Thinking About Switching From iPod to Zune...

[DaddyFatSack]

I own a 5.5 gen, 80 GB iPod. I've had it for 2 years now. I skipped the last generation, when they updated the large-capacity iPod to the "iPod Classic." They doubled the capacity to 160 GB.

Recently, they've downgraded the Classic to 120 GB, and didn't make any significant changes to it. Most people (including myself) think Apple is going in a direction that caters more towards the iPod nano and iPod Touch customers, and away from the niche market of large-capacity players. Myself being a person who likes to take my entire library with me, need this capacity.

To me, it seems Microsoft is doing a whole lot more to distinguish their Zune players and giving them options that Apple is either to lazy, or refuses to put into their iPod line. I really like the customization options that are available for Zune, as well as the larger screen. Also, the fact that Microsoft appears to be trying to innovate rather than re-hash the same products every year like Apple, is making me strongly consider making the switch.


I'm leaning towards keeping my iPod until the next updates for Zune & iPod are announced probably next year. Hopefully, Zune's 120 will get an upgrade to 160 or higher, but if not, I would still consider making the switch.


My only hangup on switching media players is the fact that my entire library is organized in iTunes perfectly right now. I have over 20 playlists, several smartlists (does Zune have these??) and I'm also very invested in my song ratings and playcounts for my 13,000+ songs. If I made the switch, I would hope their would be a way to import my current Library into the Zune software and keep all my playlists, ratings, playcounts, etc. Is this possible? Is there any 3rd party software that exists that could do this? It would be a VEEERY long and painstaking process to completely start over with a whole new library, not to mention all my playcounts would be back to 0.

And how exactly does the Zune software compare to iTunes?


To all the Zune owners, and people who have owned both a Zune & an iPod, what do you feel are the biggest Pros and Cons to making the switch? Fill me in on some more of the Zune's best features. I still do not know a whole lot about them, and this is a serious decision to make. What seperates a Zune from an iPod? What would I be missing if I made the switch?


Any advice, opinions, stories, or ideas are welcome.

[Locke]

As of this moment, there is no known way to simply carry the library over. As far as the software in and of itself though, it is far superior. For one thing, the GUI is much more intuitive and focused on the music and art. It also has a plethora of features, all integrated into the concept of "the Social." BTW, MixView blows away Genius by every stretch of the imaginiation. In addition to that, there's the Zune Pass, which is also integrated into every facet of the software, and the fact that the device itself can integrate into the Social, Zune Pass, and Marketplace. Here's a decent comparion chart, but if you need mroe info I'd be happy to give more: Zune vs Ipod Comparison - NEW

[DaddyFatSack]

Originally Posted by Locke

As of this moment, there is no known way to simply carry the library over. As far as the software in and of itself though, it is far superior. For one thing, the GUI is much more intuitive and focused on the music and art. It also has a plethora of features, all integrated into the concept of "the Social." BTW, MixView blows away Genius by every stretch of the imaginiation. In addition to that, there's the Zune Pass, which is also integrated into every facet of the software, and the fact that the device itself can integrate into the Social, Zune Pass, and Marketplace. Here's a decent comparion chart, but if you need mroe info I'd be happy to give more:

Can you expand on the features you speak of? I really don't know much about the Zune other than the fact that you can customize it a lot (can you expand on this customization?) and it has Wi-Fi and a bigger screen.



Hopefully by the time I'm ready to switch, there will be a 3rd party program that can convert my iTunes Library into a Zune Library.


Is there anway I can look at screenshots of the Zune library software?

[DaddyFatSack]

One more thing...


I don't buy music online. I download music from torrents almost exclusively. So the iTunes store was always irrelevant to me, and I'm sure the Zune Marketplace will be irrelevant to me as well if I make the switch. So I'm looking to hear more about other features such as all the customization options, etc.

[Locke]

I just saw this, and right after spending all the time writing about the Zune Pass too. >.< Well, back to the drawing board.

[DaddyFatSack]

Originally Posted by Locke

I just saw this, and right after spending all the time writing about the Zune Pass too. >.< Well, back to the drawing board.

Hahaha I'm sorry, I appreciate your effort


I should have included that little tidbit in my initial post... my bad!

[Locke]

Originally Posted by DaddyFatSack

Can you expand on the features you speak of? I really don't know much about the Zune other than the fact that you can customize it a lot (can you expand on this customization?) and it has Wi-Fi and a bigger screen.



Hopefully by the time I'm ready to switch, there will be a 3rd party program that can convert my iTunes Library into a Zune Library.


Is there anway I can look at screenshots of the Zune library software?

