Managing iPad Storage for Video

Video fills an iPad faster than anything else. A season of 1080p dual meets can be 50 GB or more. Here's how to keep the iPad ready to record.

The routine that works

1. After each Event, upload the videos to YouTube from the iPad that recorded them. See Uploading Video to YouTube.
2. If you want to keep the originals, copy them off the iPad first: to a computer, or to iCloud Drive, Google Drive or Dropbox.
3. Delete the on-device copies. In Manage Video, swipe left on a match that shows the filmstrip symbol and tap Delete. Takedown keeps the match and its YouTube video; only the file on the iPad is removed.
4. Empty the Photos app's Recently Deleted album. A deleted video keeps taking up space until it's removed from there. Apple's steps: Delete or hide photos and videos on iPad.

Don't delete a video from the iPad before it's uploaded, or you'll lose it.

Turn off iCloud Photos

iCloud Photos syncs the iPad's photo library with every device on the Apple Account, so deleting a match on the iPad deletes it everywhere, and videos on an iPad with iCloud Photos on may be stored in iCloud instead of on the iPad, which makes Takedown fetch them before it can upload or play them (Retrieving from iCloud). Turn iCloud Photos off on your Takedown iPads: How to turn off iCloud Photos. iCloud Drive is a different thing and is fine for backing up originals.

The Low Storage Warning

Takedown checks free space before an Event that's coming up within a few hours and warns you if there may not be enough to record it. Free up space, then open Takedown again. To see what's using the iPad: How to check the storage on your iPhone and iPad. Beyond match video, unused apps and old photos are the usual culprits.

Recording at a lower resolution

720p looks fine for review and uses less than half the space of 1080p. Change it by tapping the resolution label in the camera view in Scoring, between matches.