Gapless playback! About time.

I see NBC is joining in. If the prices of NBC's shows and season passes remain the same prices formerly seen in iTunes, where was the issue to begin with?

FINALLY GAPLESS!!!!!!!

yay!
I can finally have all those cool features I've been looking for in a player like gapless playback, drag and drop, and playlists!

...

hmm. I still feel empty inside. why don't I suddenly feel like one of the cool kids with new features? ... oh yeah...

sweet jesus, I can't believe it! I knew it was coming but I expected to be waiting a few more months...

Holy Fuck, Finally!!!

The most listened to achievement is bullshit. Someone can just leave the Zune software player on all day while they are away. Its been 5 days in May and some asshole already listened to Dimmu Borgir 609 times. Cheaters!

While the updates are nice (especially AutoPlaylists), i wish they would re-introduce auto-conversion of audio files. I have my library as lossless on my PC, but as soon as you play it on the Zune 80, the battery life plummets due to the increased hard drive usage. I would like 320Kbps WMA on my Zune, but lossless on my PC (as an archive of all my CD's). Keeping two libraries is a pain in the ass, as im buying new CD's all the time, which would require Lossless conversion using one piece of software, then 320WMA conversion using the Zune software.

I guess you cant get it all.

@Kaiser-Machead: Microsoft gets less of a cut? MSNBC? Maybe they get no cut at all. Maybe this was the point of the iTunes drop after all.

@kiffallen: Its been 1 and a half years. Starting from nothing is hard. Just ask Apple. Look how long it took them to get where they are. Even Creative, which has been in the business the longest, still doesnt have all the features that others have.

@diabolusunknown: Bah. NBC whores they is.

Finally! Drag and drop will be a boon.

Gapless playback? TV shows? Smart playlists? "Now Playing" in Windows Messenger? WHOA, THE PACE OF INNOVATION IS ASTOUNDING!

Oh wait, I've had that on my iPod/iTunes/iChat for how long now?

And I'm with Kaiser - NBC pitched a royal fit about Apple's $1.99 pricing on TV shows and pulled out. Yet here they are on Zune for $2? Hmm. I guess that extra penny made all the difference.

"Its been 1 and a half years. Starting from nothing is hard." - diabolusunknown

Nothing? Nothing??? Dude, they have Apple blazing the trail for them. How hard is it to imitate the feature set of iPod/iTunes and add a bit of socializing?

Microsoft has been knocking off Apple stuff for years. So it can't be hard at all - they have it down to a science.

Microsoft: The Freedom to Innovate (TM). Or copy iPod/iTunes, whichever is easier.

Kinda excited about this but I can only think of a a few updates (the earlier ones) where I didn't have issues. Pretty sure that was all a hardware issue though and now i've got a new unit (thanks microsoft)

Please please add a auto-off sleep function...please!

Also, I'd really appreciate if, in the same way Nintendo let all Wii owners get a grip for free, Microsoft were to let all Zune to get gags/cyanide to get the iSheep to shut TFU!

@diabolusunknown: Perhaps, but NBC made a big stink about the pricing model, yet are now emerging in a rival distributor with identical pricing. I don't know about you, but these silly power plays that ultimately screw the consumer suck ass on a stick.

@Kaiser-Machead: You nailed it, Kaiser. It's a power play, not the money at this point... but the end game is about money.

With iTS being the dominate force NBC had no control over pricing. They may be getting less with the Zune Marketplace but if it upsets the iTS dominance that ushers in the content providers controlling the market then it was worth it.

The thing is we know that it won't work and this shows that Hulu probably isn't working out NBC like they hoped. The fact is, all they've done is lost a source of income and pissed off a lot of customers.

It's a different world and they failed to change (again) and now have lost even more control by trying to force the entertainment world into an antiquated business model.

@LUV2CattleCall: You mean a sleep timer? That would require the Zune to have a clock. Don't believe Microsoft has figured that one out yet.

@LagunaSol: Is it that exciting being Jobs' personal filatio whore....

just wondering?

