10-02-2006, 03:23 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Zune WiFi Sharing Explained
David Caulton from Zunester explains exactly what you can and can't do with WiFi on the Zune in his post over at Zunester. The explanation is a mixed bag - it's pretty much what I was expecting, though some of it's a disappointment. Here's what you can do out of the box: - You can discover nearby Zunes to create an ad-hoc network (Zune to Zune) and interact with those players. Range is an unknown at this point. It's WiFi based, so one would hope it would be a few hundred feet, but it's also going to be a low-power chipset so they may have sacrificed range in order to achieve greater battery life. Given the scenarios related to music sharing, I don't imagine you'd need to have 1000 feet of range.
- Once connected to that other Zune, you can send it a song or an entire album. The tracks are wrapped in a 3/3 DRM package: the songs can be kept for three plays or three days, whichever comes first. After that, the songs are deleted the next time the Zune is synched. Notice they're not deleted immediately on the device - and since the Zune is an updated Gigabeat S PMC, there's probably no delete function on the device itself. That could make for some full hard drives if a lot of Zune owners get together and don't sync often.
- There's a lot of confusion about the 3/3 DRM. I've asked for clarification from a Microsoft contact: what happens if I create a song in ACID, put it on my Zune, and want to share it with everyone else. Will that song, wholly my own creation, have DRM on it? Some sites are reporting yes, some sites are reporting no. I aim to answer the question once and for all shortly...
- Transmitted songs include all the metadata and album art. No word yet on whether the Zune supports embedded album art. I'm waiting on a response from a Microsoft contact on that issue.
- You can send photos for unlimited viewing, and they can sync back to the PC. I imagine that means 320 x 240 JPEGs, which I presume is what the Zune will transcode the images to, unless the Zune desktop app allows for more control than Windows Media Player 11 (doubtful).
So that's the good news - none of it unexpected given what we know of the Zune so far. Equally unexpected is the news of what the Zune will not be able to do at launch: - The Zune will not be able to connect to the Internet
- The Zune will not be able to download songs over the air from the Zune Marketplace
- The Zune will not synchronize with your PC using WiFi
Frankly, I'm disappointed, though not all that surprised. It would have been a killer scenario to be able to load up your Zune with new content sitting at the airport (from the Zune Marketplace) or sitting in your bed (from your PC). Those are scenarios that blow open the current paradigm of digital audio players being slaves to desktops and laptops, and Microsoft isn't taking advantage of them. Why? I suspect it's the same old thing that guides most new products: do a few things, do them well, then add on more new things in the next version. The question is, will that be enough to make a splash in the market?
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10-02-2006, 05:02 PM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,520
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jason Dunn
- The Zune will not be able to connect to the Internet
- The Zune will not be able to download songs over the air from the Zune Marketplace
- The Zune will not synchronize with your PC
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The first one is a disappointment, but not a surprise. Its not meant to be an internet browser.
The second doesn't make any sense. I would have thought this would be a given. Here someone talking about a song, or read about it in Rolling Stone magazine. Go to Zune Marketplace and sample or buy it. A no-brainer. 
The third, is confusing to me. Maybe I haven't been listening closely enough. If it doesn't connect to MarketPlace OTA, and it doesn't sync with the PC, then what is it Sync-ing with?
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Phone: Nexus one Backup Phone: AT&T Samsung Jack; Future Phone: I'm Watching WP7; Media Player: Platinum Zune HD 32GB; Home Server: HP MediaSmart Server LX195 Console: XBox 360, PS3, Wii |
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10-02-2006, 11:02 PM
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Executive Editor
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 29,160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Phillip Dyson
If it doesn't connect to MarketPlace OTA, and it doesn't sync with the PC, then what is it Sync-ing with?
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It syncs with the PC using a USB cable. There's no WiFi sync. I've updated my post to clarify that point. 
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10-03-2006, 01:10 AM
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Mystic
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 1,819
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I guess too much WiFi might cause problems with the battery life, but as it stands right now there is no compelling reason to use WiFi with the Zune.
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10-03-2006, 03:00 AM
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Intellectual
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 251
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Quote:
Originally Posted by James Fee
I guess too much WiFi might cause problems with the battery life, but as it stands right now there is no compelling reason to use WiFi with the Zune.
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I agree. I think most people would expect to be able to download music via wifi. Without that ability, I can't see it being a compelling reason to get a zune.
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03-22-2007, 06:15 PM
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Neophyte
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1
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I hope Zune can act as a Wireless hard drive for PPC later.
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10-02-2006, 07:14 PM
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Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 316
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- The Zune will not be able to connect to the Internet
- The Zune will not be able to download songs over the air from the Zune Marketplace
- The Zune will not synchronize with your PC
1) Eh... don't care.
2) Silly move. This could have been a HUGE advantage
3) Damn. I was so hopeing for this scenario. I currently have two iPods, one which says in my car, and never leaves except to sync new songs. I would have loved to have a scenario where I could pull into my driveway and automatically sync up my player from the PC sitting in my house.
Basically, at this point the wireless adds absolutely no value for me. (I don't have much interests in the sharing of the songs.)
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