Why I've Ditched Windows Media Player 11 And Switched to the Zune Software

[Jason Dunn]

<img border="1" alt="" src="http://images.thoughtsmedia.com/dht/2008/zune25-software.jpg" /><br /><br />Something interesting happened this month: after the <a target="_blank" href="http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zunesoftware/download.htm">Zune 2.5 software update</a> was released, I started using it more to actually listen to music. Does that sound a bit strange? Previously I'd really only used it as synching software - meaning I'd load it up to push music, photos, and videos onto my Zune - but not much else. My Zune syncs with my Media Center machine, a computer that I use primarily for watching TV and DVDs. It's hooked up to a Dell 26&quot; LCD TV and a Logitech 5.1 speaker system, so I often use it to listen to music, but always in Media Center mode so I can use the remote to control the tunes. <br /><br />As I used the Zune 2.5 software more I came to realize that it was everything that Windows Media Player 11 was not: friendly, fast, agile, and able to easily handle my 12,403 songs (that's what the Zune software tells me I have). It's also much faster at picking up new content in monitored folders, which solves a long-standing problem I've had with adding new music to my collection and not being able to play it right away from another computer. It doesn't hurt that the Zune software is so beautiful and fun to use either! Windows Media Player 11 looks sad in comparison.<br /><br />The Zune software isn't perfect mind you - there's no mini-player mode, no task-bar mode, and I still prefer <a target="_blank" href="http://www.videolan.org/vlc/">VLC</a> for playing video files. It's less capable when it comes to photos and videos, but still decent. All in all, I think that by going back to scratch with this software the Zune team was able to create a really great solution for managing music collections - largely because it's free from the legacy code that Windows Media Player 11 is dragging along behind it. If you're using Windows Media Player 11 to manage and listen to your music collection, I'd encourage you to <a href="http://www.zune.net/en-us/products/zunesoftware/download.htm" target="_blank">download the Zune software</a> and give it a try.

[E367BL]

With the improvements made to the Zune Player in v2.5, specifically an advanced ID3 tag editor and Auto Playlists, I have been using the Zune Player almost exclusively for audio ripping and playback. The auto playlist feature, while not as robust as I would like, does allow me to sort through my music in ways impossible without them. And because many of those playlists are dependent on play counts, I prefer to use the Zune device and software as much as possible for playback.

Since I am spending much more time within the software itself, I have begun to utilize its features more often. For instance, I never used the social feature of the Zune experience prior to v2.5. Since the spring update, I have been experimenting with the social features to discover not only new artists, but those which I have forgotten over the years. This is truly an amazing concept that I believe to be the future of "peer-to-peer" networking, and has solidified the Zune as my media player of choice in both portable and PC forms.

[Jason Dunn]

For instance, I never used the social feature of the Zune experience prior to v2.5. Since the spring update, I have been experimenting with the social features to discover not only new artists, but those which I have forgotten over the years.

Indeed! I really didn't use any of the "Zune Social" stuff prior to 2.5 because it was "trapped" on my one computer. Now that I'm using the Zune 2.5 software on all my computers, suddenly the social stuff is much more usable.

[randalllewis]

I have also been using Zune to play music rather than WMP for the same reasons already mentioned. I began to sour on WMP when I used the beta version and it scrambled song and artist tags when I used the find album art feature. When Zune 2 came along, I found my new player; 2.5 is even better.

BTW, does 2.5 fix the problem I've experienced and others have commented on: that the Zune would sync some songs that were already on the player each time it was connected to the computer. I know I wound up with 12 copies of one ABBA song (I know, I know). This was apparently related to how the Zune read tags if certain characters appear in them. Did this get fixed?

[Jason Dunn]

BTW, does 2.5 fix the problem I've experienced and others have commented on: that the Zune would sync some songs that were already on the player each time it was connected to the computer.

Not sure. I didn't see that problem with the 2.0 software, so it sounds like it's a fairly rare problem that impacts only some people....like you. :) Since you're using 2.5 now, do you see the problem?

[Disturbedboy]

i had noticed that same bug on the 2.0 version, but with the upgrade it has been fixed, i believe

[Eriq Cook]

I've also recently switched to the Zune software alltogether. The ability to edit ID3 tags directly from the Zune software was the biggest reason, and I already preferred the Zune interface and speed over WMP11. The other main reason as you mentioned is that the music library updates so much faster--in less than a minute in most cases--when playing music from other computers around the house that have the Zune software. It's cool that I can add a music item to my Media Center PC running the Zune software, then go to my office computer running Zune and see the item(s) instantly added to the collection. And vice-versa. Since I listen to music in the office and in the living room frequently, it's nice being able to work from a single music collection that syncs quickly with multiple computers.

[mace]

The only reason I continue to use WMP, is that it does a good job with rearranging my music files to the correct folders I have setup based on the rip music settings.

I have not played with the Zune software much, but does it do something similar?

