Its MPLS.

Minorly bummed about the lack of gapless playback. I'd seen it reported somewhere that it would be in. :(

Cesar, one other question. Is XP MCE going to be supported for tv show syncing. There are conflicting reports out about this. Thanks.

Minneapolis = MPLS

"No portable hard drive support or a clock - we really wanted to nail some core music experiences and get them right first. I'm personally really excited about them."

Major let down that both of these simple functions are not onboard yet...

Big thing that they're missing, or at least no word on it is that there's no CUSTOM equalizer. WHY? Is it not an important "core music experience"? Having only the few presets does not count as an equalizer, especially since it seems to drain a bit of the battery. Hopefully one point that is fixed with the Zune 2...

And hopefully while they're making this simple fix, the gapless playback is on its way... right?

Anyway, at least the Zune can only improve, sure, and the improvements in the new line up is impressive...

Hopefully they won't forget the small things that have been asked for, eh?

Does our music have to be in a particular format to support Gapless playback?  I was under the impression that the new Zunes/Nov. Update would support gapless.

No clock because you're focusing on the core music experience? *g* Trying to figure out whether that was supposed to be dripping with sarcasm.

I mean, I know that the whole clock concept is a pretty complicated affair, trying to keep track of all those ever increasing minutes, and then getting to 60 and having to wrap around to a whole new hour (and don't even get me started on the ridiculously complex reset to 00:00 *every day*).

I wonder if someone else in Microsoft has ever written any clock code? Maybe you could re-use it? :)

Sarcasm aside, VERY pleased about saving positions in podcasts. Good job

Still no news on whether they will be available in Europe?

OMG! He answered specific questions!!!  Today is a turning point for Microsoft.  They are finally letting Cesar talk!!

640 x 480 Sweeeeeeeeet!!!!!

"..sync with the Music Marketing team"

that's funny!

C'mon.  We already know the Zune 30 has an internal clock/calendar function for the 3-day and Zune pass checks, so why can't this be incorporated on the main screen in the corner?  Hope it won't be Nov. 2008 for the next update.

Jason - I know! So maybe you'll stop asking me to release info that would result in me getting fired? ;) jkjk - you *know* i'd release more info if I could!

Will we be able to change the main menu font size.

Please say yes. It's going to be in my hand, not 13 miles away.

>No portable hard drive support or a clock

I can understand setting priorities to get the music/video stuff done first. I personally don't care too much about a clock feature, but I do care about a portable hard drive. I think once everything is done on the the team's current priority list, then I think this feature should be placed towards the top of the next priority lists. Being able to use the Zune as an external hard drive (especially the Zune 80) just cries out "geek coolness" (which is a real oxymoron if there ever was one).

>podcasting will support bookmarking

If you have an MP3-formatted audio book, can you bookmark the book? Does it necessarily have to be classified as a "podcast" in order to be allowed to be bookmarkable?

p.s. Thanks, Caesar for being so cool to the community as to listen to us and taking the time to answer our questions!!!

Bookmarking FTW.

By the way, come to Philadelphia!

People....buy watches already!!

Anyway, I would really like a feature for displaying and scrolling song lyrics while you're listening to the song.

With respect to Media Center sync of TV shows.  Will this work with the recent media center upgrade that supports internet TV (History Channel etc.)?  Or will it just work with downloaded content from home TV?  Thanks

I guess I might as well try here:  Will music videos be a part of the zune pass subscription or will they be pay per download?  Thanks Cesar...

I can't actually wear a watch. They always break, stop, slow down, etc. A clock is such a simple feature.

Cesar, is there any hope of small features being added during the lifecycle, before the 3rd gen, or is it going to be fixes only again? Please let us know if you can.

i'm sure it came down from above, but the "we really wanted to nail some core music experiences and get them right first" argument is going to bite you in the butt when people ask why there is no gapless playback.  since many artists have tracks divided up in such a way that there is no gap in music from one track to another, gapless playback would seem to be a "core music experience."  by using that line as your primary argument for not including a clock or portable hard drive functionality you're setting yourself up to be hammered for the lack of other features because of <i>your own argument</i>.  

seriously, you guys really need someone with some sort of background in formulating good arguments to help develop and check the arguments you guys put forward.  there's a ton of hungry guys ph.d.s in philosophy out there who would be happy to do the job.  come on, stop saying stuff that would get you a D in a class on reasoning.

Whoops, forgot to add: Is the Social accessible from the web, or just through the software?

There are reports that Zune 30 will not natively support the new video codecs either.  Is that also true?  

t - zune 30 will transcode content that into .wmv, and will natively support wma lossless.

@Thomas, LOL, tht was funny.

only customizable font size? even customizable font would be COOOL!!

Thanks for you answers cesar! Hopefully c u in LA :)

espiox - zune social is accessible from the web, but the best experience is to have the software loaded - that way your zune card can automatically update with the content that you're playing. also, we're not talking about anything beyond firmware 2.1. and dead jim, I don't think it's best to employ some clever reasoning to spin why we didn't do one thing or another thing. honestly, we don't have unlimited resources on the zune team and we just can't get to everything. Not much more I can tell you, I guess?

@Espiox, as far as i know, Social is setup from the software but is created to be accesible from web. I thikn its like a widget that displays ur fav. tracks (or) the ones ur listening to and so on.. and users visiting the webpage can play a small clip of that song and may be bookmark to their social...

I think its similar to www.radioblogclub.com, where you have a customizable widget with ur songs that other users can play.

Cesar,

Has someone finally bought you those drinks!!  ;) I am loving it!! The info just keeps coming!!

Cesar I think you are a lil free today ;) lotta quick replies from you 2day!!

Thanks for your time!! though

I am most concerned about a custom EQ. Please tell me that the update will have one? Also hope to see support for mpeg-2 video.

"...The Zunes don't (yet) have a full podcast client on them, so they won't get the content directly from the cloud." - zunester

does that mean with the full podcast client there's wireless syncing directly with Zune Market Place ( with out PC)? and I hope that also means that future firmware updates with wirelessly sync with ZMP!! .. even though thats the nxt step in evolution from features of Zune 2.0, I cant wait for that ( i know i have to wait for a loooong time to get a *feature filled* update, bug fixing updates will be common).

