One thing I've not seen mentioned as a selling point is the Zune pass. I bought in on this immediately and I would not go without it. Plus the music is of superior quality to that downloaded from the iTunes store.
Zune without Zune Pass = Xbox without Xbox Live as far as I'm concerned.
However I will admit that, currently, navigating the Zune marketplace is just ass. Also I find it vexing that I am unable to transfer videos I have purchased on my 360 (through the same account no less!) to my Zune. I sincerely hope this comes in the future and I hope it does so wirelessly. I would be very pleased to be treated to a future where this little mp3 player is capable of being fully functional without a PC. I think it's more than possible, if wishful thinking.
I would say I'm a shill...but I'm not getting paid. MS, get on that!
I mentioned it.
I mean, Zune Pass is the equivalent cost of one and a half CDs a month.
So, if you are a music lover, and don't illegally steal all your music, the Zune Pass is a great deal. You can download 300 dollars worth of albums a month for the price of one and a half. Granted it's just a rental, but so what?
I honestly don't know how to respond to this. I...I guess I'll try?
Okay.
I don't want to RENT my music that I paid money for. I want to own it. Now, I haven't tried the Zune marketplace or anything, but I'm assuming that once you stop subscribing you lose the ability to play that music? That just seems really stupid to me. At least with the iTunes store, you can burn your purchased music to CD, at which point all the DRM disappears. Can you do this with Zune?
I don't really know. I haven't seen any reason to purchase an album yet. The few artists available on Zune Marketplace that you cannot simply download - Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, for instance - didn't really make a difference to me because I already owned a lot of their albums.
I'm not really sure what your point is. Renting/subscriptions are popular traditions in America. See: Blockbuster, Apartments, Cable Television...etc.
You don't have to personally like the concept of "rent" but...how can you not understand how someone else does? For the cost of one and a half CDs, I can download a nearly unlimited amount of music to my Zune, limited only by its capacity and what is available on the Zune Marketplace. You really don't see how that is attractive to people that might otherwise buy ten CDs a month?
It's all about cost-effectiveness.
Yeah, I get this, but I still want to know whether or not the songs become unplayable if you ever stop your subscription.
Yes, of course they do, just like you can't watch movies once you return them to blockbuster. That's what I meant by "rental."
Drez on
Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
0
VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
edited January 2007
the reason people will never understand that you can technically use a rental service with an ipod is the same reason that itunes music store will always be on top...
people do not AT ALL understand how this shit works.
this is a rash generalization, but generally, it's true.
Most people, if they downloaded a song illegally and it didn't happen to already be set to the My Music folder, would never know how to get it into itunes. most people if they ripped a cd using a program other than itunes would never know how to import it.
There's a massive connection loss in the brain for a lot of people as far as adding songs to the itunes library goes. THey don't realize it's just another way of looking at the same stuff. Some people think it gets copied, some people think it gets moved, some think it gets converted.
I'm really not trying to be mean here but it's true, a lot of people just don't get how it really works. Because of that, rental services won't ever really pick up with ipods unless itunes opens one. And if they did they'd lose a LOT of money from the people who buy a song every so often but are not dedicated enough to do a rental.
Got my Zune today. First reaction was wow. It's bigger and flatter and not anywhere near as thick as I thought it would be. And that screen is gorgeous!
Those where my first exact thoughts upon handling the zune. I guess you hear often the whole "It's a brick!" thing, and assume the worst. To be fair though, this is my first hard drive mp3 player, and I never really handled an ipod.
I've had my iPod Video for a while now and I've been totally happy with it, but if/when I buy another MP3 player I could go in any direction. One question for those who have a Zune - is there an equivalent to the iPod's "on the go" playlist?
(In case you haven't used it -- you can hold down on select instead of clicking to add a bunch of songs or albums to a default playlist, then play that playlist. It's a lifesaver if you fly frequently, you can put together a playlist for your flight in a few minutes while waiting to board.)
The zune has a setting for a quick list, where you can add songs to a quick playlist. I haven't tried full albums or genres though, just individual songs.
Got my Zune today. First reaction was wow. It's bigger and flatter and not anywhere near as thick as I thought it would be. And that screen is gorgeous!
Those where my first exact thoughts upon handling the zune. I guess you hear often the whole "It's a brick!" thing, and assume the worst. To be fair though, this is my first hard drive mp3 player, and I never really handled an ipod.
I've had my iPod Video for a while now and I've been totally happy with it, but if/when I buy another MP3 player I could go in any direction. One question for those who have a Zune - is there an equivalent to the iPod's "on the go" playlist?
(In case you haven't used it -- you can hold down on select instead of clicking to add a bunch of songs or albums to a default playlist, then play that playlist. It's a lifesaver if you fly frequently, you can put together a playlist for your flight in a few minutes while waiting to board.)
The zune has a setting for a quick list, where you can add songs to a quick playlist. I haven't tried full albums or genres though, just individual songs.
You can and you can just add .m3us too, which go in the playlists uhh list.
the reason people will never understand that you can technically use a rental service with an ipod is the same reason that itunes music store will always be on top...
people do not AT ALL understand how this shit works.
this is a rash generalization, but generally, it's true.
