Like/Dislikes: Zune team seeking feedback!

• Impliment a "Now Playing" list in the software that is viewable at all times.  I don't like to change my entire screen view just to select a new song from my playlist.
• Make the Marketplace more like a music discovery service, rather than a store.  I'd like to see recommendations based on what I've rated and listened to.  It's difficult to find new music with Zune - other services seem to make it effortless with automixes, radio stations, artist stations, recommendations.
• The idea of sharing music Zune-to-Zune is cool... but it is not possible with a ZunePass.  I know this has to do with licensing... but it would be nice to have that worked out.
• I'd like to see a section dedicated to user created playlists.  Rhapsody does this and it seems to work pretty well.
• Once the radio channels are implimented - create a way for us to take them with us on our Zune and update with fresh music everytime we sync up.  If we hear a song that we like, allow us to add it to our library right then and there - the next time we sync with the PC - it will update our library and playlists accordingly.  I don't want any song on a channel to go into my main library (device or software) unless I specifically tell it to add it.

I thought of a couple more things that I thought would be good....

1. Let us check our zune card on our Zune.
2. When we connect to another Zune we should be able to see each others Zune Card
3. Have the option to hide the album art while listening to a song and see the lyrics of the song.
4. A customizable equalizer.

More to come as I think of them!!!

Where Yo Boss At?

Have the Zune pass and really like the selection but I do have some issues with the Marketplace:

1. Let me chose my home genre/subgenre so that I dont have to drill down every time to get to my favorite genres.

2. Let me setup a favorites list of genres.

3. Setup notifications based on new offerings in my favorite genres.

4. I know the app is fairly young but the subgenres seem too broad and a little more work could be done to go a level deeper

   example:  genre christian/gospel --> has 2 sub genres christian and gospel  -- christian can be broken down again in sub rock/pop/praise/contemporary and more

thats all i got for now (other than you need to rework the playlist and at least make it sort on the headers) but that is not what you asked for...

Thanks

B

Patrick McNamara Podcast Ping: http://podcastping.blogspot.com

 Jason Rasmussen wrote:

I have beta tested many games for major companies, have beta tested multiple Microsoft software (discovered a top critical flaw in Windows Home Server), have been a network administrator for nearly 10 years, so I do know a thing or two.  I really like the Zune and want it to do well, but there are many areas it can improve in.  Please impliment these improvements, and do contact me for further information if you wish.

ZUNE HARDWARE:
HARDWARE:
-Add AM radio.  There is so much good stuff on AM, especially here in Southern California
-Add a set of stereo speakers on the Zune so people could watch or listen to items without having to use the headphones.  Even a mono speaker like most cell phones have would be better than no speakers.

INTERFACE:
-I want to be able to browse or play songs I have rated highly (drop the hearts, bring back the stars rating).
-It needs to be faster when scrolling down or up going from A to Z.
-If I am in the music section and want to go to W, I need to scroll all the way down from A!  AGH! I should be able to scroll up from A to go to Z.

OTHER:
-Add a clock.
-Add BlueTooth stereo audio for Zune hardware.  Maybe this can be a software upgrade since the Zune has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth recently announced they will be doing Bluetooth over Wifi (http://www.wireless-weblog.com/50226711/introducing_bluetooth_over_wifi.php).
-Drop the propritary plugs.  Use standard mini-USB.
-I like the cloth wrapped headphones, but they transmit friction noise on my clothes
-The earbuds don't stay in the ears, and believe me, I know how to use headphones, I am an headphone junkie.
-Get car deck receivers to support the Zune via Stereo Bluetooth or a Zune connector so I can easily listen to the Zune in my car.

ZUNE SOFTWARE
OVERALL
-The thing hogs up my CPU, and I have a fast CPU.
-Enable it to run as a service in the background downloading Podcasts.
-The "heart" rating system is stupid.  Bring back the 5 stars rating system.
-The "twist" interface is great on the Zune hardware.  Why can't we have the "twist" interface for the Zune software?
-Add an icon in the lower-left hand side near the Zune and CD icon to display if downloads are occurring and the percentage done.  If one clicks on it, it will take them to the marketplace>downloads section.
-Make it mine?  Too bad I can only select a few backgrounds.  I want to select my own backgrounds.  Make it so when I change a background in in either my Zune Tag, Zune device or Zune software the picture is applied to the background for all.

LIBRARY
-You NEED to make a good tag/album editor at least as good if not better than the existing Windows Media Player.  Editing music is basically non-existent with the Zune software.
-I want to be able to paste album art, not search for it on the hard drive to add it.  Windows Media Player does not have this problem.
-The ability for the software to automatically manage the library by renaming, and moving files into folders to keep things organized would be a nice optional feature.
-Add DivX support.  Also, the hardware & software are very picky about what MP4 formats it will play.