Sweet, thanks for the info Cesar.

I'm being greedy now, but can you get us the cool wallpapers from the Zune 80/4/8 promo shots like you did for the older ones?

Thanks again for answering our questions.

any other 80gb colors besides black?

No gapless playback - paperweight.

so the zune 30 is still stuck 320x240? everything is still converted to wmv? i guess "all the new features" are being ported over then. that's kind of disappointing. i could understand the lack of component out on the zune 30, but i was really looking forward to 640x480 video.

Cesar,

Could you confirm  if Unicode support for international characters was implemented into the new firmware. Can't play some of my non-English mp3s on Zune... Thanks!

@ash

The new Zune screens are still 320x240. You aren't missing out on anything.

And why are people THAT bothered about gapless? The thought's not once crossed my mind since I bought my Zune.

So disappointed there's still no mac support. MS should realize that not every mac user is an ipod lover.

@ash

The zune 80 and zune 30 will both have the same resolution screen (320x240. But the Zune 80 will be able to store the video at 640x480.

So sad Brown is gone...

Thanks for the 411 on what's coming with the firmware. Was really hoping to see gapless and the portable HD feature but I'm sure we'll see it later on down the road. Also, what you do here on this blog is much appreciated not just as a Zune fan but as a music fan as well. It adds a great personal touch that you don't get with the competition.

Again THANK YOU!

I had a question for the automatic sync thing...If I plug my Zune into my stereo or Wii, I will be able to control what's going on, on my comp right? Do I need bluetooth on my comp for this to work?

Also when will there be more colors for the 80 gig? I want a red one...I guess my 30 gig brown zune will suffice for now :)

If podcasting allows bookmarks, Will I be able to move my MP3's into a podcast folder, to make them resumable?  Or do they have to come through a podcast feed? Or is it using a new format, or file extension?

Thanks, Tim

@newZUNE2

the video out is what concerns me. the zune is a great method for me to move around with both some home movies as well as some custom edited videos and demos (to sync back to a pc for/at work) but tv-out at 320x240 (or stored at that natively) doesn't look good. even worse, after syncing back it's still low res, so i'd still have to carry the pos ipod just for video.

Espiox - For music lovers who like to listen to live albums, dance mixes, etc gapless is a must have.  Your musical tastes may not require gapless, but it's still a must have if you're going to hear a lot of content the way it was meant to be heard. Try listening to Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" or "And The Glass Handed Kites" by Mew and you'll find the gaps between each track quite annoying.

Cesar, thanks for the info. I enjoyed your video at on10.net as well. You handled yourself quite well, and professionally, but then I wouldn't have expected otherwise.

Anyway, I'm also curious about how Audiobooks will be handled. MP3 or WMA format.. can these tracks be added as a Podcast so we can use the Resume features, or will they just go under Music (like Zune30 present)? Not a big deal either way, but still curious, if you get time to answer.

Thanks!

Well, you can't get the 640x480 without Component anyway. You still get 320x240 with the normal AV cables.

@Espiox

i understand that, but having to encode from 640x480 to 320x240 will degrade video quality most of the time. that is what i want to avoid. also, i sync videos back and forth between home and work. we are going to do internal video streams at work, but the equipment won't be in for another month or 2, so i make the edits at home and bring them in. i show it off on a tv and then if it's approved, i just sync it back to the pc at work and post it. i bought the ipod before the zune was out and it now handles 640x480, but the zune just sounds better through headphones and just recieved it as a gift. so i'd rather use the zune and leave the ipod at home.

so.. the New Music Friday's are going to become a Podcast :O? I would love that :)

Ah, I see now.

Home Server support????

I have seen the Leather Case featured on a few videos now, but it's not on Zune.net.  Will this accessory be out in time to purchase with my new Zune?  I don't want it getting scratched up! =)

Hey Cesar, any plans on upping the on screen resolution for at least the new Zunes with an update?

I mean, I'm buying one either way because I need more space than my 30, but it'd just be nice to know if it's in the plans :)

publius - what do you mean by home server support? if you mean that for wireless sync, the zune will connect to your home wireless network, then that's a yes. if you're asking another question, let me know

Cesar,

Can you comment about the processing hardware? Does the Zune 80 have a faster processor and better performance, or are the changes only in physical appearance, screen size, and hard drive size?

Thanks!

Civisi

@Ash,

I read somewhere that the new Zunes only display 320x240, but support 640x480 through the AV Out.

Civisi

@Admin,

I think publius is referring to the upcoming Microsoft Home Server Edition OS. Will it sync music files from the server, or does the Zune software have to be installed on a PC and  sync from only that PC?

civisi, publius - I think you need a pc. I haven't heard anything about sync'ing files from the server - but let me check for sure. please be patient while I track down the answer.

@Dan H

hehe I did listen to Dark Side of the Moon on my Zune and it was the first time I had heard it broken into chunks.  It was rather shocking and it did detract from the experience.

But I do like the gaps when in shuffle mode.  Quite honestly I don't see this a concern for most people.  A welcome addition in the future.  

Clock... whatever...

Cesar, please do comment on audiobook support, or lack thereof

@Surreal

Zune 30 Brown for 199.99

Zune 80 Black (and that is)

Gapless is coming.

Will there be a leather case for Zune 30 or just the new players?

Matt sez: Hey Cesar, any plans on upping the on screen resolution for at least the new Zunes with an update?

I mean, I'm buying one either way because I need more space than my 30, but it'd just be nice to know if it's in the plans :)

dude, we're not talking about anything beyond 2.1 right now. :)

Long time reader first time commenter. I had a question regarding the new zune and the marketplace.

I am a big proponent of the subscription feature. With that being said.

Will the music videos be included as part of the zune pass subscription?

Thanks for answering the questions Caesar! Good man.

I also just checked the on10 interview you have, perhaps you should post about it here? Would be a nice way to close off the week.