Comment on Zune 2.5 Update Brings TV Shows, More Social Networking, Improved Software Features @Marty_MacFly: Well, that's just it- the Zune has a clock. Or, rather it *had* a clock. Then, MS got rid of it. I really would have expected them to add it back in in this new firmware. That they didn't blows my mind. The Zune's software is such an incompetent proof of concept aimed at hipster tennieboopers. At one point, the iPod made Apple a great target for "Form over Function" criticism, but Microsoft has taken that to a nauseating extreme. Well, at least they beat Apple at *something*. RevAaron

@One2ManyCords: Fellatio*. Just thought you'd like to know :P

@Kaiser-Machead: thanks... appreciate it

Giz:
Zune 2.5 Update Brings TV Shows, More Social Networking, Improved Software Features

Engadget:
Zune 2.5 update brings TV downloads, Zune Card sharing

Freaky!

But yours was first Jason :)

"Is it that exciting being Jobs' personal filatio whore...."

@One2ManyCords: better than being Ballmers' personal sweat swabber. :P

Comment on Zune 2.5 Update Brings TV Shows, More Social Networking, Improved Software Features That is pretty awesome how you can get a constantly updated friends Zune card on my Zune device itself. I have a Zune Pass so now I can have full songs that my friends are listening to and then press a button to add it to my library. That is freaking brilliant!!!!! (Finally the "Social" is starting to live up to it's potential)

The social music sharing via the Zune Pass is the killer-app for Microsoft. Apple needs to be taking this seriously, as it represents a real innovation in the music space, and gives a true social component to portable music that is really, really cool. This can only raise the bar for music lovers everywhere, as it makes music discovery easier, turning the portable player into a dynamic, social device.

I am Wade.

Looks to me like a typical MS M.O. Wait for what Apple does and copy it. LOL

The ability to listen to your friend's music (full tracks) makes the Zune Pass definitely worth the money.

They just made a "Subscription Plan" seem very very enticing.

G-g-g-g-gapless?

Combined with the introduction of XNA games later on, this makes the Zune an outstanding device.

@DW:

Especially since 3 people can split 1 $14.99 ZunePass = only $5 a month! That little $$ is well worth avoiding the hassle of downloading music...you...know...for free

@diabolusunknown:

IT'S NOW SUPPORTED! automatic downconvert!

Welcome to 2006!

is it gapless playback in the software, or on the actual zune?

yessssssssssssss

Just installed 2.5 and the thing that I can't just get over is the fact that the software downloads already played podcasts even though I tell it not to. Before all I needed to do was tick the "sync only unplayed and partially played podcasts" but now I guess that doesn't work anymore.

2 steps forward 1 step back.

Sweet! I can't wait 'til my zune comes back from the shop, again.

@dfronck: Haha. Your Zune gets repaired.

If you were cooler, you'd get an iPod. That way, when it breaks, the Genius would tell you to get a new one.

Repairing stuff is for suckers. Giant carbon footprints and disposable gadgets RUEL!

@OMG! Ponies!: Ha Ha Ha, COTD!! no make that comment of the MONTH!!!

@ OMG! Ponies!: I've heard a lot of "selling points" for the Zune, but Readily Repairable is a new one. I guess Microsoft has finely honed its repair procedures with the Xbox 360 and can now apply their fix-it experience with the Zune. AWESOME!

Side note: my 5-year-old iPod just keeps chugging along, no repairs necessary.

Finally! Although, I don't get the constant MS bashing. Blah Blah, they just wait for Apple to do it and copy it, blah blah. Do the bashers realize that this happens with virtually every other product on Earth? Let's complain every time some company copies what a company before it already did. Let's see, Google Chat copied every app out there that allows people to chat with each other, Thunderbird copied every app out there that already allowed people to read/organize/send email, Colgate copied Crest by coming out with cinnamon toothpaste after them, and on and on. Sheesh.

@nXt:
AAAAAAHHHH!!

Sweet!!!! Now i don't have to charge daily. Seriously, this now removes all problems i had with the software/Zune.