VIDEO
-When viewing video fullscreen, it always shows the bottom bar which is annoying.
-Does not detect all standard MP4 encoded video files I have in the scanned directories.  Again, the software is very picky about the MP4 formats.
-Make it sync with Windows Media Center (it claims it will in your advertising, but no one I have talked to at Microsoft knows how to do this), and make it sync both standard def and high-def.  Most major shows are HDTV now, so make it sync them.  Have it auto-detect the presence of shows recorded in Windows Media Center

PODCASTS:
-Notification in the corner of the Podcast icon graphic indicating if it downloading new podcasts, or if there are new podcasts to listen to and the # of new ones.  If I want to find out which Podcast has new shows and how many at a glance.  This should be displayed in both the Zune hardware & software.
-I really like the resume feature.  It would be nice if where I left off in my podcasts carried over to the Zune hardware and vice-versa.
-Need support for enhanced podcasts on the Zune software & hardware
-When I mark a track as "keep until I delete", there needs to be a check box next to it or something to indicate I did this.

RIPPING
-Rip needs formats such as AAC and VBR MP3 with the LAME codec for high quality sound.

BURNING
-When I burn multiple podcasts/albums as a data CD, they should be burned into multiple folders.  Windows Media Player does this right.  Zune does not, it burns them to the root directory and they are all mixed together.

ZUNE SOCIAL:
-Drop the 3 plays limit.  You should not DRM anything that I have on my device and want to share.  Much of the media I have created myself and I don't want DRM shackles on it.  If it was a purchased DRM song, then I can understand keeping the DRM limits on it, but other than that, DROP THE DRM!
-I like how what I play with the Zune software and Zune hardware shows up on my Zune Tag.  Why can't the podcasts I listen to show up on my Zune tag?
-I want to be able to share a video just as I can share audio, and it would not let me with my other Zune friend.
-How about sharing via the Zune software or Zune.net.  Add a right-click, share function.

ZUNE MARKETPLACE:
-Drop the Microsoft points.  I don't want to do any conversions to figure out how much I am paying.  I live in the US and want to use dollars and cents.
-DRM for subscription music makes sense, but DRM for purchased music does not.  I will not "buy" any music with DRM on it.

ZUNE OTHER:
-Get the Zune team together with the Windows Mobile team and throw out the crappy Windows Media Player 10 Mobile and replace it with the Zune interface.  Even the button layout on the Windows Mobile phones matches the layout of the Zune, you just need to design it.
-CONSOLIDATE YOUR MEDIA PLAYERS!!!!!.  Pick Zune or WMP, don't have both.  It creates confusion and the need to run multiple players.  Imagine if you had to run different browsers to view different websites, ugghh.
-More frequent updates to Zune software & firmware.  I don't want to wait a year, or even half a year for things to be fixed.
-Gapless audio playback.
-Add a "recently played" feature to both Zune hardware & software.  With the twist interface it can be "recently played > (music, albums, artists, podcasts, videos, pictures)"
-Make everything a cohesive experience with Windows Mobile, Windows Live, Windows Messenger, Windows Home Server, etc.
-Use the Sync Center.  Isn't this software designed to unify our syncing of devices?  I have a Zune and a Windows Mobile phone and I need to use Windows Media Player, Sync Center, Windows Mobile Device Center, Zune software, and have Outlook open all to sync my two devices!  5 different programs to sync 2 devices!!  This is insane!  It should be one piece of software that interfaces with all my devices to sync them all.

ZUNE PRAISE:
-There are lot of things to fix for sure, but there are many things done right:
-Audio/video pauses when I unplug the headphones.  Nice.
-Podcast support is great.  More control over Podcast options is better than iTunes.  The resume feature is wonderful.  Marketplace Podcast channel is better organized and much easier to browse than iTunes.  Keep the Podcast Channel up to date and keep it easy for people to subscribe.
-The hardware is excellent.  Great size (though it could be a tad bit smaller), and the Zune pad works so well.
-Excellent interface.  The "twist" interface is a winner, better than the iPod.  Needs some refinement here and there, but excellent nontheless.

I'll have you know, that I've become indestructible.

Oh Snap!

Go USC Trojans!

It needs TV shows like National Geographic, History Channel , and Animal Planet. Audio Books, Movies, and Games too.

 Bruinkiller69 wrote:

i want to be able to keep the songs i download w/ the zune pass!! im sure everybody has the same feeling, what is the point of downloading songs if you cant keep them!?!

 Mad Ox 23 wrote:

 Bruinkiller69 wrote:

i want to be able to keep the songs i download w/ the zune pass!! im sure everybody has the same feeling, what is the point of downloading songs if you cant keep them!?!

You're kind of missing the point of the Zune Pass.  Its a subscription service.  If you stop paying your cable bill, do they let you keep watching those channels?  Of course not. If you want to keep the music, you have to buy it outright.  But if you download any significant amount of music, this service more than pays for itself over a long period of time. 

My biggest gripes with the Pass have been discussed already, but I'll pile on.  You need to allow the Zune accounts associated with the devices on the account to be linked to the subscription.  I hate having to log in as my wife to download music.  And second, I really dislike that certain songs are not downloadable. Its one thing if an entire artist or album is unavailable. But when they have albums available for purchase and then on the Pass they let you download the whole album except the more "popular" songs, that gets on my last nerve.  Other than that, the guy with the well laid out list had the right idea....

Go USC Trojans!