Help/Advice

[Zman007]

Hello, I'm planning to ask a video MP3 player for Christmas and I'm still debating a little bit about what to get. I'm pretty sure my parents aren't going to spend anymore than $150 dollars on an MP3 so that limits my choices. I'm planning to ask for the Zune 30, but I'm still wondering a couple of things: 1.Since you can get a Zune 30 for $90 dollars on ebay, is the Zune 30 the best choice for a limited budget? 2. I've heard that putting videos on the Zune is a hassle, is it really that bad? 3. I also know that the new firmware update is out, what improvements does this update add to the zune 30?

Any other comments and concerns would be greatly appreciated.:)

[Jason Bayer]

Alright, you have a few choices and decisions to make, so Ill do my best to map them out for you. If you are on a tight budget, I would definately go with the Zune 30. Simply put, with the new Zune v2 firmware, and once you install it on your Zune, it almost identically acts as one of the new zune v2. Only thing it wont have is the new "squircle", which is the touch pad/click pad on the new Zunes. Other than that, the only other difference is that it doesnt support mpeg-4 or h.264, like the new zunes do. But honestly, most videos are in wmv or avi(and if its in avi, the zune software will convert it). So since your budget is out of the Zune 80 range, I would most likely go with the Zune 30, cause bigger screen than the Zune 4 and 8, same features, better video viewing, and yea, Id go for Zune 30

Yes, videos were a little troubling to get on the original zunes, but now with the upgraded software, and firmware, it means nothing now. All youve got to do now is scroll the movie into the sync tab, and if its not a supported file, it will convert it to the supported format, with no troubles.

The Improvements, well it adds wireless sync with your pc, so that if you have a Zune, and a docking station, all you gotta do is put the xune on the dock, and then new songs you have downloaded will automatically sync to your Zune, wirelessly. Another improvement, much needed i think, is the 3 plays. If a person near you send a song to you wirelessly, instead of only having 3 days to play it before you lose it, you can keep it as long as you want, but only play it 3 times, which is a lsight improvement, but it is better. Another big improvement is the Podcast support on all Zunes. Now if you want to join a podcast, be it video or radio, you can go on the zune and select ones you want to add/cancel/join, all from your zune, and all wirelessly.

So the choice is yours. If I were you, Id ask for a Zune 30, and either a Home AV Pack, or just the Docking Station, cause you will need that docking station for full advantage of the wireless capabilities. Or the other option is, you ask for a Zune 4, and basically get all that stuff built in, without upgrading the firmware on the Zune 30, and start fresh, but the choice is yours.

If you have anything else you want to ask, feel free to.