All in all, exciting week. Like I've said in a comment long ago, the only way the Zune can go is up. You keep pumping out stuff like this and I'll keep buying.

That's cool, I figured you'd say that but I had to ask.

Ceasar

I just got back from traveling and saw the new feature announcement, I really liked the us early adopters aren't being left behind. I am thrilled about the bookmarks, I hope this means that you guys will be talking with the audible.com com folks to get zune as one of their supported devices. If I can get audio books on my zune I can retire my creative.

man im so sick of this silence with anything after the new update.  how ridiculous for them to leave us in the dark haha   j/k great job guys i didnt think id want an 80gb but after thinking about it i might want one for the more storage i dont even need but just for the touchpad and slimmer factor. hmm it needs some thought. lol

Ive lost all faith in this brand.

This is the info we've been waiting for. Bummer about gapless and the HD, hope to see them in the future.  Thanks for the info, this site is a nice touch to a great product!!!

Thanks!!!

@rhett

dude what do you mean youve lost all faith. are you not happy about the new update coming? i mean come on its alot more than anyone expected. whole redo of the zune software. as cesar said in an earlier post they dont have unlimited resources. im sure they worked their *** off to give us an amazing update like whats coming and the new zunes at the same time.

Cool, more pixels!!! =D

Is there any chance of a 160 Gb version in the near future?

Khaos says - "Is there any chance of a 160 Gb version in the near future?"

aaaaaaaaaargh! we're NOT talking about stuff beyond this release!!!!!! aaarrggh!  ;)

Cesar,

When someone mentioned Home Server, I think he meant Windows Home Server, which is a centralized location for all media on networked home PC's. It would be great if Zune supports WHS wirelessly.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx

Thanks for answering our questions Cesar! Does the shell of the new Zunes have a glossy finish? Or matte?

I showed my friend the On10 video on the bus just right now, and he's digging the red flash Zune now. Not sure if he'll get a Zune 4 or 8.

Gapless and portable HDD were the two deciding factors for me. I really liked the look of the new  Zune, but at the same time I won't buy one without these features. Looks like a new iPod for me...

Sri, I agree that Windows Home Server needs to get some love eventually.  But considering it was just launched last week I think its abit premature to expect Zune integration.  I'm going to keep it on my must haves for future releases.

Cesar, I think the 640x480 video format and output support is fantastic.  And that component AV dock is just the trick to get the most out of it.  Both are items that I had on my wishlist since Zunev1 launch.

My Question: Does Zune support higher resolution JPEG and/or PhotoHD images even though the device can output anything more than 640x480?  I have a large family photo collection and don't like having to keep duplicate copies (large format, portable formtat) of our photos.  Thanks dude!

A major question and consideration for me:

Will the Zune have native support for AVI/DivX video files?

This is not something hard for Microsoft to put in their player. If they don't have it, I probably will just go with the Zen from Creative, which supports a wide variety.

Hey cesar,

not to be a smart ass this is actually a question.

is it really that hard to put a clock on the zune? it seems pretty simple but ive heard that you guys have to deal with people changing the time to bypass the 3x3 rule...so what complications arrise when trying to put a clock in?

hey, I like the blog/web site.

any chance the new zunes will support .avi video files?

the only codecs supported are the ones I stated above (ie, no divx or avi)

I don't know the full complications of a clock, but I know that it's not as easy as most people think - again it comes down to not having infinite resources and some focused goals.

Ditto on lookijng for clarification on recorded TV.

My Gigabeat Portable Media Center Could do it so tehcnically should not be a big deal.

Will Zune 1 with Firmware Update be able to import Recorded TV

I am still a bit confused about one thing. Is the 640x480 AV out only for the new zunes, or will the zune 30's get this via the firmware update? Please answer this for me Cesar when you get a chance.^_^

So tempted to ask about a Canada release, but I shall refrain myself.

I do have one which should be safe to answer: if I have videos on a Zune, will it play through my 360, or do I have to use a dock to play it on my tv? Would this affect the resolution at all? Thanks Cesar!

@mcepat: yes it will

@mcepat

Yes. The new Zune Software will be able to import and convert DVR-MS.

As for DivX/XviD, I'm a little disappointed, as I thought that it's inclusion in the new gen of Extenders would herald it's addition to Xbox and Zune. Ah well. Maybe next year.

Hey Cesar, quick question:

Will the 80GB Zune be able to be used as a hard drive (ie for disk use, to store files)?

Hey Cesar

Long Time Reader..... but to the important stuff

Will the wireless sync automatically initate downloads of things that I flag in the marketplace, or something that I had "squirted" to me and flagged it.  

Cesar, dude....did you purposefully jump over and around my question or is it that you can't take any music video/zune pass questions right now?  I'm really curious...

I just want to know if they're pay per download only or if there is Zune Pass support.

you misunderstand me.  i'm not employing some sort of "clever reasoning" or trying to spin anything.  in all honesty, gapless playback isn't that important to me.  you're the one who offered up the argument that focusing on aspects that were core to the overall experience of listening to music was what prevented you (the team, not you personally) from offering additional functionality like a clock and hard drive access.  moreover, you are not the only one using that argument, and that suggests that this is a general argument given to you guys from above.  my point is that using that argument sets you up for criticism in terms of other functionality you left out that seems to indeed be core to the experience of listening to a great number of albums from a variety of artists, e.g. gapless playback.  there's nothing "clever" there; it's just a bad argument, and if you turned in a paper to me with a similar flaw the best you could hope for would be a C, and this is assuming it's one of the intro classes i teach and the rest of the paper was well written.  

it just seems like it would be fairly easy to for the group responsible for developing your responses to include someone who actually has some sort of background in forming half-decent arguments so as to avoid silliness like this.  

with the above in mind, if i were you, i would stop offering that response, regardless of who gave it to you (unless, of course, your job somehow depends upon it).  it's a bad argument, the problem is terribly obvious, and there's no reason to make it in the first place as you have a perfectly fine argument that contains no such flaw, namely, "we don't have unlimited resources on the zune team and we just can't get to everything."

come on, don't jump on me because your boss told you to say something ridiculous.

but i still love you.  

