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Second Time 'Round - the Zune Flash In-Depth

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the give-it-a-better-go-this-time dept.

J Mallard writes "Ars Technica has an in-depth review of the new Zune Flash. The overall verdict? An improvement over the original, with some caveats. 'I suspect there's a special shotgun in Redmond passed around ceremonially to the different divisions so each can shoot itself in the foot. When the shotgun arrived at the Zune team HQ, it appears to have been directed squarely at one of the most promising new features the device has to offer: autosyncing of recorded TV content ... [Specifically,] DVR-MS support for unprotected standard definition TV recordings from Windows Media Center. HDTV and protected recordings are not supported.' Let me make sure I understand this: at this point, a consumer has purchased a PC, Vista, a tuner card, and a Zune, but still can't be trusted with high-def content? Nice.'"

22 of 180 comments (clear)

  1. I think this is what is most bothersome by yagu · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I think this is what is most bothersome, and tiresome, about the treadmill that is Microsoft's products, advertising, etc. From the article, yet again:

    Only recently has the company admitted what was clear from the outset: the first Zune was rushed to market (it was a "sprint cycle," in Microsoft terms), and "compromises" were made in order to make that happen.

    It's hard to imagine how this goes on and on, but it does. I don't know who it reflects more poorly on, Microsoft's disingenuousness (word?), or the public's collective willingness to be fooled again and again.

    I've often referred to the Charlie Brown - Lucy tension as the perfect metaphor... Lucy promises to placehold the football so Charlie can kick it. He falls for it every time and she never fails to pull it away at the last second (I keep hoping there's one strip where she doesn't pull it away, but I never saw it.... anyone?). We, the public are Microsoft's Charlie Brown. Sigh.

  2. But by niceone · · Score: 3, Interesting

    But will it run Linu^H^H^H^H rockbox?

    Probably not.

    --
    ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
  3. HD? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    HD content displayed at 320x240 on a device with an 8GB capacity? Yeah, that makes a ton of sense.

    1. Re:HD? by DingerX · · Score: 5, Informative

      Uh, the point was:

      If you have a TV tuner, you can set it to auto-record shows, and the Zune software will transcode it (and presumably bust it down to 320x240) for the Zune, and wirelessly sync it up. If you have a HD tuner (or even just a digital one, on some reports), it won't work.

      The "coolness factor" isn't in the HD, but that you can record your daily television shows (say last night's talk shows), and they'll be automatically put on your device for the morning commute. The "shotgun-to-foot factor" is that it doesn't work unless you have an analog tuner card, even though analog broadcasts are going to disappear.

    2. Re:HD? by aztektum · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Some times you can see a glimmer of cool going on inside Microsoft. It's kind of a bummer, because obviously they have to have a lot of really bright folks working there. It seems when you get a certain level above peon is when it turns into the corporate monopolist with an eye on world domination everyone hates. Granted a lot of places work like that, but somehow MS always seems to take it to a new level.

      --
      :: aztek ::
      No sig for you!!
  4. The Microsoft Production Model by explosivejared · · Score: 4, Funny

    Only recently has the company admitted what was clear from the outset: the first Zune was rushed to market (it was a "sprint cycle," in Microsoft terms), and "compromises" were made in order to make that happen.

    Translation: Release it. Fix it in SP1

    --
    I got a catholic block.
  5. Positive review by RonnyJ · · Score: 5, Insightful
    So why is the only quote in the summary from the only really negative bit of the review?

    Heres another quote, from the conclusion:

    We expect that the new lineup will help Microsoft become an established player in the PMP space over the next year. The updated devices should also put an end to the almost-endless set of Zune-related jokes, and they are an obvious choice for anyone who loves subscription music services.

    1. Re:Positive review by niceone · · Score: 4, Insightful

      So why is the only quote in the summary from the only really negative bit of the review?

      Ummmmm, because this is slashdot?

      --
      ccalam - acoustic versions of new songs.
  6. Product not customer by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You are mistaken in thinking the person who bought all that and wants to watch the TV program is the customer. Sorry. You are wrong. That person is the product. The advertisers and content owners who want to protect it using ever increasing amount of DRM is the customer. Got it? Now it all makes sense, doesn't it?

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Product not customer by nine-times · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That idea is sorely underrepresented in a lot of discussions about "media content". Even ignoring the ad breaks in TV shows, there's still product placement within the shows. If you haven't seen it yet, either you don't watch TV or you haven't been paying close enough attention.

      When you really evaluate what's going on in media companies, it's clear that even a lot of content that you pay for is still designed to serve as advertising. The music and movies you buy are rigged and designed to get you to buy into related brands and merchandizing. Listen to a record executive for a few minutes, and you'll realize that what they're really interested in is branding, marketing, merchandizing. The music is an advertisement for lifestyle products, clothing lines, etc.

