This week Microsoft took the wraps off the next Zune, dubbed
Zune HD. It seems to be your basic next-generation touch screen only
media player with the common additions of WiFi and an web browser (IE based).
There are some other interesting parts such as a HD Radio tuner, an OLED
screen, multitouch, and even HD output at 720p via a dock.
The most interesting part of the announcement is not the
device, but rather the service. The Zune Marketplace will now integrate
with the Xbox LIVE Marketplace, finally drawing a realistic picture of
Microsoft’s “3 screen” vision of the future. Getting the most press is the HD Radio tuner, the non-HD
resolution of the OLED screen, and the concept of Microsoft competing with the
iPod touch.
HD Radio tuner doesn’t do much for me, it will give people a
chance to explore something they likely have never heard of before, and
apparently the FM radio tuner has been a big selling point among existing Zune
buyers. The resolution on the OLED screen is only 480x272, which many
have noted is not even close to HD. I’m not really sure why people think
they need 1080p on a portable player, the lower resolution screen likely
benefits the majority of people who put low-bitrate and resolution content on
the device in the first place. If you have HD content, the dock now
outputs 720p over HDMI. The big question
in terms of resolution is actually what codec’s and resolutions it supports
syncing. If it supports all popular
codecs and HD resolutions, that means I can sync without transcoding.
I have never seen the Zune as a good competitor to the iPod,
I don’t feel much different about this one. Microsoft is still playing
catch-up here by connecting their services. This is something Apple has
mostly had for years. Within the next 2-3 years I can finally see the
landscape start to change a bit, but Microsoft is going to have a very hard
time going after Apple when you compare numbers.
Lacking is any mention of Media Center, which wasn’t a shock
to me personally. I firmly believe Microsoft has moved on from what most
reading this wanted Media Center to be, and of course for years I’ve said the
Xbox was the real competition to Media Center (this will become much clearer as
we go on). Connecting the Xbox, Zune, and Windows finally makes all of
the products marketable. Microsoft also
just announced that Xbox
360 has sold 30 million units and has 20 million on Xbox LIVE.
A few have noted that all the details have not been released
and that Media Center integration could still be there. I don’t
anticipate it, but would welcome it. I doubt we will see this act as a
Media Center Extender as many have wanted. If Microsoft could of improved
anywhere in the Zune-Media Center connection I hope it was with syncing
content, mainly TV. The Zune does support syncing TV, but it doesn’t
support anything copy protected (CableCARD, likely any future premium Cable/Sat
services), and it even support syncing content with Dolby Digital audio.
If this stays true just about the only TV content the Zune can sync (in the US)
will be analog cable/satellite captures. Even OTA content will be purely
Dolby Digital next months, so even your favorite local channels will not sync
unless Microsoft decides to change.