<3

dead jim - you know I love you too buddy ;)

sportsunit - sorry, missed your question - videos will be individual purchase only (no subscription). we're also not talking about the prices for zmp content - I'll find out what pr has planned to announce those.

I believe someone asked about unicode support - here's the story

The zune device has a single font that covers western European characters. Any characters outside western European are rendered as squares (since they aren’t found in the font).

The Zune software handles non-English Character sets like this: we have a standard font that we use for rendering English letters within the Zune software. When the Zune software finds non-English characters, it’ll try to locate a font that’ll render those characters as accurately as possible. So generally when you import a track/CD etc with non-English characters the software will render the characters for which Windows has a font.

Cesar..thanks for all the great news.  If you have answered this one already I apologize for missing it...but how will the wireless sync function with a password protected home network?

darkseid sez - but how will the wireless sync function with a password protected home network?

you'll configure your sync through the software in the pc, you'll see advanced settings there and be able to enter password info

So will the Zune 30's support video out at 640x480?

spencer - Zune 30 video-out will remain at 320x240

thats really cool how you can set up the password protection in the software instead of on the zune. i really like that feature.

Ok.  Another thing, do you have any information regarding battery life?

Cesar, will we be able to change the look of the player? Meaning, can we change the background or perhaps do any theming?

I think the thing I'm most worried about is the insanely huge font in the main menu. I don't see why the font should be so huge that it makes only 8 items have to scroll. The large font looks like it's made for those who have a hard time reading.

Dan D, actually, I would prefer it at least have the option to set it up on the Zune itself. What if I take it to my college with my laptop (which I constantly do) and I want to sync it? Now I have to plug it in because I'm at a different location.

kris - you can change the background art and customize your zune that way. as for the font size, nah you can't change that. you'll have the big font and you'll LIKE IT. ;) jk jk. But customizing the background art is a cool feature.

very mad. why not include a clock Cesar? is it because of the 3 play rule thing? it is because of battery power???tell us!!!the HHD thing does not really matter anyways because someone will most likely hack it.

Again, any info on battery life?

spence - dude I already talked about battery life. :)

Well, I had Firefox highlight all instances of the word "battery" and there is nothing on this page about battery life.  If you could point me to where you talked about it, it would be greatly appreciated.

@kris

well i assume you can just go into the software and set it up for their network while your at college until you go home. i mean if you have your laptop it shouldnt be that hard just to plug it in. do you commute because then i could see that would get annoying. maybe down the road they can set it up for multiple network syncing

"as for the font size, nah you can't change that. you'll have the big font and you'll LIKE IT"

I'm sorry but that's very disappointing. I'm still pretty young (early 20s) and when I first saw the real pictures of the Zune 2, I immediately thought it was a photoshop because of how large the font was. Seriously, the ONLY devices that have font that size... are insanely large phones for people with bad eyes or older people.

The Zune isn't marketing towards this demographic so I think you'll find that it'll need to change sooner or later. Seriously, the iPod has about 10 items on its main menu and can fit them just fine without scrolling.

I really hope the Zune team reconsiders.

<trolling>

Spencer, in the unveiling post Cesar said they're still running some tests on it so they couldn't tell us anything yet. So I'm thinking that's what he means when he says he "talked" about it.

note that if I haven't answered your question it's because of 1 or 2:

1. I haven't seen it yet; haven't had time to answer; it's not something we're discussing;

2. It's a duplicate question I've already answered. Please read through the posts/comments from "admin" and see if your question has been asked.

:)

sorry Cesar just read the post about the clock: "I don't know the full complications of a clock, but I know that it's not as easy as most people think - again it comes down to not having infinite resources and some focused goals." <<could you find out the full complication of why we can not have a  clock because so many people have wanted it for so long now and why is it not one of the teams focused goals? please enlighten me as soon as you find out more info about this...thank you Cesar!

Can you tell us if we need categorize files as "podcast" before we can bookmark a music file? For example, an audio book in MP3 format, which isn't a podcast, is something that I'd like to bookmark. Do I need to categorize it as a podcast before I can bookmark within it?

Mr. Mad, A clock implementation is actually very trivial especially since the Zune runs on the Windows CE platform. Since Windows CE already has a built in clock and the Zune utilizes it already for the "squirting" of a song, all the Zune developers need to do is render it onto the screen.

Cesar,

I asked this above. If it's a No Comment answer, can you please state as such?

Does the Zune 80 benefit from faster processing hardware in a way that there are performance gains/improvements over the Zune 30?

Thanks for taking time to answer all of these questions. It's great to have people like you to help us inquisitive types.

Civisi

Will 2.1 support flash o.O...I want Flash...

BTW we made a clock for one of our projects...I think it took a day or two...Maybe a little longer, but it was one of the easier things to do.

More info on the ID cards please :)

Is there an ETA for the software or the firmware for Zune 30?

im fairly new to the audiobook thing. right now i have one audio book "Darkly Dreaming Dexter" and idno if im in to them yet. right now i have it as just an artist and stuff. if someone could enlighten me as to some audiobook features i should be aware of even if the zune doesnt have it thatd be much appreciated.

CLOCK AND GAPLESS PEOPLES,

Please understand that every project has FINITE resources and milestones. EVERYTHING in product development takes resources, no matter how simple it's perceived to be. Yes, a clock seems simple. However, when you have 100 features you'd like to implement and you only have time/resources to do 10, you need to trim the fat, and things like a clock and gapless audio are left on the cutting room floor.

Believe me, people on the Zune team aren't sitting around looking for things to do. You need to cater to the market to succeed, so you focus on the 80%, not niche 20%.

Simply, you can't implement every feature for every person, no matter how vital they may find it. Someone's always going to get the screw, and it will always be the special cases -- unless that's your demo, but that's a different strategy altogether.

You have MP3s and there are players galore. Pick the one that does what you need.

Your friend,

Jeff

So since there are 740 x 480, does that mean less pixel's? Cause i'm playing Monty Python and the Holy Grail on my Zune and i see some pixels with large area's of gray, also is there going to be more color's in the screen, like from 64 million to 128 million. (not sure how much the Zune currently has). Just wondering.

hey admin...

can the 80GB zune be used as a disk drive?