Well, I'm only human but I'll give it a shot. *wink*

Well, the Zune itself has what has been called the "twist" interface(though I've got no idea). It's a lot simpler to work with than the iPod's UI, and a lot easier to navigate. It has a touch pad for control, but the touch pad also has buttons that can be pressed by pressing on the pad. It also supports free fan made games and apps coded in the C# language, many of which can be found here on this site. It has an FM radio built in, which speaks for itself. As far as hardware goes, yes the screen is bigger, brighter better, and the whole thing is actually lighter to, I think.

The software is basically a work of art, though it may not run well on a computer with low RAM. If that's the case, the effects can be turned down from the Settings. It manages most of your music pretty automatically, but 2.5 and 3.0 made pretty big steps in allowing you to manage your own music pretty well. Quick tip: For manual switching all that music from iTunes, you might want to use Windows Media Player a go between. It's simpler and faster, better for a mass conversion. After that though, the Zune should be able to handle whatever you've got. And WMP does share a library with the Zune, or rather, Zune can read and copy WMP's library. Alright, back to features. Even without the Marketplace, the Social is still pretty nice. It can track plays, reccommend music (Mixview owns), and even keep track of other Zune users. It's a great way to find new music, which you can then consequently get, using whatever method you'd like. Also, the Now Playing is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

That's a 411 summary, but I'm sure there's more to be said. Anyone else care to extrapolate where I've failed?

[DaddyFatSack]

Originally Posted by Locke

Well, I'm only human but I'll give it a shot. *wink*

Well, the Zune itself has what has been called the "twist" interface(though I've got no idea). It's a lot simpler to work with than the iPod's UI, and a lot easier to navigate. It has a touch pad for control, but the touch pad also has buttons that can be pressed by pressing on the pad. It also supports free fan made games and apps coded in the C# language, many of which can be found here on this site. It has an FM radio built in, which speaks for itself. As far as hardware goes, yes the screen is bigger, brighter better, and the whole thing is actually lighter to, I think.

The software is basically a work of art, though it may not run well on a computer with low RAM. If that's the case, the effects can be turned down from the Settings. It manages most of your music pretty automatically, but 2.5 and 3.0 made pretty big steps in allowing you to manage your own music pretty well. Quick tip: For manual switching all that music from iTunes, you might want to use Windows Media Player a go between. It's simpler and faster, better for a mass conversion. After that though, the Zune should be able to handle whatever you've got. And WMP does share a library with the Zune, or rather, Zune can read and copy WMP's library. Alright, back to features. Even without the Marketplace, the Social is still pretty nice. It can track plays, reccommend music (Mixview owns), and even keep track of other Zune users. It's a great way to find new music, which you can then consequently get, using whatever method you'd like. Also, the Now Playing is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

That's a 411 summary, but I'm sure there's more to be said. Anyone else care to extrapolate where I've failed?

What do you mean use WMP as a go-between? Is there a way that WMP can import my iTunes Library and keep track of all my playcounts and ratings and playlists? Thats what I'm most concerned about.


What exactly is Mixview? You compared it to Genius, but i've never actually used Genius, its not compatible with my 80GB iPod, its only on the newest models. From what I've heard, Genius is actually pretty worthless haha

[Locke]

Originally Posted by DaddyFatSack

What do you mean use WMP as a go-between? Is there a way that WMP can import my iTunes Library and keep track of all my playcounts and ratings and playlists? Thats what I'm most concerned about.


What exactly is Mixview? You compared it to Genius, but i've never actually used Genius, its not compatible with my 80GB iPod, its only on the newest models.

Not exactly. It's not automatic, but you can use WMP to tag your music more efficiently in large numbers. There's no way to transfer one proprietary metadata to another.

Mixview basically brings up a box for an artist or album, depending on what you're on, and then has smaller boxes pop up around them that are for similar artists, artists influenced by or who influenced them, similar albums, top listeners, and things like that. Yuo can click on any of them to see the Mixview for that album or artists, and so on like a network. For a slightly less pretty version of the same concept, go to liveplasma music, movies, search engine and discovery engine Also, here's some info and screenshots on the software:
Zune Boards - No Zune 3.0 Hardware is Just Fine [Really]
Zune Boards - New Origami Zune Ad?
Zune Boards - No, It IS About Hardware
Zune Boards - A Brief List of Features Expected Tuesday
Zune Boards - Wired Tests Zune 3.0 - Says Genius Gets Schooled
Zune Boards - New Zune Features Exposed!

[DaddyFatSack]

Originally Posted by Locke

Not exactly. It's not automatic, but you can use WMP to tag your music more efficiently in large numbers. There's no way to transfer one proprietary metadata to another.

