I've had my Zune for about 6 months, and it has yet to fail me.
It is an awesome device, and I prefer the Zune's analog wheel over the iPod's clickwheel.
The software on the otherhand...
Alright, I used the Zune software a lot yesterday and I'm actually enjoying it. Unless the software has dramatically changed...damn Engadget, fucking biased.
Bloated? Perhaps, it's currently using about 130 megabytes of memory. Still, I only have a gigabyte and it's not impacting my normal web browsing/etc. Obviously if I'm going to fire up Oblivion or something I'll close the Zune program.
Otherwise it is actually very nice and I like it more than iTunes. I've downloaded several albums with my Zune Pass and it couldn't have been easier. Importing one of my own albums I ripped previously was also very simple. I copy/paste'd some album art from Amazon and it works great.
The hardware itself is great, I used it a lot at work today and the battery is hardly dented. Sound quality is excellent, even on the files I got from the Marketplace which are probably low bit rate. I'm using my Sennheiser PX100's as opposed to the included ear buds. While the magnetic thing was a nice touch I can't stand low quality head phones. Once you've heard the difference you can't go back.
So hardware is good...software is fine by me. Besides the whole no 14 day trial in the box (which technically wasn't advertised) I'm a happy camper.
Some retailers still have old stock though so if you go out and buy one you might end up with a trial pass in there. That translated to "it's random" from the phone support people.
I'll be checking out a small app this evening called "iTunes Agent" which will allow you to sync up a non-iPod through iTunes. This should eliminate the need for the crappy Zune software that we all hate. If this is sucessful I'll run back here and report.
If it blows up my computer because of Microsoft security-hidden detonation programs, I'll be off-line for a few days...
Hi everyone. I was hoping the present Zune owners could help me figure something out. ALL of my music is in mp3 format, a format presumably supported by the Zune hardware. Why then, when syncing music, does the Zune software show "converting" on EVERY DAMN SONG? What is it converting it to? Is it changing my music? I looked through my harddrive and saw that the 'modified date' on every song was today's date. I don't think software like this should be changing my files. Is it possible that it is just injecting some zune-specific metadata into the files? I'm really quite worried about the integrity of my existing music.
I'll be checking out a small app this evening called "iTunes Agent" which will allow you to sync up a non-iPod through iTunes. This should eliminate the need for the crappy Zune software that we all hate. If this is sucessful I'll run back here and report.
If it blows up my computer because of Microsoft security-hidden detonation programs, I'll be off-line for a few days...
But see, I hate iTunes just as much as I hate the Zune software (which has improved like people have said earlier in the thread, I reinstalled it and I was pleasantly surprised. I still want to be able to organize it by folder, not by tags which is stupid and backwards) so that's no good for me.
After using the zune software all night, I can safely say that I prefer itunes to it. The zune software has important settings buried deep in many different places. At least on itunes all the prefs are on a single tabbed pane. The zune software was alot faster than itunes on windows, but after actually trying to use it... man I hate to say it but iTunes is miles ahead in terms of usability.
I'll be checking out a small app this evening called "iTunes Agent" which will allow you to sync up a non-iPod through iTunes. This should eliminate the need for the crappy Zune software that we all hate. If this is sucessful I'll run back here and report.
If it blows up my computer because of Microsoft security-hidden detonation programs, I'll be off-line for a few days...
But see, I hate iTunes just as much as I hate the Zune software (which has improved like people have said earlier in the thread, I reinstalled it and I was pleasantly surprised. I still want to be able to organize it by folder, not by tags which is stupid and backwards) so that's no good for me.
The program was a bust, regardless. The Zune is not recognized in the same way as a drive (like most other players) and therefore must be networked directly into the Zune software.
iTunes just has a better system for keeping music. It keeps your files organized both in the program and on your hard-drive and you don't get strange tag mix-ups where albums appear fragmented on the player, amongst other things.
The Zune software isn't horrible, it's just a step behind the functionality of iTunes.
I'm still very worried about how the zune software modifies my existing library. It doesn't seem necessary to permanently alter any of the files on my disk. It also seems to consume massive diskspace while syncing. I had about 1 gig free on my drive and saw that many files had failed to sync due to a lack of harddisk space.
I'll be checking out a small app this evening called "iTunes Agent" which will allow you to sync up a non-iPod through iTunes. This should eliminate the need for the crappy Zune software that we all hate. If this is sucessful I'll run back here and report.
If it blows up my computer because of Microsoft security-hidden detonation programs, I'll be off-line for a few days...
But see, I hate iTunes just as much as I hate the Zune software (which has improved like people have said earlier in the thread, I reinstalled it and I was pleasantly surprised. I still want to be able to organize it by folder, not by tags which is stupid and backwards) so that's no good for me.
The program was a bust, regardless. The Zune is not recognized in the same way as a drive (like most other players) and therefore must be networked directly into the Zune software.
iTunes just has a better system for keeping music. It keeps your files organized both in the program and on your hard-drive and you don't get strange tag mix-ups where albums appear fragmented on the player, amongst other things.
The Zune software isn't horrible, it's just a step behind the functionality of iTunes.