Most people, if they downloaded a song illegally and it didn't happen to already be set to the My Music folder, would never know how to get it into itunes. most people if they ripped a cd using a program other than itunes would never know how to import it.
There's a massive connection loss in the brain for a lot of people as far as adding songs to the itunes library goes. THey don't realize it's just another way of looking at the same stuff. Some people think it gets copied, some people think it gets moved, some think it gets converted.
I'm really not trying to be mean here but it's true, a lot of people just don't get how it really works. Because of that, rental services won't ever really pick up with ipods unless itunes opens one. And if they did they'd lose a LOT of money from the people who buy a song every so often but are not dedicated enough to do a rental.
at least that's my opinion.
I don't think this is true, though.
No music rental service was compatible with the iPod when I checked, though I never checked Napster admittedly. Does Napster work with the iPod? I doubt it.
The iPod does not work with Rhapsody, for instance.
The pre-Zune Pass rental services all worked for PC listening AND for other digital audio players, but never the iPod.
So, I think you're right, that iPod owners won't be using a rental service unless iTunes opens one, which probably won't happen IMO. But not because iPod owners aren't knowledgeable...they simply don't have any options.
Drez on
Switch: SW-7690-2320-9238Steam/PSN/Xbox: Drezdar
0
VariableMouth CongressStroke Me Lady FameRegistered Userregular
edited January 2007
can I uhhh... say I'm sorry? I apparently have a lot of misinformation, which is totally my fault. I thought they did work.
let me say SORRY before anyone needs to let me know I'm a fool :-)
I could be wrong though. The iPod might work with some other service, I just know for a fact that it doesn't work with Rhapsody. I'm pretty sure it doesn't work with any of them though.
Subscription services won't work with iTunes/iPods because they have their own copy protection, which needless to say iTunes doesn't support. Apple know how to make their money...
Sony and Universal are prohibiting sharing. Yikes.
Hey hey, enough with the unfair press already.
That's actually quite funny.
It had to be expected though. These corps had an in with MS from the beginning (Royalties on each hardware purchase, etc), so it's not surprising that they are pushing hard on everything under the sun. Just to see how far they can go.
tachyon on
0
WulfDisciple of TzeentchThe Void... (New Jersey)Registered Userregular
edited January 2007
Wait, this thing uses a rental service too?!? Wow. That makes this a definite no-fly in my book.
Wait, this thing uses a rental service too?!? Wow. That makes this a definite no-fly in my book.
It's a no-fly because it allows you to use a rental service? What the deuce?
Note, you don't HAVE to use it. The Zune software works just like iTunes. You can drop your own music on the Zune, rip and burn CDs from the software, and buy albums for permanent use, and burn them as an audio CD or put on your Zune or both. It also has the Zune Pass rental service which covers 95% of the music on it, allowing you to just download albums/songs/artists without buying the album, but it only works while you have a valid subscription.
What is the problem with allowing you the option of monthly unlimited rentals?
(In case you haven't used it -- you can hold down on select instead of clicking to add a bunch of songs or albums to a default playlist, then play that playlist. It's a lifesaver if you fly frequently, you can put together a playlist for your flight in a few minutes while waiting to board.)
That's actually one of the most poorly-implemented features of the iPod. Creative players probably have the best playlist functions; you can build, save, name and reorder a playlist all within the player's interface. With the iPod you can't name the playlists, and if you screw up the order while making one then you have to start all over again.
(In case you haven't used it -- you can hold down on select instead of clicking to add a bunch of songs or albums to a default playlist, then play that playlist. It's a lifesaver if you fly frequently, you can put together a playlist for your flight in a few minutes while waiting to board.)
That's actually one of the most poorly-implemented features of the iPod. Creative players probably have the best playlist functions; you can build, save and name a playlist and reorder the songs all within the player's interface. With the iPod you can't name the playlists, and if you screw up the order while making one then you have to start all over again.
Yeah, I hated that.
And the Zune isn't much better for this, either. Being able to just upload an .m3u is cool, though.
(In case you haven't used it -- you can hold down on select instead of clicking to add a bunch of songs or albums to a default playlist, then play that playlist. It's a lifesaver if you fly frequently, you can put together a playlist for your flight in a few minutes while waiting to board.)
That's actually one of the most poorly-implemented features of the iPod. Creative players probably have the best playlist functions; you can build, save, name and reorder a playlist all within the player's interface. With the iPod you can't name the playlists, and if you screw up the order while making one then you have to start all over again.
I do wish that the iPod allowed for better playlist creation. However, I haven't seen a player that does allow for this to do it in a way that's easy to use. My wife used to have a Rio Karma that allowed for playlist creation, but it was really clunky. Something about a lack of click/drag just makes it unappealing to me, but I actually don't even create playlists anymore; I make iTunes create playlists for me, via smart playlists. Have a playlist set up for rating things based on certain criteria, and then create playlists based on those results. So it's essentially a super-intelligent "shuffle." It works for me, mind, who rarely simply listens to an album in one piece, but doesn't have the time to create playlists manually (especially as it's very easy to forget about songs if you do it all manually).
