Ever more codecs...
Two more have come up....
Audible is a good one...I definitely agree audio books are important for Zune. My refrain here is once again that we had to focus for this year, but will definitely be working on this one.
DVR-MS files (files created by a Windows Media Center Edition when recording TV). Yes. That's a hard one, and I'll steer clear of answering directly. As a MCE user myself, I will say that there are numerous ways for users to get DVR-MS files onto a Zune by transcoding to WMV. Some favorites:
- DVR 2 WMV - free and fairly good on many systems
- Power Compress - Commercial ($29.95), and in my experience very reliable
Most tools allow you to automatically recompress your DVR files into any profile WMV, ready for syncing to a Zune.
17 Comments:
We should do Flas support on the Zune. Then expose all the YouTube content in the Zune software for syncing with the Zune.
Not this time, but don't think we haven't thought about it...
DVR to WMV is a decent program. But, I can't help but wonder why the My TV function was taken out of the portable media center software that the zune is based on. Didn't you guys have to do work to take it out? After all, it was already in there. It seems like media center users were deliberately left out in the cold for some mysterious reason.
Thanks for the recommendations nonetheless. I've never heard of powercompress. I'll give it a try.
it's an unpleasant problem, and I don't want to imply we came to the decision lightly. Take my word that it was much less work, testing, etc.. to do the job WELL without DVR-MS support than with.
But it's still an option in the future, so who knows?
perhaps you could enlighten me, is it a hardware feature or software, if it's software whats to stop you from rolling out an update later on allowing it to play ogg or DVR?
Any chance that Media Center users will be accomodated in the future? Or, was this a deliberate decision to seperate the Zune ecosystem from Media Center? Was it more a philosophy of what you guys want zune to be, or was it just a time constraint thing. Looking towards the future and what to expect from future zune devices, this would be good to know.
The zune appears to be sitting on an island by itself, and I'm just curious about whether this is the direction you guys are heading in on the whole. Sony does this a lot (their products don't "talk" to each other). Or, they don't integrate like you would expect them to (i.e. Large Zune screen optimized for video, but no MS-DVR support). Apple has made this famous (closed ecosystem). Will the Zune family of products be similar to this?
I'm not speaking for others, but I don't care a bit about ogg, flac. I *do* care about Plays for Sure support (ironic, that name!) and I am dumbfounded that Media Center integration is so poor. Aren't Media Center PC buyers, like, your core audience? I'd also put in a vote for supporting Nero Digital and DivX/XviD.
i too share the disbelief about the play-4-sure.
QUESTION:
How do you get the non-iPod DAP user to ignore a Zune?
ANSWER:
Tell them 'thank' for buying into MS idea about play-4-sure but trust us we won't abandon you again!
if you can't get the anti-iPod crowd to sing your praises (like me)...then how will the iPod crowd do it?
during your down time read a little to see what the customer feedback is like. another holiday season will be lost if MS can't get it act together.
You make me cry without dvr-ms support. OK, not really as I can't imagine watching even a 30min show on 3" but it is always nice to have the option. It's odd, though I probably wouldn't use dvr-ms support it DOES makes the Zune seem less like part of the whole system.
Here's a question for ya... could I copy a dvr-ms file to the Zune and stream it from a Zune via a 360?
As an aside WinAvi also converts dvr-ms into whatever you like, which currently is WMV9, though it takes forever and a day.
Lack of native DVR-MS support loses me as a potential customer. That is unacceptable for a MS made media player with a screen and video capabilities. I am not converting videos, too time consuming. I am going to buy a Toshiba Gigabeat S.
I am not going to buy a Zune hoping the feature I want will be implimented later. I DO NOT buy products based on POTENTIAL features that may come later. Why is MS releasing a half-baked product with promises of more features later? I feel like the features I want will be implimented on the next generation Zune which would leave me with a player I didn't want in the first place.
Jason
FWIW, I think that's a totally reasonable choice. If DVR-MS files from Media Center are your highest-order bit and you don't like transcoding to WMV, then WMP+Gigabeat is a fine choice.
Keep in mind gigabeat also doesn't actually support DVR-MS files; wmp transcodes to wmv for the device.
Jason here again...
David, are you sure about that comment regarding the Gigabeat S (The S, not any other Gigabeat) and DVR-MS files? I was under the impression that it was directly compatible with MCE (not going through WMP 11) as a sync-able device since it runs a Portable MCE operating system. Set me straight on this as simple TV show transfer (i.e. no video transcoding) is important.
Let me say that the DVR-MS support is secondary. I am looking for a hard-drive based MP3 player. The DVR-MS support is just gravy. I don't really anticipate watching much TV on it, I just want to have the capability to easily do it. Frankly, I just don't see why MS would leave it off. They own the frakking codec, why not include it?