I personally think the way iTunes keeps music is really messy. All three of the layout settings don't seem very efficient to me.
I much rather the Zune library, how I can just click a certain artist and bring up all their music.
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ShogunHair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get alongRegistered Userregular
I'll be checking out a small app this evening called "iTunes Agent" which will allow you to sync up a non-iPod through iTunes. This should eliminate the need for the crappy Zune software that we all hate. If this is sucessful I'll run back here and report.
If it blows up my computer because of Microsoft security-hidden detonation programs, I'll be off-line for a few days...
But see, I hate iTunes just as much as I hate the Zune software (which has improved like people have said earlier in the thread, I reinstalled it and I was pleasantly surprised. I still want to be able to organize it by folder, not by tags which is stupid and backwards) so that's no good for me.
The program was a bust, regardless. The Zune is not recognized in the same way as a drive (like most other players) and therefore must be networked directly into the Zune software.
iTunes just has a better system for keeping music. It keeps your files organized both in the program and on your hard-drive and you don't get strange tag mix-ups where albums appear fragmented on the player, amongst other things.
The Zune software isn't horrible, it's just a step behind the functionality of iTunes.
Really? Because that's exactly what both Zune and iTunes do to me. I have to go through and change every damn thing to get shit organized.
The night before I got my Zune I had to go and build my library, which took hours. It was a damn pain in the ass, but now that it's all there and set up, it's really nice.
Also, once you figure out, you have to match the Artist and Album Artist field in the metatags, things start to work a lot more.
That whole album artist thing had me ripping my hair out at first.
The most annoying thing is when I have music by one artist that gets split into seperate tags because of a misspelling or the like for example...
As you can see I have three different entries for Bloodhound Gang, and to fix it I'd have to recopy the music to my computer and then change the name, which is a tiresome practice.
(I don't keep much music on my computer due to limited diskspace. Also, all those albums have art, but it doesn't show for some reason...)
The most annoying thing is when I have music by one artist that gets split into seperate tags because of a misspelling or the like for example...
As you can see I have three different entries for Bloodhound Gang, and to fix it I'd have to recopy the music to my computer and then change the name, which is a tiresome practice.
(I don't keep much music on my computer due to limited diskspace. Also, all those albums have art, but it doesn't show for some reason...)
I'm so compulsive, there's no way I'd allow that music to sit like that on my Zune
I have to have it all organized.
It's a pain in the ass how you can't edit tags of songs that are already on the Zune.
The most annoying thing is when I have music by one artist that gets split into seperate tags because of a misspelling or the like for example...
As you can see I have three different entries for Bloodhound Gang, and to fix it I'd have to recopy the music to my computer and then change the name, which is a tiresome practice.
(I don't keep much music on my computer due to limited diskspace. Also, all those albums have art, but it doesn't show for some reason...)
I'm so compulsive, there's no way I'd allow that music to sit like that on my Zune
I have to have it all organized.
It's a pain in the ass how you can't edit tags of songs that are already on the Zune.
It bugs me, but my laziness usually wins out in situations like this.
It seems odd that I can't edit the names and such when I can delete the files from the computer....
The zune software seems to be pretty good at keeping files synced regardless of what you name/tag them with. So even though you can't change them on the player, you can change them on your PC and sync the changes back over. I think.
Can anyone tell me which formats the Zune hardware actually supports? I'd also like to know what the Zune software converts my mp3's to before syncing them. I just ripped a CD with the Zune software, yet the software needs to covert it before syncing it. What is with all this converting?
The zune software seems to be pretty good at keeping files synced regardless of what you name/tag them with. So even though you can't change them on the player, you can change them on your PC and sync the changes back over. I think.
Can anyone tell me which formats the Zune hardware actually supports? I'd also like to know what the Zune software converts my mp3's to before syncing them. I just ripped a CD with the Zune software, yet the software needs to covert it before syncing it. What is with all this converting?
Go to Options > Rip > Format.
If WMA Lossless is selected, that would explain the converting. The Zune cannot yet support lossless, so it will just convert it to some high quality WMA file.
I've started using AAC for when I rip my CDs. If you have a good set of earphones, you can really tell the difference between mp3 and AAC.
You misunderstand. I had mp3 files before I bought a zune. I'm trying to use those files. They aren't lossless wma files, they are mp3 files. Does the zune hardware play mp3 files? WTF is it converting my bog-standard mp3 files to?
Just out of curiosity, how many videos do you guys have on your Zune, and what are they like (What they are, length, so on.)
I have about 110 videos myself, most are shorter clips like RvB or Ask A Ninja, while others are movies like Donnie Darko or 28 Weeks later. I also have some shows like Family guy and ATHF.
Also some music videos from Daft Punk and Polysics.
I have a bunch of Diggnation and Totally Rad Show episodes along with music videos. My movies usually rotate a bunch. Right now I have Lucky Number Slevin and Serenity.
I have a bunch of Diggnation and Totally Rad Show episodes along with music videos. My movies usually rotate a bunch. Right now I have Lucky Number Slevin and Serenity.
I also have that Dramatic Moment Beaver/thingy video on. I just pop it on whenever I need a laugh.