The iPod does now update its smart playlists w/o plugging into iTunes, which I found very nice, but yes, it would be decent if they offered more than the very rudimentary "on the go" playlist. Personally, I only consider the "on the go" feature as "store this one for later so I don't forget about it when I get home" playlist.
Are there any other players out there that implement smart playlists? I don't view my iPod as a separate device, so much as a portable iTunes.
Wait, this thing uses a rental service too?!? Wow. That makes this a definite no-fly in my book.
It's a no-fly because it allows you to use a rental service? What the deuce?
Note, you don't HAVE to use it. The Zune software works just like iTunes. You can drop your own music on the Zune, rip and burn CDs from the software, and buy albums for permanent use, and burn them as an audio CD or put on your Zune or both. It also has the Zune Pass rental service which covers 95% of the music on it, allowing you to just download albums/songs/artists without buying the album, but it only works while you have a valid subscription.
What is the problem with allowing you the option of monthly unlimited rentals?
Ah, misunderstanding... I read that as it Required you to subscribe.
Posts
Yes, of course they do, just like you can't watch movies once you return them to blockbuster. That's what I meant by "rental."
people do not AT ALL understand how this shit works.
this is a rash generalization, but generally, it's true.
Most people, if they downloaded a song illegally and it didn't happen to already be set to the My Music folder, would never know how to get it into itunes. most people if they ripped a cd using a program other than itunes would never know how to import it.
There's a massive connection loss in the brain for a lot of people as far as adding songs to the itunes library goes. THey don't realize it's just another way of looking at the same stuff. Some people think it gets copied, some people think it gets moved, some think it gets converted.
I'm really not trying to be mean here but it's true, a lot of people just don't get how it really works. Because of that, rental services won't ever really pick up with ipods unless itunes opens one. And if they did they'd lose a LOT of money from the people who buy a song every so often but are not dedicated enough to do a rental.
at least that's my opinion.
Those where my first exact thoughts upon handling the zune. I guess you hear often the whole "It's a brick!" thing, and assume the worst. To be fair though, this is my first hard drive mp3 player, and I never really handled an ipod.
The zune has a setting for a quick list, where you can add songs to a quick playlist. I haven't tried full albums or genres though, just individual songs.
You can and you can just add .m3us too, which go in the playlists uhh list.
I don't think this is true, though.
No music rental service was compatible with the iPod when I checked, though I never checked Napster admittedly. Does Napster work with the iPod? I doubt it.
The iPod does not work with Rhapsody, for instance.
The pre-Zune Pass rental services all worked for PC listening AND for other digital audio players, but never the iPod.
So, I think you're right, that iPod owners won't be using a rental service unless iTunes opens one, which probably won't happen IMO. But not because iPod owners aren't knowledgeable...they simply don't have any options.
let me say SORRY before anyone needs to let me know I'm a fool :-)
If it weren't 2AM I'd confirm.
...but Zune needs Unicode support, and it needs it yesterday. I can't be a weeaboo anime fag if I can't tag my Japanese albums in Japanese.
Sony and Universal are prohibiting sharing. Yikes.
Hey hey, enough with the unfair press already.
That's actually quite funny.
It had to be expected though. These corps had an in with MS from the beginning (Royalties on each hardware purchase, etc), so it's not surprising that they are pushing hard on everything under the sun. Just to see how far they can go.
It's a no-fly because it allows you to use a rental service? What the deuce?
Note, you don't HAVE to use it. The Zune software works just like iTunes. You can drop your own music on the Zune, rip and burn CDs from the software, and buy albums for permanent use, and burn them as an audio CD or put on your Zune or both. It also has the Zune Pass rental service which covers 95% of the music on it, allowing you to just download albums/songs/artists without buying the album, but it only works while you have a valid subscription.
What is the problem with allowing you the option of monthly unlimited rentals?
And the Zune isn't much better for this, either. Being able to just upload an .m3u is cool, though.
I do wish that the iPod allowed for better playlist creation. However, I haven't seen a player that does allow for this to do it in a way that's easy to use. My wife used to have a Rio Karma that allowed for playlist creation, but it was really clunky. Something about a lack of click/drag just makes it unappealing to me, but I actually don't even create playlists anymore; I make iTunes create playlists for me, via smart playlists. Have a playlist set up for rating things based on certain criteria, and then create playlists based on those results. So it's essentially a super-intelligent "shuffle." It works for me, mind, who rarely simply listens to an album in one piece, but doesn't have the time to create playlists manually (especially as it's very easy to forget about songs if you do it all manually).
The iPod does now update its smart playlists w/o plugging into iTunes, which I found very nice, but yes, it would be decent if they offered more than the very rudimentary "on the go" playlist. Personally, I only consider the "on the go" feature as "store this one for later so I don't forget about it when I get home" playlist.
Are there any other players out there that implement smart playlists? I don't view my iPod as a separate device, so much as a portable iTunes.