[Jason Dunn]

The only reason I continue to use WMP, is that it does a good job with rearranging my music files to the correct folders I have setup based on the rip music settings. I have not played with the Zune software much, but does it do something similar?

No, I don't believe it re-arranges your music for you - that's interesting that you prefer that method, I'd hate it if software changed how my music was arranged. :eek: Although at this point in the digital music world, it doesn't matter too much because it's all based on metadata...when you're inside the program, you'll never see the folder structure.

[decodergrizzly]

No, I don't believe it re-arranges your music for you - that's interesting that you prefer that method, I'd hate it if software changed how my music was arranged. :eek: Although at this point in the digital music world, it doesn't matter too much because it's all based on metadata...when you're inside the program, you'll never see the folder structure.

Actually, the Zune software does automatically organize your music into folders in whatever directory you specify. It acually does this better than WMP since it keeps your filenames and album art consistent. WMP is horrible at working with album art and ID3 tags, my music is perfectly organized in the Zune software, but all screwed up in WMP 11 (duplicate artist entries, missing album art, screwed up genre entries, etc) which is frustrating because i specifically enter all the correct tag info directly to each music file (i'm a bit anal about this).

So yeah, the Zune software is much much better. Now if only I could sync my Sansa clip with it...

[Jason Dunn]

Actually, the Zune software does automatically organize your music into folders in whatever directory you specify.

Hmm. I've never seen it re-arrange my music when I point it at my directories to scan. It does it's own thing when I buy Zune Marketplace tracks, but that's a different story. Does it do that as part of the "Automatically update album art and metadata" function? I always turn that off. I've never seen it act like iTunes where it will re-organize music as it imports it...

[decodergrizzly]

Hmm. I've never seen it re-arrange my music when I point it at my directories to scan. It does it's own thing when I buy Zune Marketplace tracks, but that's a different story. Does it do that as part of the "Automatically update album art and metadata" function? I always turn that off. I've never seen it act like iTunes where it will re-organize music as it imports it...

No, it only organizes when you rip music off a CD as far as i know (creates folders, artist, album, etc). I definitely would not want it to reorganize my music when it scans, that would drive me up the wall! Like you, my music library is somewhere in the realm of 12-13,000 songs. I always leave the 'automatically update album art..." option turned off as well, I learned the hard way with that...

[BugDude10]

Yeah, not me, not yet.

Sure, the Zune software is pretty, and you pretty much need it to sync your stuff to your Zune, and they have fixed a couple of the annoyances in v2.5 (like being able to edit the tags right in the software), but I just don't think the Zune software is a zippy as WMP11. Maybe it's just bogged down trying to check the sync status at the same time I'm trying to find a tune I want to hear on my PC, or maybe it gets bogged down searching for new music on my PC when I just want to hear a tune, but, for me, it seems to be bogged down.

And not only that, but it still seems to make mistakes. Back when I made the mistake of thinking that the software could convert any MPEG-4 file to play on the Zune (thereby making my collection of movies-for-PSP useable on the Zune, too), the Zune cataloged my entire collection of videos for Pocket PC, PSP, and Zune; however, the only videos the software can put onto my Zune are the Zune-formatted videos. But despite the fact that I keep telling the software to look in only the Zune video folder, it keeps pulling all of the other videos into the collection. WTF?

So, until the software gets a little better, I'll stick with WMP for playback.

Just my $0.02.

[Jason Dunn]

...but I just don't think the Zune software is a zippy as WMP11. Maybe it's just bogged down trying to check the sync status at the same time I'm trying to find a tune I want to hear on my PC, or maybe it gets bogged down searching for new music on my PC when I just want to hear a tune, but, for me, it seems to be bogged down.

I'm curious, what kind of hardware are you seeing this bogged-down performance on? On my hardware the Zune software is DEFINITELY faster at everything, especially things like scrolling through the album-art view of songs. That was PAINFUL under WMP11.

[txa1265]

I have switched based on this thread ... though I only had WMP9 on my work laptop. The Zune software is much nicer as a player. One thing - I have always liked iTunes start/stop with space bar (which felt natural after years and years of Mark of the Unicorn's Performer MIDI sequencer doing the same) ... and while I can do it with the Zune software it seems to depend on what control has the focus.

[Jason Dunn]

I have switched based on this thread ...

A switcher! All right! (I feel like a Mac guy or something... :D)

One thing - I have always liked iTunes start/stop with space bar (which felt natural after years and years of Mark of the Unicorn's Performer MIDI sequencer doing the same) ... and while I can do it with the Zune software it seems to depend on what control has the focus.

Ok, that's hilarious, I never knew the spacebar did the stop/start in the Zune software! I always use the media keys on my keyboard. I did some experimenting, and you're right, the spacebar works if no controls are in focus, but if you click on an album the spacebar stops working. Likely just a bug, I'll report it to the team - no promises, but I know they're eager to fix glitches. :)