Zune 2.5 Update News Firmware and Software

[EnzoTen]

abi>>article

Press Release:

Zune Software — Quick, Easy, Intuitive

·Import your music, pictures and video. Zune software will import the music, pictures and videos on your PC, including music you have copied from CDs into your collection using iTunes, Microsoft Windows Media Player or other programs. For video, unprotected WMV, MPEG-4 and H.264 files are supported, and you can easily put TV content recorded using Windows Vista Home Premium or Ultimate on your Zune.

·Manage your collection. Advanced metadata editing makes it easy to manage your collection by helping you easily change album cover art, edit multiple albums or tracks at the same time, change the artist’s name on a song, and select a different genre for tracks or albums. Advanced sorting features also allow you to view your music collection by artist, album and now genre.

·Get in sync. Set up content to syncto one or more unconnected Zunes by simply dragging and dropping the content — you can even set a podcast series to update whenever a new episode becomes available. Once the Zune is connected or comes into the range of your Wi-Fi network, the content will be added to the Zune automatically. If your Zune is almost full, the software will show which items are taking up the most memory so you can choose which content to sync or remove.

·Auto playlist. Easily create auto playlists by choosing rules such as recently added music, specific artists, genres, ratings, years and much more. As your collection grows, tracks that match the criteria will automatically be added to the playlists.

·Music without interruption. You can enjoy gapless playback through both the Zune player and Zune software, which eliminates momentary silence between tracks for a seamless listening experience — a capability that is particularly important when listening to live or electronic music albums. All you have to do is play the album and the feature is enabled.

·Extend your media. Plug your Zune into your Xbox 360 console to customize the soundtrack in supported games. You can also stream music, pictures and videos from the Zune software on your PC to your Xbox 360 console using a wireless connection.

·Now playing: Windows Live Messenger. Inspire your instant messaging contacts with the new “Now Playing” feature in Windows Live Messenger. Your IM friends will automatically see what you’re listening to and be able to find more information on the track by clicking through to the Zune Social page for that artist.


Zune Marketplace — Discover Something New

·The Zune Marketplace — well stocked. Zune Marketplace adds exciting new content every day. Currently there are more than 3.5 million songs, two-thirds of which are available in pure MP3 format. You can choose from more than 4,800 music videos, 800 TV shows, and a healthy selection of more than 3,500 audio and video podcasts. Organized by genre and subgenre and complete with a powerful search function that searches the store as well as your collection, Zune Marketplace lets you always find what you’re looking for.

·Watch television on the go. The dedicated video store within Zune Marketplace is a one-stop shop where you canbuy music videos and episodes of popular TV shows from networks such as COMEDY CENTRAL, FUNimation® Entertainment, MTV, NBC Universal, Nickelodeon, Starz Media (including Manga Entertainment), Turner Broadcasting, Ultimate Fighting Championship® and VH1. Consumers can choose from episodes of popular television series such as COMEDY CENTRAL’s “South Park,” FUNimation’s“Afro Samurai” and “Witchblade,” MTV’s “The Hills,” NBC’s “The Office,” “Heroes” and “30 Rock,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” SCI FI Channel’s “Battlestar Galactica” and “Eureka,” Starz’s “Street Fighter,” Turner’s “Metalocalypse,” and “Robot Chicken,” UFC’s “The Ultimate Fighter®” and “Fight Night,” VH1’s “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels” and more. Each video costs 160 Microsoft Points (approximately $1.99 U.S.) and comes with licenses for up to five PCs.

·Access to millions of tracks — your way. Use a Zune Pass subscription to explore millions of songs available on Zune Marketplace for a flat fee of $14.99 a month and fill your Zune with new music whenever you want. You can use your Zune Pass on up to three PCs and three Zune devices, making it the perfect choice for families and music lovers. You can also purchase songs, music videos and videos a la carte from Zune Marketplace using Microsoft Points, which work across both Zune and the Xbox LIVE Marketplace.*

·Custom playlists. Discover new music to love, and rediscover old favorites, with custom playlists from the Zune Marketplace team of editors and special guests. There are more than 1,000 handpicked playlists from top music editors from Zune Marketplace and special guests, with new playlists available for download weekly.

