I got a Zune for Christmas and the device itself it quite nice. I'm pretty pleased with most of it's features but I'm having issues with others. Mainly the windows based Zune software to "manage" the collection of music is complete garbage.

First issue was I hate auto sync mode, why should it know what music in my 80gb collection should be on the 30gb portable drives me nuts. So the very first thing I did was disable the auto sync features for music.

Then I selected all the albums I wanted on the player and hit add to sync list. Went downstairs and continued with other Christmas things. Later on in the day I returned and found the sync finished. Unplugged the unit and started to play around with it. It was missing about 95% of the album art, and quite a few of my ID3 tags need some help.

So I went through and updated a bunch of albums manually, manually because the right click > find album info selection sucks and can't match all the tracks in the album it usually fixes half the tracks and skips the rest. It doesn't even give you the reason why it couldn't match a track which is clearly an exact match based on the title and tracknumber. Is it that hard to add a tooltip or something that explains why it couldn't figure out a few tracks on every album and provide a UI to go though these and correct them?

Then after I'm finished updating the tags and album art, I plug the zune back in figuring it would update those tags on the player (I thought this because the zune software doesn't allow you to edit any tags on the player, you need to change the local windows copy) Nothing happens and I can't even click the sync button (it's grayed out). So, I promptly format the device and create a new folder and make copies of about 25gb of music (the selection I want on the player, keeping the non-microsoft i.e.. empeg version of my music clean), I then re-enabled the auto sync feature and updated the library paths and manually did a rescan of the collection.

The rescan didn't remove the files which were included in the old folder I removed from the zune settings, it didn't add any files because they already existed in the collection. So I select all and delete, everything is removed except for about 6 albums, they won't let me delete, or actually they seem to let me delete but they don't actually disappear, reboot etc, nothing.

I couldn't find any info on how to delete the "library" on the pc and start fresh so I uninstall and reinstall. After that it scans my StupidZune music folder which contains what I want, and I let the software auto transfer everything with the auto-sync feature.

After all this, the zune updates itself when I update the tags on the files, but one would think if you manually add an album without the auto-sync garbage enabled it would also update the tags, album art when they're updated on the pc. In either mode you can't edit any of the tag data directly on the device, if you right click on a song or album the Edit item appears but it's grayed out.





Now for my gripes about the Zune itself...

You can't append, enqueue or replace tracks in the current playlist

When you play music, and go into a slideshow. You can't go back to the current running playlist.

You only have one playlist you can add files into directly in the player and it's the quicklist. Why not make that a setting when you press right it will open a menu with a list of the current playlists on the player and allow you to create a new playlist and title it with an on-screen keyboard?

There are like 3 settings to adjust, need way more...

You can't manually adjust the EQ settings. No bass/treble controls.

The code used to determine the Artists to display in the first music menu varies from the code used in the PC based application. The PC based application uses the "Album Artist" tag if it's defined, otherwise it uses the "Artist" tag. However, the Zune uses both at the same time. So if the tags vary because the data in the metaservices webservice isn't standardized when dealing with various artist albums. Either change the Zune to work like the pc software, or add a setting which will allow me to filter out these duplicate items from the display. One would think you'd want to see the info displayed like that on the PC, but when on the go with the zune you should have the simpliest and smalliest list possible, or just have options and settings to let the user customize their player.

Why can't I charge my device and play music at the same time? Oh, that's what the $30 adapter to plug the sync cable into the wall is for right?

Is it really 1999 again, is that why both gapless and crossfading are missing?

I think all of this is why Microsoft's supposed "iPod Killer" has done so poorly thus far. It's basically a rip-off of the iPod, but without the current feature set or the ease of use of iTunes. I played around with my older brother's Zune (he's really into Microsoft for some unfathomable reason) and was summarily unimpressed. I'll stick with my iPod, thanks.

That said, I'm sorry you're having problems with your gift, and I sincerely hope Microsoft gets it patched so it functions as you want it to (and as it should).

I wonder if average user would like it if they just use it as Microsoft tells them. This also assumes that they don't have the high expectations or the detailed knowledge which we do. I agree that music management software is lame (though "the right one" would be nice), but if a user sticks to it, maybe it will be trouble free.

The obvious theory is: People have trouble with the simple stuff if they've already mastered the complicated stuff.

But whatever, it's from Microsoft. I'm surprised it hasn't bombed simply because of that.

Attached is a screenshot of how stupid the "find album info" feature is. Pretty much every album I tried the feature on couldn't match all the tracks. And when this happens, I'll have 2 separate copies of the album in the list on my zune.

I'm sure my 3 year old nephew could do a much better job matching track names when they all are an exact match and even have the correct track numbers.

I just love that this thing can't play wma drm files. Makes me feel good for purchasing all of these songs nice a legal from MSN music.

My current plan is just keep buying busted Karmas on ebay and replacing my scroll wheels as they break.

Hang on a sec Jeff, are you saying that the MS iPod killer cannot play MS's own DRM protected WMA files?
Who was out to lunch the day that that happened?