An updated hard drive model will have 80GB of storage and come in black at launch. More colors could be added later - Zunescene

will there be a red 80 gb?

Will Zune 80 eventually have more colors than black?

Hi, Cesar.  I don't own a Zune yet and I'll be picking one up either at the 2 launch or just getting an old Brown one.  I appreciate very much the firmware update.  Podcasts are a great thing for new music or news, and my current players, all flash, do not fulfill my needs.

The clock is not important, if and only if, a third party or MS itself makes a dock with a clock.  NIck wants to wake up to Riders on the Storm, see.

Is it a "not talking about that" to ask if the 80 will come in brown, or some other signature color not seen on other players?

quick note - all questions that begin with "will we eventually see X" all fit into the "we're not talking about that right now" category. :)

yea i hope a zune alarm clock is in the works. after memorex's was delayed and i ceartainly couldnt find out why and ihome never updated their zune page. i hope someone makes one soon. anyone know of any recent updated or anounced ones?

Mac support? no? yes? kinda, maybe? :(

@JIM

THANK YOU! Your explanation about the clock and gapless is right on. It seems these posters have never worked on any kind of project where prioritization of tasks is required.

I am still baffled as to why a clock so damned critical for these people.

Quite simply, the Zune team did a helluva lot of work this summer to rebuild the device, the firmware AND the desktop software. It's no wonder they didn't take the time and resources to build in a stupid clock.

I just bought a black Zune 30. Eagerly awaiting shipment.

As far as the no native h.624/mpeg4 support for the Zune 30 goes...

Is this a physical limitation of the old Zune or something else?

I don't mean to whine, but is there a specific reason why no new native video codec support and higher res output for Zune 30? (Yes, I know I can transcode to wmv, but native support is better)

Can we be assured that the new V2 firmware will be void of all potential bugs on the very day it is released?

Thanks for the awesome blog, Cesar.

Will the wi-fi sync be configured on the device with the IP address/port of the host PC?  Could one put in the address of the PC on the Internet and sync from a public hotspot?

Has a wi-fi Internet browser function ever been considered?  I'd like to think it could be done easily and would be considered by many as the "killer app."

Thanks.

Will the new Zune 80 have a faster processor or memory then the old Zune 30?

Can you delete songs on the fly with the new firmware without having to sync to a pc first?

wow. everyone REALLY needs to calm down about the clock and buy a friggin watch. speaking as a programmer, i can DEFINITELY say clocks and time are a pain to deal with. remember the Zune team has been working on rewriting the marketplace and the Zune software from the ground up, they have been doing plenty for us.

Cesar, i want to find you and give you a hug, you put up with a lot of crap with very little thanks.

I live in England and I love my Zune. Friends and work collegues are always asking to look at it. Everyone I speak to would like to get their hands on one. Like me they are bored of iPods, bored of seeing so many of the same white headphones walking down the street. They want a change, something different.

With the realise of the new Zunes, will they be coming to our shores soon?

I've been waiting so long for a new firmware update and it's great to hear it's just around the corner. November 13?

Many thanks,

Chris.

Thanks for your comment Cesar, re: unicode support, and lack of it on Zune device. Zune software is handling everything correctly from the start, so as Windows. But what's the point, when Zune device doesn't, due to use on non-unicode font on the device. Those squares instead of correct characters on Zune defeat the purpose of using ID tags for non-English mp3s altogether. This will be an issue for Zune when you expand to the international markets. I'm just hoping you could somehow upgrade the font on the device to resolve this.

Can you delete content on the road without having to sync to a pc first now?

<removed> keep it positive when talking to other commenters man ;)

Hey, is there gonn be an new ad campaign for the new models? Seriously, the old campaign for the v1 Zune is def not strong enuff.

So does this mean that Zune 30 owners are out of luck when it comes to lossless audio support on the device? The only feature I wanted on the Zune was full lossless support and I'm baffled why it has not been done on the original zune.

Every ipod even down to the tiny shuffle supports at least one lossless codec. The Toshiba gigabeat supports lossless.

I'll be pretty pissed if I have to spend another 250$ to get a feature on the zune that should have been there on the first day.

No HDD support- boo, now I don't think its worth getting this; not gonna work in my 08 Cadillac CTS (except through AUX), 1 point for iPod (integration built into the car).

Only things I wonder that still may make me get a zune is...

1) Podcasts available on iTunes in h.264 (and ipod native resolution), will they have to be transcoded, or can I just watch them on the zune with the lower res?

What formats of audio and video will NOT need any transcoding whatsoever (e.g. do mp3s get transcoded to wma?)?

Filed under: Portable Audio , Portable Video Zune Insider has a little update about specifics of the

please don't tell me you took away the lovely doubleshot look... shiny is not good.......

Well...I just wanted to chime in and say that the new Zune 80 looks great.  Looks like I'll get to do a side-by-side comparison come mid-November, but something tells me the Zune 80 will get the win for me. Looking forward to hearing more in the future!

I am really digging the subscription plan.   Will the Zune marketplace work from the Xbox 360?  I think it would very cool to due tune/album selection from the living room and have it piped right to the stero.

Thanks for making music fun again.  I have been listening to digital music before Apple entered the market.  It was starting to be too much work (hard drive crashes suck if you have 500 CD's).  Keep up the good work.

Quick question, and sorry if this is a repeat.  Does this mean that the Zune 30s will still have to convert mpeg and h.264 video files before they're able to play?  Or will there be native codec support like with the Zune 4/8/80s?  This seems to be a fuzzy issue some places.

Never saw my question answered.  Is the Zune branded Leather Case being released in time for the new Zunes?

Will the new firmware and software launch alongside the new devices, or a little before?

Also, what's the deal with the over 21 age limit on the Social?

The clock thing...I have a Zen Sleek Photo right now (already pre-ordered my Zune 80 though!). It does have a clock. The clock is never set to the right time, no matter how many times I reset it. This suggests to me that either the people at Creative are morons, or it is in fact more difficult than you might think to put a decent clock on a DAP.