I havnt tested it since im at work. But with that feature, this software and device is now perfect for me.

This is some great news. I hope they fixed some of the issues I have had with the Zune software, guess I will have to get it and see.

As for your iPod assmonkeys, get over it. So people choose a different player, big deal. I had an iPod 5G, it broke on me several times and I was tired of it. So I got a Zune 80 and a Zune 4. Neither have given me a single issue even though I use them all day, every day.

I also have, ya know, a Radio, a better UI, a bunch of things the iPod's don't offer.

So get off your horses, just about everything you claim MS copied from Apple, Apple took from Creative or one of the other guys.

As long as my Zune maintains its awesome feature of, actually working, then it will have a major advantage over the Apple players we have owned.

@LagunaSol: iPods break. My 2nd gen Nano crashes and freezes often. As soon as it's available in Canada, I'm getting a Zune.

Wishful predictions:

The Spring 2008 update for the 360 will allow the 360 to stream Zune DRM content (music _and_ video). This update will also link the video and Zune marketplaces, so you can download content onto your 360 or your PC, but only pay once.

Full movie downloads will follow in Fall 2008. :)

Yay! This is awesome, especially for paying less than $100 for a 30 gig PMP (thank you woot!). I know all the Apple guys already had most if not all of this, but us po' fokes will take what we can get and not complain. As I've said a thousand times before, I love my Zune and it's been the best player I've owned yet (and I've had several).

I just finished shopping for MP3 players for the wife (a mom) for Mother's Day and was choosing between the Zune and Creative Zen. While I like the 2nd gen ipod nano we have, I did not want to drop the $$ on the new nano. I chose the Zen (4 gb for $84, with SD slot). This update looks good, but I think I made the right choice on the Zen. Still less money and a better screen. We'll see what the wife thinks on Mom's day. Wish me luck...

@maven2k: I got mine from Woot as well. If not for their refurb sale, I probably wouldn't have purchased one.

Thank god, metadata editing is back. :)

Now the one last thing on my wish list is to open the Zune like a standard portable hard drive...

@illiniguy: Gapless is definitely on the device. I updated it before I left for work this morning, so I haven't played anything from the software yet.

I've only listened to one album, and while there's no silence between tracks, the songs don't blend as nice as they did if listening gapless via Winamp or on the original CD. Minor inconvenience that I can put up with.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Horaaah....autoplaylists!

@Sora57: I think the Zen's a great choice too but why are you posting this on a Zune software update article.

Ugh, still no ability to select an album/song to not play when set to shuffle. That is one thing I sure miss about the iPod. I have a bunch of stand-up comedy stuff, and I don't want it to play when on shuffle.

If anyone knows of a solution, let me know. So far the only one I could think of was to make a playlist that is just my music and shuffle through that.

Would these smart playlists help?

I've been using MediaMonkey to synch my zune80 for a while now. You know, great hardware, crappy software, blah blah, blah.

I'll give the update a chance, but as far as synching tunes, they will have a hard time beating the MediaMonkey hack.

How about being able to play vids from the Xbox Live Marketplace on my Zune MS? It's an obvious tie-in. I might actually watch game trailers from XBL if I could take them with me and watch them when I'm bored. When I'm actually sitting in front of my 360 I just want to play, not randomly watch vids.

Maybe this will be added when the Zune gaming feature gets added later this year.

Still no Mac support?! Sighhhh...

@VulnoX: The new Zune autoplaylist lets you exclude by one genre, so if all your comedy stuff is tagged with genre Comedy, you can make an autoplaylist for All Music, with the exclusion of genre Comedy. That should automatically keep your "All Music" playlist up to date.

I've been doing this manually in the old version for the same reason, except it's kind of a pain whenever I add new music. The autoplaylist fixes this nicely.

@LagunaSol:

oh well, ms rips off ideas, its not like this is new

i like my zune, best player imo, just needs more space

too bad all my needs are met by my DAPs:
sony NWZ-A728 for music and vids