Zune?

[CyberPitz]

My flatmates birthday has arrived. He wants an MP3 player. He was debating between a Zune and a Zen vision. He says he hears nothing but awesome for the Zune, but I remember some negatives being said, so lets hear what you've heard about it/what you have experienced. Bring on the positives and negatives!

 

[CrazyHarij]

positive: it plays music

negative: its drm infected

 

[CyberPitz]

positive: it plays music

negative: its drm infected

What does this, drm infected mean?

 

[CrazyHarij]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zune#Criticism

 

[Stigmata]

DRM is basically the devil in digital-media form.

I'd go with the Zen. Anything by Creative is usually top-notch.

 

[VictimOfScience]

Apple aversion?

 

[CyberPitz]

Thanks guys. Yeah, the Zune looks like shit. It comes with wifi that does NOTHING! YAY!!! I'm going to tell him to go with the Vision W, then.

 

[giant384]

wth??? zune is better overall. the zen is just so bulky and the gui is horrible. zune has excellent sound quality. sure the wifi may be useless but theres so much that can be added with firmware. so dont just say the zune is shit and blow it off. there is much more the zune is capable of doing and will be added in the next firmware update i believe.

 

[Qonfused]

The Zune's screen is absolute shit. It's blocky, pixely and the horrendously low amount of colors make the videos look like complete ass.

 

[CyberPitz]

I agree on that one, qon. The Zens screen is 100x's better, imho. I still look at mine, and just..stare. It's gorgeous.

 

[Sebastian]

Zen vision M is ace. I've had mine for about 6 months now and its awesomeness still surprises me. It has a built in alarm clock, so you can wake up to whatever song you wish. It also has that shortcut button, which is innovative on some many levels. Also it plays a shit load of formats. Go with the zen.

 

[Stigmata]

Giant: There's lots that CAN be added to the Zune via firmware. There's lots that HASN'T been added to the Zune via firmware. No sense buying potential when that potential has no guarantee of being realized. The Zen is a much better purchase right now.

 

[giant384]

The Zune's screen is absolute shit. It's blocky, pixely and the horrendously low amount of colors make the videos look like complete ass.

you dont read post very well....

 

[Qonfused]

My post wasn't directed to you.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Get him a Zen. I recently got one for my birthday and it's awesome imo, plus the Zune software will most likely not even install on his computer. Trade ins ftw.

 

[Aenama]

Ipod rulz all of em.

 

[Iced_Eagle]

Personally I would get a Zune just because aesthetically it looks awesome (brown + green edging ftw), the UI is awesome, sound quality is great, and also it has a built in FM tuner.

Sure the WiFi really doesn't do much right now, but I think the things above are worth the purchase, and the WiFi would just be something nice added on which will hopefully get more useful in future firmware updates.

I'm actually waiting for the next Zune because I'm sure Microsoft has learned a lot about the music space since the first release of Zune and I'm sure their 2.0 product will be even better

 

[TCfromBN]

Ipod rulz all of em.

qft

Apple has it down.

 

[Qonfused]

I want to love the Zune. You're all right when you say the UI is awesome. It looks really clean and nice. But the screen breaks the whole deal.

 

[giant384]

I want to love the Zune. You're all right when you say the UI is awesome. It looks really clean and nice. But the screen breaks the whole deal.

what are you talking about??? ipod and zune have low resolution screens.......the quality of the movie will depend on what it was in the first place. sure the zune can be pixelated when there are dark colors but overall when there is alot of it like on album art, then its amazing.

 

[Qonfused]

It's not the resolution. It's the quality of the screen.

I can't explain it. Look at a ZVM screen side by side with a Zune (or the iPod's) screen. I did before I returned my Zune. When playing the exact same movie file, the Zune's quality is laughable compared to the ZVM.

 

[Stigmata]

The Zune has less color depth and larger pixels, essentially.

 

[giant384]

It's not the resolution. It's the quality of the screen.

I can't explain it. Look at a ZVM screen side by side with a Zune (or the iPod's) screen. I did before I returned my Zune. When playing the exact same movie file, the Zune's quality is laughable compared to the ZVM.

Sigh.....resolution is the quality of the screen!!!! the resolution of the zune and the ipod(im not sure what the zen is i would imagine its the same) but the zune looks worse because it has a longer screen. also is that your only reason to hate it?????

 

[CyberPitz]

Sigh.....resolution is the quality of the screen!!!! the resolution of the zune and the ipod(im not sure what the zen is i would imagine its the same) but the zune looks worse because it has a longer screen. also is that your only reason to hate it?????

Zen.

 

[Stigmata]

resolution != quality

[edit] the Zen screen looks sexy

 

[giant384]

Zen.

ok ok nowww i cccc. your talking about zen vision. i was thinking the zen vision:m. but yea the resolution is higher. compared 640x480(normal video resolution) instead of 320x240 like other players.

 

[CyberPitz]

ok ok nowww i cccc. your talking about zen vision. i was thinking the zen vision:m. but yea the resolution is higher. compared 640x480(normal video resolution) instead of 320x240 like other players.

Display: 4.3" High Resolution Color Screen (480 x 272 pixels)

 

[Geogaddi]

Well obviously W is better, but M still beats Zune in screen. Also DRM blows starving Etheopian penis.

 

[destrukt]

The DRM with the Zune isn't any worse than the iPod/iTunes combo.

I've heard basically nothing but good about the Zune's screen especially in comparison to iPods, etc.

The Zune has a better GUI too, Media Centre/X360 and other integration, will have notable firmware updates (Similar to XBLive in terms of functionality being added), etc.

 

[Geogaddi]

Zune may top iPod in some areas, but the Zen still wins.

 

[giant384]

the zune has so more future proofed stuff and many features that can be added by firmware. the gui in the zen is sooooo boring.

 

[CyberPitz]

the zune has so more future proofed stuff and many features that can be added by firmware. the gui in the zen is sooooo boring.

Why do you want to have hours of fun with a gui? I, personally, don't see anything wrong with the Zen gui..it does EXACTLY what I need, lets me find songs, play them, watch widescreen movies, select what I want. What more does it need, dancing penguins.

On second though, yes it does need those.

 

[Zeus]

The Zen. I have nothing but positive things to say about Creative's products.

 

[Qonfused]

To clarify: I've been talking about the ZVM's screen compared to the Zune's screen. It's the amount of colors that makes the Zune's (and iPod's) screen look horrible. While the Zen Vision:M sits at 250,000 colors, the Zune's and iPod's screen contains only 65,000. 65,000 may sound like a lot, but, it reality, it looks like crap. You know the color splotches in movies when you are watching a movie on the Zune? Where the exact color isn't matchable on the movie, so the Zune compensates (poorly) by placing a mixture of color in pools? That never happens on the ZVM.

 

[CyberPitz]

To clarify: I've been talking about the ZVM's screen compared to the Zune's screen. It's the amount of colors that makes the Zune's (and iPod's) screen look horrible. While the Zen Vision:M sits at 250,000 colors, the Zune's and iPod's screen contains only 65,000. 65,000 may sound like a lot, but, it reality, it looks like crap. You know the color splotches in movies when you are watching a movie on the Zune? Where the exact color isn't matchable on the movie, so the Zune compensates (poorly) by placing a mixture of color in pools? That never happens on the ZVM.

Aha, this is the kind of information I'm liking. Not because it's bashing the Zune *by all means, continue * but because it brings in examples, and specific information.