is older (and probably more stable), but it will give you the message "No Default Action for this Filetype" if you try playing video. To get the latest build, go to http://ipodlinux.org/nightlys/. There are versions built every day, and the newest ones are at the bottom. I downloaded the 6-24 build and it worked fine. You'll need the files marked podzilla.gz and kernel.bin.gz. These are the two large ones. Download and unzip both of these. Rename the kernel file "linux.bin".

Installing Linux and the Modified Kernel

Once you've renamed the kernel file, find the iPod-Linux installer you downloaded earlier. Control click on it to bring up the contextual menu. Select "Show Package Contents", and then go into the Contents>Resources directory. Inside, you should find a file called linux.bin. Replace this file with the renamed kernel file you downloaded.

At this point, you need to run the iPod-Linux installer and install the new kernel file onto your iPod. Launch the installer with your iPod plugged in, select it from the drop-down menu, and press Install (or re-install, as the case may be). If your iPod is named "iPod", you may need to rename it first. (This was a known bug in the installer - i'm not sure if it's been fixed). Do not let the application check for updates, as this may erase the linux.bin file you just modified.

Updating the Podzilla Application

Once the install is complete, locate the podzilla file you downloaded. Remove the date off the name, so it just reads "podzilla". This file contains the application that actually runs the interface of the linux iPod. Open the sbin folder on your iPod, and replace the existing copy of podzilla with the new file.

Now this next step is important. You'll notice the podzilla file you just put on your iPod doesnt look like the other files in that folder. It's not being recognized as an executable. Your iPod WILL NOT RUN PODZILLA unless you make the file an executable. Luckily, this is simple. Open the Terminal application located in your utilities folder. Type the following command, and press return.

chmod +x /Volumes/<your ipods name>/bin/podzilla

Note: If the name of your iPod contains spaces, you need to put a backslash (\) before the spaces. Ben Gotows iPod becomes Ben\ Gotows\ iPod. It's easiest if you just change the name in the Finder so there are no spaces or 'yucky' characters.

When you execute this command, the terminal will print another blank line, showing that the operation was successful. If you get a "No such file or directory" error, check the path you entered.

Get some sample video!

Finally, we need a couple test videos. Unfortunately, at this point the videos need to be in a very specific format. No compression is supported. Your best bet is to download the sample iPod videos off this page on the iPod Linux forums. Note that the movies have to be formatted differently for each kind of iPod (1-4G, color, mini). Copy the movie files onto your iPod.

That's all she wrote!

That's it! Disconnect your iPod and reboot it by pressing and holding the menu and play buttons for three seconds. While your iPod is starting back up, hold the previous button. You'll see the linux penguin and then some text will scroll by. Podzilla will launch and you'll see the menu. Select File Browser from the menu and locate one of the movies. Select it and press the center button to load it. The "Loading Video..." screen should not last more than 5 to 10 seconds. If it seems to be taking forever, you probably didn't put the latest version of the kernel on your iPod. That was covered above, however, so it shouldn't happen.

Good luck, and happy iPodding! If you have any questions, just post a comment on the most recent article here on my blog. I read them often, and I'd be more than happy to help you.