      So the business model, under this light, is the consumer as a customer. The content owners/producers are providing a service, but you aren't the customer, you're the product. The customer are the huge companies who produce loads of crap that no one really wants or needs. The service being provided is to convince you (essentially the product) into believing that you want and need crap that you don't actually want or need.

  7. Re:HD on the Zune? Huh? by joto · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would you need HD content on a device with a 320 x 240 screen?
    Because the content isn't available as non-HD? Why would you want to record the same program twice, just so you can use it on your whateveritscalled.
  8. Re:All software has bugs and/or design faux-pas... by mabhatter654 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Content is content... if it's on your windows machine and a supported format, why can it NOT be played...especially if it was RECORDED on your machine!!!! By Windows... kinda dumb

  9. Re:Look by fred+fleenblat · · Score: 4, Funny

    I would argue with you, but I am very busy right now. I am drinking a Zima while programming with some Zend tools. My Zune is rocking to the musical stylings of Zappa. I store my zinc in a zip-loc bag right next to my Zip drive, which contains a Zero Mostel mpeg. I do not use Zone Alarm. I drive a MBW Z3. I had some zucchini at the zoo. Any zircons? Zilch. I ran out of money yesterday so I robbed a zombie and hijacked a zephyr. I got my shoes at Zappos.com. But and between zeus and zygotes, I've had enough zeitgeist.

  10. Re:All software has bugs and/or design faux-pas... by Erwos · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The again, Microsoft's been screwing the HD content crowd for a while now. No clear QAM support (except for Cablecards, which is pointless), the Cablecard limitations, no DirectTV support (it's been "coming soon" since like early 2006), and so on. Even their MVPs are starting to lose their patience.

    --
    Plausible conjecture should not be misrepresented as proof positive.
  11. Re:All software has bugs and/or design faux-pas... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who the hell would need HD content on a 320x240 screen and with that small of a storage space?

    Fix the horrible playlist support on the Zune first. That was the one thing i was hoping they'd fix this time around but instead it's still an epic fail.

  12. Re:Look by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Funny

    Why not name it Monkey nipple? I think that the name "Monkey nipple" was already taken by some component of Gnome.

    --
    My blog
  13. Mr. Gates, Tear Down This Wall! by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Until they get rid of that ridiculous limit on playback of WiFi shared files -- especially non-copyrighted files -- Zune is just an annoyance with potential.

    What makes it all doubly stupid is that Microsoft is able to identify copyrighted files that aren't allowed to be shared (e.g. Frank Sinatra) through WiFi.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  14. Re:I think this is what is most bothersomeLUCY& by Nom+du+Keyboard · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've often referred to the Charlie Brown - Lucy tension as the perfect metaphor... Lucy promises to placehold the football so Charlie can kick it. He falls for it every time and she never fails to pull it away at the last second (I keep hoping there's one strip where she doesn't pull it away, but I never saw it.... anyone?). We, the public are Microsoft's Charlie Brown. Sigh.

    I had long hoped to speak to Charles Schultz about this very item. It was my fond hope that in the very last Peanuts strip that Lucy wouldn't pull the ball away, and Charlie Brown finally kicks it...

    ...right into the Kite Eating Tree.

    --
    "It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
  15. Re:All software has bugs and/or design faux-pas... by arth1 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Why would anyone want it for HD content? The screen doesn't even support NTSC resolution. Starting out with HD won't make a noticeable difference when it has to be scaled down anyhow.

  16. Re:All software has bugs and/or design faux-pas... by ByOhTek · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Simple - people don't want things because they are rational, they want them because they are spiffy.

    And it saves the time to downconvert it by hand if it can be done on the fly (though if you have a transfer app, you should just use that).

    --
    Self proclaimed typo king, and inventor of the bear destroying coffee table (patent not pending).
  17. Quite a bargain by InlawBiker · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The old one is now a great bargain. I have the old 30gb model, I won it at a charity auction. I always liked the thing, but with the new firmware and software it's really nice. I've seen them for $85 online with free shipping (in the U.S.) Not bad for a 30gb player with wireless and video!

  18. Zune Owner, HD Works Fine by JonXP · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm a Zune owner, and I record Terrestrial Broadcast HD shows. My Zune syncs with them fine, after the software does its automatic (and transparent to the user) conversion for resolution and space. This is on my old Zune 30GB, even. I'm not sure why the article says that non-DRM'd HD doesn't work...perhaps they only tried a DRM'd video and assumed it all wouldn't work?

    --
    Still IMing in the stone age?