VeeshanVault

Zune software can import audio files in unprotected WMA, MP3, AAC; photos in JPEG; and videos in WMV, MPEG-4, H.264.

Winnow wrote:Nice 3" screen...dull iPod and vibrant Zen Vision M screens are 2.4"

I'll be interested in:

-battery life
-how well it handles zuncasts and zencasts (podcasts)
-codecs supported for audio and video
-UI ease of use (hopefully more Zen like than iPod)
-the PC interface and software


The flat rate Zune Pass sounds good

I'm looking forward to some hands on reviews of this.

We have really pretty strong commitment to being compatible with your existing libraries. We know we're not the first player in this space, and that there's a ton of media out there, and so we put a bunch of codec support in there. You know, iTunes by default rips in AAC, there's a lot of AAC content out there, so we'll play AAC natively. MP3s, obviously. Windows Media files, obviously. The video resolution is 320 x 240, QVGA resolution. And so we'll do H.264 playback as well, because there's a lot of content out on the web for video iPods. Lots of DVD ripping software out there that encodes to those formats, so the most popular formats out there, whether it's MPEG-4 or H.264, we'll support those. So, we really are taking a relatively agnostic approach to different formats.

For us this is not a format play, we're not trying to tell consumers what format they have to keep their media in. We're trying to embrace the most popular formats out there. We won't have every codec, we won't have an extensible codec architecture, instead we want to make it really, really simple, and we're prioritizing the media that's out there and the media our consumers have.

Animalor wrote:About the format question. Here's an interview with J. Allard from Endgadget.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/14/the- ... ice-presi/

For us this is not a format play, we're not trying to tell consumers what format they have to keep their media in. We're trying to embrace the most popular formats out there. We won't have every codec, we won't have an extensible codec architecture, instead we want to make it really, really simple, and we're prioritizing the media that's out there and the media our consumers have.

This is just about the best decision they could've made for the player. support for iTunes, MP3 and Windows Media Formats as well.

There's no specific mention of DivX or Xvid. One would hope that they incorporate those as well.

Like other Zen devices before it, the Vision:W will support multiple codecs: in this case, MPEG-1, -2, and -4 SP, along with DivX 4 and 5, XviD, and on top of that, TiVoToGo for transfer and display of files downloaded via TiVo. The Zen isn't locked into a single DRM scheme, enabling it to display a variety of videos that aren't just Hollywood films and repurposed reruns.

As for the #2 punch, Creative made sure the new Zen is fully compatible with Amazon's Unbox video download service. Already, Unbox is making available content from Paramount, 20th Century-Fox, Universal, and Warner Bros., while iTunes today is limited to offerings from its Pixar-pal Disney, and Sony remains locked tight with its PlayStation Portable.

You can:

Can search for and find other Zunes nearby.
Can send songs / albums for the 3 x 3 trial. Songs past the three days / listens are deleted at next sync, but catalogued on your PC for record-keeping should you want to purchase them later. No word on whether Microsoft is going to keep track of which files are traded.
You can send and receive image files for "unlimited viewing." (Oh, so copyrighted images aren't worth DRMing?)


You can't:

Connect to the internet.
Download songs directly from the Zune store via WiFi.
Sync to your computer via WiFi.