·See fellow fans of your favorite artist. From your Zune software, you can see which of your friends are listening to the artists you like, either from within your own collection or from the artist’s page on Zune Marketplace. You can also see who the top listeners are for any artist, which lets you connect with people who share your musical tastes.



Social
·It’s all about your Zune Card. The Zune Card is an online “calling card” that automatically reflects the music you’re listening to with Zune. It’s customizable, free and can be posted on whatever blog, Web site or social networking sites you frequent, where it will continue to update in real time. Move your mouse over the list of a friend’s albums. With one click on the album art you can buy the track, send it or mark it as a favorite.

·Like a personal radio station. Simply drag and drop a friend’s Zune Card onto the Zune player icon on your computer. If you’re a Zune Pass subscriber, this means you get all the (full-track) music available via Zune Pass that your friend has been listening to. If you like it, add it to your collection with one click. If you don’t have a Zune Pass, you’ll see the album art and track information; mark it for purchase with one click, and the next time you sync your Zune, you’ll be asked to confirm your purchase if the song is available on Zune Marketplace.

·It’s now easier to find people you know. Members of the Zune online music community can add their name, location and background information to their profile page, making it easier for others to find and add them as friends in the online music community, or for you to identify friends to add to your network.

·Jump-start your experience. The key to unlocking the power of the Zune online music community is adding friends and checking out their music. To help you start building your music network, top music editors from the Zune team will automatically be part of your friends list when you join the online music community to give you a head start in finding new music you love.

·Build a reputation through participation. Your opinion and participation are valuable in any community. Now you can add reviews to artist and album pages and rate other people’s reviews inside the online music community. These efforts are rewarded with badges, small icons on your Zune Card that represent accomplishments such as being the top listener of an artist, passing a specific number of total plays or reviews posted, and helping other people in the Zune forums.

[HipHopScribe]

Great update, I'm glad to see they're obviously listening to consumers.

[Ricardo Dawkins]

Update online at www.zune.net. get it there.
my zune software is not auto-updating

[Doom1468]

Are the requirements lower?
Last time I installed for fun, it crashed my video card driver...

[Cruleworld]

I'm still trying to get it installed

[saminthehat]

I've got it installed but I see no 'Marketplace' option in the top bar? Anyone care to explain please?

[sumx4182]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Dawkins

Update online at www.zune.net. get it there.
my zune software is not auto-updating

my software updated fine, as long as i went to setting as had it search for updates...

[sumx4182]

Originally Posted by saminthehat

I've got it installed but I see no 'Marketplace' option in the top bar? Anyone care to explain please?

couldn't tell you, mines still there...

[Ricardo Dawkins]

Originally Posted by saminthehat

I've got it installed but I see no 'Marketplace' option in the top bar? Anyone care to explain please?

Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > English (United States)

it work here in Panama, Central America

[saminthehat]

Originally Posted by Ricardo Dawkins

Control Panel > Regional and Language Options > English (United States)

it work here in Panama, Central America

Ahh well I can see how that would help, and thanks for the consideration, but it still isn't working
I see the it doesn't register what I play on the Zune Card either.

[Cruleworld]

I'm having a ton of syncing problems

[JohnnyLi]

I have not experienced any problems with it, I can finally change the titles of my .mpg movies without it changing it to whatever the Zune wants!

I still have a problem with Collision Course's artists (I put in "Jay-Z; Linkin Park") and it shows up as " Linkin Park" with the space before it :/

Otherwise, 2.5 is working great for me!

[HipHopScribe]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLi

I have not experienced any problems with it, I can finally change the titles of my .mpg movies without it changing it to whatever the Zune wants!

I still have a problem with Collision Course's artists (I put in "Jay-Z; Linkin Park") and it shows up as " Linkin Park" with the space before it :/

Otherwise, 2.5 is working great for me!

The semicolon reads as separating it into 2 artist, the songs tagged like that probably show up under Jay-Z also, right? Use some other symbol and it shouldn't do that, or if you want it to show up under both, but don't want the space, get rid of the space after the semicolon.

[Ricardo Dawkins]

I think he should use this " \\ "

[Snydar]

Searching around to find a actual changelog, but didn't find anything.

Any word about asian character encoding support? (The only thing keeping me from actually getting a Zune...)

[Ricardo Dawkins]

No Asian support added. No Zune in your future.