To protect from theft, will you be able to password protect your Zune so it won't sync to another person's computer until you enter the proper password (with the option of remembering the password so you don't have to enter the password each time you sync your Zune.)

And if someone does try to sync your zune w/o the proper password, then it'll call home by sending an email unbeknownst to that someone.

Any Info on Zune softwre for MAC  ?

The clock I'm guessing for these devices is complicated since the CPU has to constantly keep track. Total guess thou. I'd imagine the zune already does that for the song limits but I'm not a creator of the zune so can't be sure.

I really like the new features. I'm interested in the features where your song info will be sent to your pc. Will there be any connections with xbox live?

What about video folders and repeat-play of video?

how can i unblock my zune

Jeff, your post is right on the money!  There are many players out there, if the Zune has what you want, great.  If not, get one that does!

Amazing logic.

-jim

Hi Jeff

Things like a Clock and Gapless Audio has become part of the whole overall music experience that many have come to enjoy thanks to the iPod. So please take it off the cutting room floor and implement it soon please. Someone going from an iPod to a Zune does not want to feel like they’re downgrading their music experience. Gapless playback has become essential to many of us that listen to music that needs it (classical, Jazz, some albums etc). It was heavily requested for it to be added to iPods and Apple listened.

As for as the clock, I really don't care about seeing the time on the Zune, what I would love to see is a sleep/alarm feature.

Resume or bookmark is also a very important feature that should have been implemented from the beginning. Listening to audio-books and podcasts is pointless without this feature. Again it’s part of the overall experience we’ve come to enjoy thanks to the iPod. Why go backwards?

We did not know we would be enjoying DSL speed internet access a few years ago when we all were using dialup, but today we are using and enjoying DSL speed internet, and would never downgrade to dialup! ;-)

Zune developers,

My background is hardware development and I am noticing that people aren't recognizing what a great thing you are doing - keeping older models up to date with the latest features, not just bug fixes.  People, chill on the clock thing.  If they didn't dead end the 30, I'm sure there will be further releases on the 80, probably with some of those features they had to cut now but won't talk about since it isn't the present release.

The amount of developer interaction and prerelease information is making me re-think my whole Microsoft attitude.  Thanks.

why no doubleshot? and can you say whether or not there will be more colors? cause i don't want to buy one and then a month later a red 80 comes out..

Will the new Zune firmware/software allow sync of Recorded TV ... from a Vista Media Center with DCT (digital cable tuner)? All shows are recorded with DRM so I dunno if it will work. Do you? :)

Will the zune30 after the new firmware now support wma lossless on the device natively without transcoding? Will we get lossless support on the device itself?

Can I use it on a Mac if I boot Windows on it?  Probably a stupid question, but I'm not a Mac person.  It was asked on a forum.  The guy plans on using VMWare.  And me, the ever constant Zune fanboy, said that it sounded feasible, but that I'd try to find out for sure.

I'll add my vote for a clock as well. I listen to my iPod or Zune (whichever I have with me) doing two things: walking/jogging or flying to/from work. It'd be nice to see what time it is during both of those, and no I don't like wearing watches. Is the team at least designing the system so a clock could be added later in a firmware update?

Since the new Zunes are supporting podcasting, is it also safe to assume there will be a directory of podcasts (similar to iTunes) to browse, subscribe to, and review podcasts in the ZMP? Maybe you wrote this somewhere and I missed it.

Also, minor feature, but is a Zune toolbar planned? Both WMP and iTunes have toolbars so we can minimize the programs but still have access to the controls on the Windows taskbar.

The reason the Zune 2 doesn't have a double shot finish is because Apple was granted their patent for a double shot finish on March 1, 2007, which they filed for in 2005.

Is 480p supported through video out?  There have only been composite cables announced for the Zune 80, which are limited to 480i.

I've seen a couple of 'Will the Zune be released in [Location] any time soon?' questions.  It hasn't been answered, which on here means it has.  Don't hold your breath.

Oh and a clock really *IS* that simple.

I know everybody keeps talking about the clock and external harddrive and gapless play back.

I have a external hardrive, and with flas drives now up about 16GB, why would ou want to waste the song/movie space on something else when there are drives for that?

for the Clock, unless I am changing a song on my zune the thing is in my pocket or on my arm, I can look at my watch faster then I could the zune, plus my watch cost me $19, I doubt they can program a clock on the zune for less then that.

As far as gapless playback, from what I understand this is where there is no 2 second pause between songs.  I just listned two 2 mp3's on my zune, and it went from one to the next with out any gap in sound, I don't know if it's just my zune but I never notice a gap in my songs, unless the song it self gets quite at the end.  Try it once take a MP3 and cut it in half, just split it where there is alot of noise and see if the zune puts a gap between the 2 parts, mine doesn't.

Something that seems everyone forgot about - does it have smart playlists?

>please don't tell me you took away the lovely doubleshot look... shiny is not good.......

I think I prefer the matte finish too, but it's not a deal breaker if the Zune is shiny. However, the fact that the doubleshot material  is sooo durable is a HUGE advantage over the iPod. It's real hard to scratch. If the new Zunes are made out of a different material, I hope it is also equally scratch resistant.

Care to comment if the new Zunes will be equally scratch resistant as the Zune 30s?

This comparison chart appears to be very detailed. I have no idea if the preloaded Virus line item is

@Jaxim

It is metallic, but it's a brushed metal (front and back), though I heard that the red Zune 4/8 is glossy.

@Killer Turtle

Not everyone has/wants/can wear a watch. I'd get a great deal of use out of having a clock on my Zune to keep track of time during the walk to work/college.

@Killer Turtle

>I have a external hardrive, and with flas drives now up about 16GB, why would ou want to waste the song/movie space on something else when there are drives for that?

Because using a Zune for this purpose when you have an unexpected need for it would be great. It's the convergence factor. Why lug around 2 devices when one is sufficient. If you forget your flash drive, but you always have your Zune on you at all times, then transferring 4GB from your work computer to your home computer would be a snap! Plus, with 80GB, I think in my particular case, I wouldn't be wasting any valuable music/movie space. I could reserve 10GB for file transfers with plenty of room still left over.