The Zune can only play Zune DRM files, and not the Plays for Sure DRM files. And it was intentional, not some minor oversight. Really doesn't help the DRM case at all...

One of the other odd aspects of the Zune to me is the lack of integration with the other media projects MS has these days. It doesn't sync using Media Player 11, it can't interact with the XBox Video Store (even though the Zune and the 360 both use "Microsoft Points" and the same accounts), and boxes on the shelf can't even be used under Vista. The Vista issue has been fixed, but an online update is required.

And of course there is the fake looking scroll wheel that everyone seems to want to try and turn when first using the device, only to find that it won't.

Really? I find it amazing that an entity with so much in the way of resources at it's disposal should be selling (essentially) rebadged middle of the road players

Blinking 'eck, what a bunch of muppetts.

It's not a rebadged Gigabeat. It's a new device that may share some internal design elements with the GB, but that's becides the point. These products are mostly defined by their software not hardware. There are a dozen players available with excellent hardware specs that only fall flat on their faces because of their software.

Apple's players are made by Foxconn and others and their computers are all in the same boat - Apple have no manufacturing facilities of their own. They just write better/more demanding specs and generally design their software better than the other guys.

I'm sure mroe than a few kids that asked for an iPod for Christmas got a Zune. And I'm equally sure stores are seeing a healthy return of Zunes this week.

I'm sure once Microsoft gets the hang of things they'll be able to compete with the number 2 and 3 portable DAP vendors. But I don't believe for a second they have a shot in hell of ever catching Apple. I'd be surprised if they could ever match iPod sales for any period of any length (1 day, 1 week, 1 quarter, etc..)

Hopefully they do well enough to get Apple back on the innovation path and perhaps address some of the faults with the iPod (some of them centering around basic navigation).

The big-screen video Gigabeat (as opposed to the lower end gigabeats) runs microsoft software - a later iteration of the media center portable stuff that was on the old Creative/Samsung/etc PMP devices from a couple of years back (even the UI is quite similar). It's windows CE with a big UI slapped on top of it. It's microsoft through and through - manufacturers get very little customisation wiggle room as I understand it.

See:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/061120/20061120005084.html?.v=1
Mobile devices driven by i.MX applications processors available today include:
(...)
* Toshiba gigabeat® S Series (i.MX31L) - a new line of digital video and audio players powered by Microsoft Windows Portable Media Center

The Zune software is presumably the next gen of this same software, but MS are keeping it to themselves. I think it is actually MS playsforsure, but with a different set of keys - no sense in reinventing the wheel here.

As for hardware, this is how I think it's likely to have happened: Toshiba designed the gigabeat - possibly with some very close reference to the microsoft recommended hardware platforms for their PMP software (microsoft have some presentations on this online ISTR if you fancy a google). I could believe that the Zune started out with the gigabeat schematic, and then someone (MS, Toshiba, or maybe a contractor) added the Zune-specifics like wifi. Toshiba, or possibly a contract manufacturer, then build the boxes.

Apple don't own factories, much the same as most companies that you might call "hardware manufacturers". That doesn't mean they don't design every last detail, though.

Hugo
(speaking his own opinions here, obviously)

Interesting, I thought the MS PMP reference platform was PXA based, but Gigabeat (and Zune) are iMX31 (brilliant processor!). Not a massive port I guess.

Rob

The original one was PXA based, but since then there have been at least two more - one ARM+DSP (maybe a TI part... or maybe it was a PXA270+DSP acceleration. Can't remember now) and the MX31. MX31 is ok, but not brilliant - Intel really shouldn't have dropped the ball with the high-end embedded ARM stuff, the StrongARM was so good

Hugo

Who developed what...I don't care. I just find it ironic that MS Plays for Sure doesn't play for sure on the Zune. That's enough for me.

Here's a guy who really hates the Zune (and needs some Prozac).

Leo Laporte acting like that is just ridiculous. Like he's trying to get some sort of wacky angry guy image. TechTV has been gone for years now. Let it go already.

I was pretty hot for a Zune until it came out and got trashed for various reasons. Even when I played with one in a store, I was compelled to spin that round switch even though I knew it didn't spin. I ended up buying a Sansa e280 to replace my Karma.

Leo gets a little annoying like that from time to time. So do some of the other TechTV alums.*

I watch a bunch of podcasts put out by various ex-TechTV people, and I think on average they're not Zune fans. A few of them are, but with reservations.

Personally, I just want to see some competition. I just don't think it's healthy to have one product taking up so much of the market. I think the iPod is a great device, but I get the impression it could be better if they felt a little heat from another company.

* does anyone else watch DL.TV? I like the show, but I struggle to watch it because Patrick Norton is so incredibly annoying. It's clear that he had producers on The Screen Savers to reign in all his tangents.

Sorry for the headache. Old habit

I suppose that way you can fit full 720p signals on the screen while allowing relatively easy downsampling of 1080i signals.

Actually, 720p (1280x720) is exactly two-thirds (in each dimension, four-ninths total area) of 1080i (1920x1080). So I'm not sure I get your point about the 1366 number.