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Ramen Noodlewhoa, god has a picture of me!Registered Userregular
edited July 2007
No movies yet, although I just got a DVD drive after being in the dark for 6 years. I'll probably have Fight Club, The Life Aquatic, Requiem for a Dream and probably Goblet of Fire on it soon.
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ShogunHair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get alongRegistered Userregular
edited July 2007
I have all 4 volumes of ATHF on mine and some skate videos, including the one that came with the zune.
Hrmmm, that is very strange. I've never had that problem before. Is it happening with all of them? Did you rip these mp3s yourself?
It happens to most of them. I've looked at the files and I can't tell what is causing it. I've also just tried ripping a CD (Radiohead, OK Computer) and syncing it and it STILL had to convert them before syncing. My rip settings are MP3 @ 320k. This is frustration itself.
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Ramen Noodlewhoa, god has a picture of me!Registered Userregular
edited July 2007
Go to syncing in options, hit advanced under File Conversion Options and uncheck audio?
Those options are for converting files in the background. They don't let you pick whether or not your files get converted in the first place. But thanks anyway.
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It is an awesome device, and I prefer the Zune's analog wheel over the iPod's clickwheel.
The software on the otherhand...
PS - Local_H_Jay
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Bloated? Perhaps, it's currently using about 130 megabytes of memory. Still, I only have a gigabyte and it's not impacting my normal web browsing/etc. Obviously if I'm going to fire up Oblivion or something I'll close the Zune program.
Otherwise it is actually very nice and I like it more than iTunes. I've downloaded several albums with my Zune Pass and it couldn't have been easier. Importing one of my own albums I ripped previously was also very simple. I copy/paste'd some album art from Amazon and it works great.
The hardware itself is great, I used it a lot at work today and the battery is hardly dented. Sound quality is excellent, even on the files I got from the Marketplace which are probably low bit rate. I'm using my Sennheiser PX100's as opposed to the included ear buds. While the magnetic thing was a nice touch I can't stand low quality head phones. Once you've heard the difference you can't go back.
So hardware is good...software is fine by me. Besides the whole no 14 day trial in the box (which technically wasn't advertised) I'm a happy camper.
Yay Microsoft?
someone asked if Zune has video out... it does... you need to buy the cable for it though... or just USB to 360
Zune site still lists it as being included...
What are these available in? Component, composite, S-video?
If it blows up my computer because of Microsoft security-hidden detonation programs, I'll be off-line for a few days...
I would at like to at least see one, or hold one, in person, but MS has something against driving a truck up to canada or something.
But see, I hate iTunes just as much as I hate the Zune software (which has improved like people have said earlier in the thread, I reinstalled it and I was pleasantly surprised. I still want to be able to organize it by folder, not by tags which is stupid and backwards) so that's no good for me.
The program was a bust, regardless. The Zune is not recognized in the same way as a drive (like most other players) and therefore must be networked directly into the Zune software.
iTunes just has a better system for keeping music. It keeps your files organized both in the program and on your hard-drive and you don't get strange tag mix-ups where albums appear fragmented on the player, amongst other things.
The Zune software isn't horrible, it's just a step behind the functionality of iTunes.
I much rather the Zune library, how I can just click a certain artist and bring up all their music.
Really? Because that's exactly what both Zune and iTunes do to me. I have to go through and change every damn thing to get shit organized.
Shogun Streams Vidya
Also, once you figure out, you have to match the Artist and Album Artist field in the metatags, things start to work a lot more.
That whole album artist thing had me ripping my hair out at first.
(I don't keep much music on my computer due to limited diskspace. Also, all those albums have art, but it doesn't show for some reason...)
PS - Local_H_Jay
Sub me on Youtube
And Twitch
I have to have it all organized.
It's a pain in the ass how you can't edit tags of songs that are already on the Zune.
It seems odd that I can't edit the names and such when I can delete the files from the computer....
PS - Local_H_Jay
Sub me on Youtube
And Twitch
Can anyone tell me which formats the Zune hardware actually supports? I'd also like to know what the Zune software converts my mp3's to before syncing them. I just ripped a CD with the Zune software, yet the software needs to covert it before syncing it. What is with all this converting?
If WMA Lossless is selected, that would explain the converting. The Zune cannot yet support lossless, so it will just convert it to some high quality WMA file.
I've started using AAC for when I rip my CDs. If you have a good set of earphones, you can really tell the difference between mp3 and AAC.
I have about 110 videos myself, most are shorter clips like RvB or Ask A Ninja, while others are movies like Donnie Darko or 28 Weeks later. I also have some shows like Family guy and ATHF.
Also some music videos from Daft Punk and Polysics.
PS - Local_H_Jay
Sub me on Youtube
And Twitch
Just saw Serenity the other day>
Damn good movie.
PS - Local_H_Jay
Sub me on Youtube
And Twitch
Shogun Streams Vidya
It happens to most of them. I've looked at the files and I can't tell what is causing it. I've also just tried ripping a CD (Radiohead, OK Computer) and syncing it and it STILL had to convert them before syncing. My rip settings are MP3 @ 320k. This is frustration itself.
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