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The new Zune review – HD at work

Posted by Kathleen Maher on November 19th 2009 | Comments Closed
Categories: Hardware Review
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Microsoft's latest assault on the portable media market is the Zune HD. It is a lovely little piece of hardware that gives Microsoft a play against some strong. In fact, it reminds me of my beloved Samsung Yepp YP-P2. Samsung has upgraded that line with a new P3 and of course, Apple is the power house with the iPod Touch. Microsoft developed this generation of Zune, the HD, with Nvidia’s Tegra and the added power is evident in the beautiful bright screen. It also has a nifty interface, a long battery life, and a software infrastructure that needs work.

Downloading the Zune software takes a while. Once the software is installed, it's a nice whizzy land that is supposedly connected to the cloud so you can buy stuff or play your own. It did a great job of finding what it wanted on my computer -- a concern because I have a lot of “Plays for Sure” content from Napster and I was afraid I'd wind up with a bunch of dead content on the Zune but instead it managed to find the content that it could play. Also, it very gracefully managed to import the podcasts that I had previously downloaded in iTunes. To get Audible running I had to download an additional piece of software but it wasn't that wasn't difficult and in no time I was able to get my audible content into the Zune.

When you get started, Zune seriously wants you to sign up for a pass for $14.99 per month pass or buy songs. There are a few free apps and every time you want to play one, Microsoft suggests you buy a Zune Pass. Obviously, Microsoft is eager to be making the kind of money Apple is making hand over fist, but also the Zune Pass really let's Microsoft show off its agent technology called “Smart DJ.” Using the content you already have, coupled with choices you give the Zune DJ about what kind of music you like, the Zune DJ makes suggestions for free downloads or purchases. Subscription content is stored separately so that when you no longer have a subscription, you aren't stuck with the chore of weeding out dead content. The Zune Pass also lets you pick 10 songs a month to keep.

Is the world ready for subscription music? It would seem so. Apple has finally added support for Rhapsody and the Zune Pass is getting good comments from those bright enough to understand that they can still buy music they want to keep, but the subscription services enable them to build up playlists and libraries of new songs as well as old favorites. Yes, the price tag is always something to consider -- $15 a month is expensive if you're a kid and even for adults dealing with cable subscriptions, internet access subscriptions, mobile phone bills, not to mention mortgages, rent, and car payments. But, if you're going to be buying music anyway, then yes indeedy, the Zune Pass is a good way to go. And, comparing it to Napster -- which I have been using and I’m attached to -- so far the Zune seems smarter about picking music I'm going to like.

Also, the Zune let's you maintain content on three computers and three Zunes. In the Zune world it’s much easier to maintain the Zune player and computer libraries. Apple insists you sync the iPhone with only one machine; the Zune is more accommodating though it can get a little prickly about downloaded TV content. So far, there’s no problem as long as you selectively sync files, which is generally what I want to do anyway.

All that said, I will say that I did just upgrade my iPhone and a friend's Palm and neither operation was quite as involved as the process of getting the Zune comfortably talking to my computer. Microsoft, dudes,do you forever want to be associated with that little fat man in the TV ads? How can Microsoft expect mere mortals, mortals with jobs I might add, to go through all these hoops just to get a device working as it should?

So far, the longest part of the project seems to be downloading the software, rebooting, and downloading more updates. In all honesty, iTunes updates can be just as laborious and every bit as annoying. However, Apple has done such a good job of communicating what's going on with progress bars and announcements about what stage of the process is happening. Sometimes the Zune just went blank ... what, is it broken? is it working? should I reboot? (Don't) Eventually, it all worked out but during the process, I had problems and misgivings that are completely alien to those smugly living the Apple lifestyle.

Once set up however, the Zune quickly makes itself an indispensible companion. With WiFi, the Zune has some mobility -- you use it to browse for songs and download the pitifully few apps there are (more are promised). In addition, Microsoft is the first media player to include HD radio and, using the HD radio let’s you buy songs as soon as you hear them.

The Zune display is flat out beautiful, I added a bunch of pictures because I so enjoyed seeing them on the Zune. Likewise, the picture for videos and movies is bright and sharp. It's an obvious generational change, and Nvidia has something to crow about here. The display is bright and sharp and the TV videos, once I got them downloaded looked and sounded great. I didn’t see any lip sync issues and on the small screen the quality was good. Microsoft offers an optional dock that lets you play HD video on TVs and it works with the Xbox 360.

Microsoft is slowly but surely into this household. I have an Xbox Live account, I have a Microsoft ID, now I have a Zune Pass, I have bought points, and gradually all this stuff is starting to work together. The Xbox 360 can see my computer and play content. It can find Zune content and play it. I can plug my Zune into the Xbox 360 and play content directly, which is an obviously better option than depending on the home WiFi. The Xbox 360 can play Netflix movies.

Soon, like by the time you are reading this, Xbox 360 will have a new update and it will also support Facebook, Twitter, and Last FM. Bringing Facebook into the living room is brilliant, when guests come over you can show them what mutual friends are up to -- take a look at pictures, take pictures of your group and upload them instantly. It adds another dimension of sociability to social networks. Now, it's not necessarily one lonely person in front of the computer updating status and uploading photos.

The Xbox was introduced a few eons ago in 2005. When it was introduced, Microsoft was at pains to position the product as a home entertainment device and not solely as a game machine. When it arrived, it was a game machine, but here we are four years down the road and it is truly becoming what it was designed to be -- the hub of the home network.

But let's not forget the little fat man. Microsoft software is still infuriating in places. You're just hearing now from a woman who has triumphed over adversity. Who has conquered utterly mysterious menu choices, and has spent time nurturing the Zune HD so that it really knows what I like. I have also devoted time shuttling between the living room, back office, and Zune to introduce the PC to the Xbox 360 to the Zune HD. This review should have been done a week or so ago. It was delayed by problems in getting the Zune HD to update its firmware and download videos on one machine; even though I got another machine to work instantly (it helps to have a household of computers in this modern age). If I had published this review earlier, as I was still struggling to get everything working, it would have been a much more negative review. Now that I have gotten it working and I’m playing my music through the home stereo I can see a real future for Microsoft and the Zune in the larger home entertainment market.

What do we think?

Microsoft obviously knows that it’s important to build a total software and hardware infrastructure. That’s why the company broke its Plays for Sure pledge to enable all media players to work with subscription services. And, the Zune HD and its Marketplace are pretty good and, we’re assuming it will get better. I used to use the Samsung P2 with Cinema Now (before Roxio acquired the company). It was too difficult to use and I gave up but the P2 is a flawless Plays for Sure client. It’s intriguing that Samsung has continued with the Yepp YP line and followed the P2 with a P3. Samsung too is building an infrastructure with the Emodio store. There are a few apps, and Samsung is building connectivity into its TVs – but it’s still primarily a music player.

So far, the Zune HD along with the Xbox 360 and the Zune Marketplace is the best integrated system to compete with Apple. Microsoft is not going to give up – and all in all we’re pretty impressed with where they are now.

The Zune HD gets a thumbs up for the hardware but the software is going to need a little more work – it might only be an upgrade or two away.