Jason
I'm certain about the DVR-MS on the Gigabeat S. WMP has a nice transcoder that turns DVR-MS files into WMV files at 320x240 for the device, but it's a transcode so sync takes a while.
We don't really "own" DVR-MS in the sense you mean. It's an ASF container (which is ours) around an MPEG-2 video file (which must be licensed).
There are thus two challenges with putting DVRMS support natively on a device. First, the files are HUGE which is a problem on small formfactor devices (e.g., a TV show could be 3-4 Gig). Second, you must license the codec, which costs something per device and adds to the total cost of goods.
I have a Gigabeat S, and David is correct that WMP must transcode the DVR-MS files before syncing them to the device. However, you can setup WMP to transcode in the background and just leave it running all the time. Then, when you connect the Gigabeat S, the files sync straight over. The transcode reduces the file sizes tremendously. On my Gigabeat S60, I currently have 46 TV programs, 6306 songs, 2731 pictures, and 4 feature length movies. As for whether you'd want to watch the files on such a small screen, remember that the device does video out. I use it connected to a hotel TV when I travel.
The Zune basically supports the same formats as the Portable Media Center devices. Its major limitation is that it only syncs with the Zune software and not Windows Media Player directly. The Zune software, although obviously based on WMP, is intentionally crippled. The Zune is truly Microsoft's answer to the iPod in that it is designed to be used with the Zune Store almost exclusively just as the iPod is inherently linked to the iTunes Store.
Although I love my Gigabeat S, I do like the new Wi-Fi features of the Zune as well as the fact that there are accessories actually available for it. Just try finding a silicone case for the S60. If there were a 60GB Zune that could sync with WMP, I would snap it up in a heartbeat. Maybe someone will come up with a hack to get the Zune and WMP talking.
The sad thing is I doubt we will see much updating of the PMC platform as it will go the way of some other MS projects such as UltimateTV. Microsoft is obviously dumping all of its energy into the Zune. Just look at how they basically abandoned the Urge store and Windows Media Player 11 during their beta. There was almost no mention of WMP11 when it finally did go final and it still doesn't show up on Microsoft Update; not even under "Software, Optional."
Hopefully, battery life and storage space on PocketPC devices will increase exponentially before I decide it is time to replace my Gigabeat S. That way, I could replace it with a single device with 80-100GB of storage and enough battery life to last a couple of days as a phone, PDA, and portable media device. A man can dream, can't he?
Well, it looks like the Portable Media Center platform is indeed going the way of the dodo. Portable Media Center is no longer even mentioned on the Windows Mobile website (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile) since the new redesign. The old page can still be seen by going to it directly (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsmobile/portablemediacenter/default.mspx) but that's not saying much since even the old UltimateTV site is still up (http://www.ultimatetv.com).
Yogi hit the nail on the head.
I got my Zune for Christmas, and I'm really happy with it, though I strongly believe M$ just "left it in a dumpster" as a newborn.
I'm let down by the promotional ads and commercial, horrible to say the most. They don't even explain what a Zune is. Look at Apple, they are on spot... there ads have you saying "I got to get one of those". I'm a adventurous person and I like change, and difference. But M$ needs to step there game up.
Especially with the codec support. The awful limitation of codecs. As well as no support for Macs. Apple at least let PC users use iPods on their computers, why can't M$?
They are looking like the good guys, can't we just shake hands while still remaining a competitive relationship?
Though I only hope the Zune will get better. Like the Sony PSP was just like the Zune on it's first release. Then all those updates kicked in, now it's the best.
I just hope M$ will "stay the course" on their products and relations like Yogi said.
- Rio
David - I'm a custom electronic installer and just returned from CEDIA Expo 2007. I'm not sure how much you know about Windows Media Center and Lifeware but every trade show I go to and see Microsoft at, I ask when they will include support for the Zune in Media Center. The disconnect at Microsoft is bad. There are so many "teams" at Microsoft working on so many differents projects that no one knows what the other team is doing. I'll tell you, this is the biggest weakness for Microsoft. I read some of the old blogs on this topic and realize that licensing and dvr issues may be the reason why there is no offical support for the Zune in Media Center, but there is no doubt that the poor sales of the Zune are a direct result of lack of intergration with Microsoft's own product. Please tell us if the Zune will sync with Media Center soon and that if and when the ZunePhone comes out, that it too will sync with Media Center and Outlook. BTW, if you guys are thinking of coming out with a ZunePhone that won't synch with Windows Live or my local Outlook, then you might as well not even release the device... it won't sell.
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