TheLastProph3t

Hey guys

Just kinda found out today that I might be getting one of these for Xmas.

I took the opportunity to google it and besides all of the good reviews...there is the isolated case of problems that some people have.

Now, I read a couple of reviews here:

PC World - Zune 80GB Media Player (Black) Review

and

Requested item not found

that have me a bit worried.

One of them (PC world) says that the screen is not as sharp and clear as it is said by other reviews to be. They say that "the pixels can be easily seen" and are "noticeable". Can anyone who has a new Zune verify how good the screen is? (I intend to use it for pictures and movies probably more than music)

Also, one of the reviews on Circuit City said that the Zune software is not compatible or doesn't run well with Windows XP SP 2. I have Windows XP Pro Ver 2002 SP 2. Not sure if I'll be able to get it work or not...?

Finally, last question i promise ...If I have movies that I have downloaded off the internet or on DVDs...is there a way to get them into the Zune? For example, if I have Stealth on a regular DVD i bought in the store, how would I get that movie into the Zune.

Cheers, TIA

Anthony

RayGentry

Alright, Here We Go!

I haven't seen the screen on the new Zune, but i have the 30 gig and the screen quality is really solid. As with any LCD if you get close enough you can see pixels. Plus there are plenty of people who are happy with the screen quality.

Secondly, I have had NO problems with the software on XP SP2. While I'm sure that some people have had issues and have been running XP SP2, I don't think there's merit to say that there are problems WITH that OS, just people having problems ON it.

As far as TV shows and stuff go, I use superENCODER. It already has presets to output for Zune, both standard aspect ratio and 16:9. As far as DVD's if you have a divx version, just convert it the same as the TV shows. As far as ripping from a DVD, I don't do that, but I'm sure a search will provide you with some good programs to do that. Find one that rips straight from DVD to WMV and you won't have to convert it again.

TheLastProph3t

So basically you're saying, its no problem regarding the Windows thing.

I'm reading reviews...and product descriptions. Does this item come with a charge cable? or is there some kind of charge only cable that I can get for Zune 2?

RayGentry

Yeah, I'm saying that people have problems, but it's not like it won't work on XP. It comes with a USB cable that charges the device. It is Zune only. If you want a wall charger, just get one of the plugins that lets you plug the adapter into the wall then the USB cable into that. Does that answer your question?

gjw

I have used it with Windows XP MCE SP2 and also Windows Vista and never had any real problems.
I think the majority of the complaints were from people who either upgraded from old software, (the upgrade process was flawed but has since been fixed), or else were complaining that features were missing/different after the upgrade.
In the latter case, they were valid complaints because some things were drastically different between the 1st and 2nd generation Zunes but they're nothing that a new user would notice.

As for video handling, the Zune reads WMV and MP4 (WMV only on the Zune 30) so if you've ever converted video for Windows Media Player Mobile, the same software should work for your Zune.
I always used Pocket DVD Studio for my Axim and it works just as well for my Zune.

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soccerfreak24

Well, I spent a while writing a response.. then realized you already must have recieved the zune! so how is it? any problems with compatibility with your comp, or noticing the pixels like you thought?

donmcdougall

So did you get one for Christmas? and how did you like it?