I am in Canada. North. Way up there. No Zunes in Canada eh??

@ JC

It always supported "Smart Playlists"(Auto Playlists in Zune).  Left click on "Create Playlist" and specify away.

Hi Cesar, great 2 c you're in here answering questions to us loyal Zuners! Sooooo.. here's the only remaining questions I have left:

Please explain the audiobook bookmarking; is it in memory like the videos position in memory or should we load all the files into an rss container to get the "pod"cast resume feature?

I can't see the back of the new dock and to support the DVD resolution it says composite cables, are there composite outs on the back of the new dock or what?

Thanks Cesar, btw nice on10 video!

To whomever asked about using Zune on Mac. It is possible, either using BootCamp or one of the many other Windows-on-a-Mac software programs. Also, if you have an Intel based Mac, just load Windows on it ;) It's the best of both worlds.

I'll ask this one again in case it was missed:

Will there be a Leather Case for Zune 30, or just 80 and 4/8?

And when are they coming, and for how much?

Filed under: Portable Audio , Portable Video While we recently heard that the new Zunes would boast DVD

I still haven't seen you comment on battery life, although you said you have.  All I found on the main page is that you're still testing, but I've seen the figures as 20/5 elsewhere.  

Are those figures correct?

I have to agree with the people on the doubleshot and matte finish. I love the look of the zune 80, thin is great and shiny looks nice, but I don't wanna see that thing after a month of use. my Zune 30 still looks brand new, and the double shot is great when ever light reflects off it, and don't even get me started on the nice feel of a matte finish. I really hope the Zune v3 will go back to the "classic" zune look.

( who am I kidding though, I will probably still buy the Zune 80 for the great video codecs and Video Out )

I'm still waiting on some official word as to whether or not Audible support is coming to the Zune???

Audible.com support sent me an email response when I asked them about it stating:

"The manufacturer of the Microsoft Zune has chosen not to make this device compatible with the .aa file format. To make the device compatible with the .aa format means supporting our encryption, this protects the publishers copyrights as well as implementing key usability features, such as section navigation and resume playback. Audible is working very closely with Microsoft to make the Zune Audible ready. Unfortunately, at the current time we can't provide an estimated time when the Zune you currently own or the new ones that will be available to purchase in November will be supported. However, I will be glad to forward your email address to upper manager so you are notified once the device becomes Audible ready. We sincerely apologize for all the inconvenience."

This answer from Audible is confusing as they say that Microsoft has chosen not to support Audible on the Zune yet in the same paragraph states that Audible is working closely with Microsoft to make it happen.

Can't someone please make an official announcement one way or the other??? Can I finally get rid of my Creative Zen Micro Photo that I use exclusively for Audible since Zune won't support it???

Hello! Today, while washing the dishes (and listening to my Zune of course) and after reading a few of your posts at the University a few ours earlier, many thoughts and ideas came to my head at the same time, and with those a few questions; hope you can answer them:

-For those of us who already own a Zune (1G obviously) and with the good news about the Firmware update that will let us synchronize our device wirelessly with our computer, will be possible to stream music (also wirelessly) to the Xbox 360?

-If we update the Firmware of our Zune, we will also need to update our Xbox 360?

Thank you for taking the time of reading this and sorry for the bad English, but I’m still learning.

I'm pretty sure this question has been asked, but when do the current users get the new update?

@Crystal3

>It always supported "Smart Playlists"(Auto Playlists in Zune).  Left click on "Create Playlist" and specify away.

I'd like to see the smart playlists be independent of the Zune software. I'd like to see my Zune know after a week of use what songs I usually play and what songs I usually skip over w/o having once connected my Zune to sync to the Zune software.

For some reason my last post mysteriously disappeared... anyway, it's already been stated that the Zune software is a modified and built from Windows Mobile (or, most likely Windows CE 5). This means that, unless the Zune team specifically removed the functionality, it already has a built in and working clock (it has to have some sort of working clock in order for the 3X3 to work correctly).

So, if the Zune team decides to include a clock, all they should need to do is render it onto the screen.

Now, a little disclaimer. I am not on the Zune team so it's very well possible that they gutted WinCE 5 and removed this core functionality in which case, it would be difficult to implement a clock but since existing functions rely on the timing features built into the OS that runs on the Zune, I highly doubt it and if this is the case, then all they have to do is render the clock onto the screen.

Now additional functionality, I believe, that isn't built into WinCE 5 like alarms would require more work but the development principles are fairly basic so I wouldn't be surprised to see these features pop up in the future.

I haven't seen any wifi settings type questions asked, so here goes-

Can we expect to see WPA & WPA2 connectivity?  Will there be support for multiple network profiles?( i.e. Home, Work, etc).  Is it possible to update your Zune social card from an open hotspot- i.e. Starbucks or something?

Thanks :)

We were intrigued when we heard that the new Zune had beefed up its TV-out settings to full DVD quality, supporting playback of 720x480 video at 30fps or 720x576 video 25fps (NTSC or PAL, in other words). All that frames...

Ok, I have a specific question:

Will the new firmware support live updating of playlists on the device?

Say I make an auto-playlist with all songs not played in the last year, will that playlist automatically get smaller as I play songs on the Zune?

Thanks!

Thanks for the answers to some questions!  Its pretty impressive. The one thing I am curious about is the new Zune software.  I haven't heard much about it and I think that was the biggest let down of the whole "zune experience"

My question is simple: Does the new Zune software resolve the issue where the Zune program would randomly split albums for no reason if if the artist was the same?  and when can we expect some more info in general relating to new software features?

An annoying feature with the Zune 30 is that when you use the video out, the screen goes dark.  With the new Zune 80, will the user have control whether or not the screen goes dark when using the video out feature?

Thank you.

Hey Paul, I believe the random splitting was due to the tags of the media file in question. Typically if both the artist and the album artist are filled on one but not the other the "split" occurs. Unless it's a soundtrack, I see no reason to use the album artist field so the software (not just the zune software) won't get confused about where a track belongs.

