# Can I (how to) save mp4s to an Android tablet? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 13, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-how-to-save-mp4s-to-an-android-tablet/631379 "2012-08-13T14:48:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-how-to-save-mp4s-to-an-android-tablet/631379/1 "2012-08-13T14:48:42Z")
I’m about to take a jaunt where I’ll be out of wifi and data range. I’d like to save a series of Ted Talks to my tablet (Acer Iconia Tab 500) for viewing later. I am, unfortunately, completely clueless regarding the Android OS. I can watch the videos, and I see there’s a download link, but I can’t seem to figure out how to get it to save them for offline viewing. Any help? I don’t know what’s relevant, but it’s Android version 4.0.3 and Kernel 2.6.39.4+. Thanks~ ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-how-to-save-mp4s-to-an-android-tablet/631379/2 "2012-08-13T14:57:13Z")
:smack: Had been searching, but found [this](http://www.android4schools.com/2012/03/15/enjoy-ted-talks-offline-on-your-android-tablet/)after posting: > [@](#): > > There are other apps in Google Play that feature TED Talks, but until last week there wasn’t an official TED Talks app. The new official TED Talks app for Android has some handy features. > > The most notable feature of the TED Talks app for Android is the option to download talks to your Android device. You can bookmark and download talks in “my talks” section of the app. Another nice feature is the “radio” feature. The radio feature allows you to listen to talks without playing the video. Er, question still kind of stands, though. If there’s a site without an app to make offline viewing easy, what’s the best way to go about it? Or to switch to a different question, is there a free ebook that delves into the basics and not-so-basics of the Android OS? Something that will explore the various permissions apps ask for, discuss the basic file system, settings, etc.? ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-how-to-save-mp4s-to-an-android-tablet/631379/3 "2012-08-13T15:24:06Z")
For TED talks, just go to the site in the browser. Click on the download button, and it pops another window that lets you choose the resolution etc., click the download link in that window. It will download the file to the browser’s download directory. When you want to watch it, open the browser, press the menu button, choose downloads. Click on the file you want to play it. So for this you don’t need to access the filesystem directly. If you ever do, you will need a file manager. Astro is a popular and free one. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-how-to-save-mp4s-to-an-android-tablet/631379/4 "2012-08-13T15:27:40Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > Er, question still kind of stands, though. If there’s a site without an app to make offline viewing easy, what’s the best way to go about it? For pre-loading my phone with content, I just plug it into my PC and drag the downloaded files across from there.