Follow abi on twitter

Second Generation Zune Design Info & More

zune-design.jpg

Besides learning that DRM free MP3 will not track you, I have also learned a little more about the Zune design. Inside sources have stated that the back plate of the player will be made from a brushed metal. This will be key for keeping scratches and fingerprints at bay. As for the rest of the body of the player it will be made of a hard glossy scratch resistant plastic as seen on many of the players noting the Creative Zen in particular. This from experience will show smudges and fingerprints but any player with a glossy plastic will. One of the more surprising things was that the Zune screen will be made of glass. So no more need to ridiculously spend $10 on a sticky piece of plastic.

I think the Zune team made a great choice by not leaving out first generation Zune owners; they will be getting all the same full functionality as new Zune owners. There was one small catch that I picked up on is that the first generation will not get native H.264 support. However, H.264 will be easily converted with the Zune software.

  • Submit this article to Del.icio.us
  • Submit this article to Reddit
  • Submit this article to Furl
  • Submit this article to StumbleUpon

Comments

kevo777 on October 3, 2007 4:29 PM

Interesting about the native H.264 not getting to the first gen device. I've seen several posts indicate the contrary. I guess we'll see in November.

EnzoTen on October 3, 2007 5:45 PM

That information is directly from the mouths of the Zune team, i got a change to speak with them this morning. First gen Zune will not support native H.264

jeebs on October 3, 2007 5:46 PM

pwnd!

Deej on October 3, 2007 10:48 PM

lol, jeebs

Utew on October 4, 2007 9:11 AM

Grahm, I assume this is due to different SOC's being used for the two generations of players? H.264 takes a bit more grunt to decode...

Any word on native decoding of DivX/XviD?.. and also Maximum bitrates and resolutions supported? Whether video-out at higher than 320 x 240 would be good info to know too.

EnzoTen on October 4, 2007 11:01 AM

Yes, i believe that the lack of H.264 on the Zune 30 has to do with hardware architecture.

No there will be no native DivX/XviD support, there may even be difficulty converting it with the Zune software. So you will have to look to third party software. But, they did not rule out the possibility of supporting it in the future.

as far as max bitrates i didnt get a clear answer. But i do know that TV out will be full 640x480 30fps... so i think natively its looking pretty good.

Utew on October 4, 2007 1:16 PM

Thanks for that, Grahm.. Haven't seen that info listed anywhere before now.. It falls in line with what I expected. Overall it seems that MS has done a decently admirable job with the evolution of this nextgen Zune.

Here's hoping you get a sample before the official release date to test .

Leave a comment

  • Name:
  • E-mail:
  • URL:
  • Remember info?

Type the characters you see in the picture above.


Top MP3 Players
abi Editor's Choice
  • SanDisk Sansa Clip
    SanDisk Sansa Clip

    The Clip has a fantastic little form factor; cheap in build quality but very rugged. The interface is simple and relatively straight forward. The features on the clip are more or less average, mostly identical to the Sansa Express. However, what earns this player a spot in Editor’s Choice is the superb sound quality; you will not find another player at this size and price that can match it. Read the full review or go ahead and buy it.

  • Samsung P3
    Samsung P2

    The Samsung P2 was a success and the P3 is a very welcome and substantial update. Samsung has paid close attention to users on P2 issues and made great strides in addressing and improving most of them. The best feature of the P3 is its native video support. Most content you thow at it will playback without conversion on the great looking screen. Stop by the Samsung P3 forums for more details or check out our indepth P3 review.

  • Microsoft Zune 120
    Samsung P2

    Sure, many of us are not big fans of the walled garden, but there are a lot of great things going on with the Zune- sturdy hardware, ultra easy to use user interface, and a media player that is worthy of editor’s choice. The best part of the Zune is the constant firmware and software updates virtually giving you a new device at each major refresh. You can check out the latest Zune 120 & 16 review or stop by our Zune forums for the latest.

  • Cowon iAudio D2
    Cowon iAudio D2

    The D2 is a fantastic sounding PMP with a very nice looking screen and a tone of features. One of the best features of the D2 is the SDHC slot allowing you to add another 32GB to this small wonder. The touch interface does not lend well to on the move operation, but it is not enough to keep it from being an editor’s choice. You can find usually find it at Amazon for the best price and before to check out the review.

  • Phonak Audéo PFE
    Phonak PFE

    Phonak Audéo PFE offer outstanding clarity and precision; natural, dynamic mids and treble, and decent bass for a single armature in-ear phone. They handle dense, complex music very well. The PFE work well with most acoustic and some electronic music genres, but bassheads might have to look at other alternatives. They're great for sports as well, since they fit very securely. Check out our review.