Since I'm here - Ces - Zune will support mp4, wmv natively and supposedly mpeg-4 - but what implementation? For now I'm being safe and encoding my videos as wmv, but I'd like to prevent tying up my pc converting (and losing quality) files that don't need to be converted; please list the codecs or something with some specific clarity please?

I haven't seen much mention of playlists here.  First, all playlists have to be created/edited on your PC, then synced to the device.  This requires you to keep all your music on your PC if you want to make any changes.  If you are mostly syncing music that you ripped from your own CD's, it's a big waste of hard drive space.  Why not allow you to make/change a playlist on the device when it is connected to the PC, instead of doing all that on the PC and then syncing it over?  Second, how do you use video playlists?  I've tried creating them, then syncing them to the device, but I don't see video playlist on the device, only on the ZMP.

Also, I'd like to add in my support for bookmarks on audio files.  It's already available on the video files, it shouldn't be that hard to have them on audio files too.  I don't listen to podcasts too often, but I do have some comedy files that are a single 30 or 60 minute file.  If you're going to listen to one, you better be ready to listen to the whole thing, or write down the time where you stopped if you don't have time to listen to the whole thing.  And then remember where you wrote it down.  :)

Thanks for answering all the questions here, much appreciated.  If you've answered these in a different thread, my apologies.  I just found this site, and this was the first comments section I've gone thru.

Thanks dsahrp for the response.  I typically found that to be the case and while 99% of my music is soundtracks (a various artist option would be nice too) I found that with my podcasts even if all the info was the same save for the track number and the "song" title it would still split it and I would need to highlight it and make sure I checked the artist and the Album boxes to make them identical even if they were the same.

THe other issue i had was when I dragged split songs and dropped them into the album I wanted it wouldn't merge them it would keep them seperate but change the all the tags to match the album.  Another annoying issue I had was one time I finally got everything straightened out and the Zune software moved everything once again when I went to sync.  Apparently the tags on the Zune device update the library tags instead of opposite.  Also at random songs would jump between these split albums.

This is an issue that I seen pop up in the forums as well and it is only something that happens with the Zune software I never had this issue with Winamp or iTunes.  And while I understand some people like the whole sort by Artist first when I view by albums I kinda expect my albums to be grouped together no matter the artist of a paticular song.  And when you have a soundtrack collection like I do you will have many times multiple artist an album and if you have 100 albums and each one has 5 artist then the Zune software gives you 500 albums instead of 100 which makes little sense to me.

Hey Cesar when you syn video that is higher res than the supported "720x480 @30fps or 720x576 @25fps(without transcoding)" will the software convert it to 320x240 or will it convert it to 720x480 or will you have the option to change the size and quality of the video. Zuners can current change the quality of the transcode to an existent.

P.S. i really don't know how to ask the question so if you don't understand what i am trying to ask just tell me to rephrase the question.

Thnxs

Ok, so I downloaded the zune marketplace on my PC that is running Windows XP professional. I made sure I had service pack 2 downloaded. I went on to the zune marketplace and all it says is "this page cannot be displayed". I know I am connected to the internet. PLEASE HELP!

<comment removed - trying to insult another user>

Will the new firmware allow landscape mode in the menus?

Thank you!

@Jordy,

Some of us can't wear a watch for job reasons. I work on sensitive electronics, and a metal watch coming into contact with a capacitor or shorting out a on a couple of connectors is not a good thing.  I would really like a clock, even if it's in docked mode. It would be like the Windows Mobile OS DockSaver.

can you elaborte on the accessories - specifically the Belkin Tunebase FM Transmitter for Zune, and the Zune Home A/V Pack?  Will the new Zune 80 work in those docks made for the 30?

wow no hdd support is a huge deal breaker.  my gf was considering getting a zune to serve as both an mp3 player/portable hd.  no hdd support and lack of a 160gb model will most likely mean she won't consider getting the zune anymore and get an ipod instead.  i was personally considering getting a zune80 at launch to replace my 5.5g ipod, but with the lack of hdd support, i'm just gonna wait until that feature is either added or i have the funds to buy a 160GB ipod

Will there be more colors for the Zune 80. I want a green or red one. Awesome!!!

Can I change the text size of the main menu

I have removed all tags from all my mp3 files and just filled in the tags for artist and title.. yet the new zune software still splits the artists files into multiple "unknown album" folders... what gives?

Ok, somy zune has the crazy large fonton the mail menu. does that mean that it is a 2nd gen 30gig? And while im on that subject, what exactly is the difference between the first and second gen zune 30gigs?

So how noticeable is the gap in between songs?

There is a interesting article looking at how Apple is changing DRM and how DRM is changing overall over at The Guardian. What is interesting to me is the article neglects to look at what Microsoft is doing with Zune in regards to DRM. Just like Apple

Bring back the quicklist

now playing sucks balls

Release the thing worldwide!!!.

I would buy one straight away especially since the ipod likes BSOD by PC.

Get the album spliting fixed. It's unbarable!!!! I bought 13 CD's(various artists in each) and ripped them with easy cdda extractor. There is no sense at all in how zune soft is dividing each album apart. There are a couple of songs by them selves and then there is one kinda album with all the other songs. Is the software that stupid(people who made it) and doesn't see that the album name is the same for all the tracks, the year as well(altough not that important)???? For one of the albums it even made an "album" for each track. How dumb is that. I spent a lot of time writing all the tags and this is what I get? Microsoft, you've done it again....

Get the album spliting fixed. It's unbarable!!!! I bought 13 CD's(various artists in each) and ripped them with easy cdda extractor. There is no sense at all in how zune soft is dividing each album apart. There are a couple of songs by them selves and then there is one kinda album with all the other songs. Is the software that stu*id(people who made it) and doesn't see that the album name is the same for all the tracks, the year as well(altough not that important)???? For one of the albums it even made an "album" for each track. How du*b is that. I spent a lot of time writing all the tags and this is what I get? Microsoft, you've done it again....