Mixview basically brings up a box for an artist or album, depending on what you're on, and then has smaller boxes pop up around them that are for similar artists, artists influenced by or who influenced them, similar albums, top listeners, and things like that. Yuo can click on any of them to see the Mixview for that album or artists, and so on like a network. For a slightly less pretty version of the same concept, go to liveplasma music, movies, search engine and discovery engine Also, here's some info and screenshots on the software:
Zune Boards - No Zune 3.0 Hardware is Just Fine [Really]
Zune Boards - New Origami Zune Ad?
Zune Boards - No, It IS About Hardware
Zune Boards - A Brief List of Features Expected Tuesday
Zune Boards - Wired Tests Zune 3.0 - Says Genius Gets Schooled
Zune Boards - New Zune Features Exposed!

Damn that sucks... I'm sure a decent programmer could design some sort of software to transfer the metadata. Get on your job programmers!

[Jmac the Man]

I'm assuming all your files are mp3s. All the tags (Song titles, artists, etc) will be transferred over. Play counts probably won't be. You'll need to remake your playlists. As for the ratings... Windows uses a 5 star rating system that ANY app can access. (Zune uses a 3 point scale, but it automatically converts between the 3 point and 5 point system.) If Apple coded to write its iTunes ratings in that format, the ratings will transfer over. If they didn't, that's a buisness decision that they made to make you keep buying iPods and not the competitors. Should you reward them for that?

[ACE]

^^ He's right. There's a reason Apple wants you locked into the iPod ecosystem for life. There are ways to get your library over to the Zune Software (which BTW, you DON'T need a Zune device, you simply can go download it to check out FREE - HERE) and those methods are found in the Support forums. Also there' s a hack out there that even allows Zune to be Sync'd to iTunes (yeah, that sounds impossible, but it's true). Not sure if it works with the new Zune 3.0, but the program is called zAlternator and can be found HERE...

Hope that helps...

[Krebo]

Zune 1.0 had a Transfer from iTunes feature. Autoplaylists are pretty closely related, but Zune has a pretty worthless heart/broken heart rating system, so your ratings won't transfer over properly anyway (you can save them as universal values in the OS, which Zune will then read if you want). And if you save your iTunes playlists as .m3u, Zune can read and import those.

[JulianDave]

I had a 160GB ipod that I sold in anticipation of a new model. Ooops! I wasn't expecting a downgrade! That was the straw that broke the camels back. I wanted something new, and apple didn't have it, so I decided to look elsewhere.

I decided on the 120 Zune and I'm happy with it. Being able to develop your own software for it was the deciding factor for me. That really adds endless possibilities. When it comes to comparing HD players, the Zune's list of features blows the Classic away: larger screen in nearly the same overall dimensions, Wi-Fi for wireless sync, multiplayer games and downloading music from the Marketplace, FM radio with tagging, customizable interface...

The only thing I miss from the iPod is the ability to search on the device. My collection is large enough, and my memory bad enough, that I liked entering a word and have it list every song that has that word. Other than that, I'm happy to be out of apple's clutches and am not looking back.

Dave

[Matt]

Originally Posted by JulianDave

I had a 160GB ipod that I sold in anticipation of a new model. Ooops! I wasn't expecting a downgrade! That was the straw that broke the camels back. I wanted something new, and apple didn't have it, so I decided to look elsewhere.

I decided on the 120 Zune and I'm happy with it. Being able to develop your own software for it was the deciding factor for me. That really adds endless possibilities. When it comes to comparing HD players, the Zune's list of features blows the Classic away: larger screen in nearly the same overall dimensions, Wi-Fi for wireless sync, multiplayer games and downloading music from the Marketplace, FM radio with tagging, customizable interface...

The only thing I miss from the iPod is the ability to search on the device. My collection is large enough, and my memory bad enough, that I liked entering a word and have it list every song that has that word. Other than that, I'm happy to be out of apple's clutches and am not looking back.

Dave

congrats
may the zune always bring you happiness

[helluvagood]

Originally Posted by DaddyFatSack

I own a 5.5 gen, 80 GB iPod. I've had it for 2 years now. I skipped the last generation, when they updated the large-capacity iPod to the "iPod Classic." They doubled the capacity to 160 GB.

Recently, they've downgraded the Classic to 120 GB, and didn't make any significant changes to it. Most people (including myself) think Apple is going in a direction that caters more towards the iPod nano and iPod Touch customers, and away from the niche market of large-capacity players. Myself being a person who likes to take my entire library with me, need this capacity.

To me, it seems Microsoft is doing a whole lot more to distinguish their Zune players and giving them options that Apple is either to lazy, or refuses to put into their iPod line. I really like the customization options that are available for Zune, as well as the larger screen. Also, the fact that Microsoft appears to be trying to innovate rather than re-hash the same products every year like Apple, is making me strongly consider making the switch.


I'm leaning towards keeping my iPod until the next updates for Zune & iPod are announced probably next year. Hopefully, Zune's 120 will get an upgrade to 160 or higher, but if not, I would still consider making the switch.


My only hangup on switching media players is the fact that my entire library is organized in iTunes perfectly right now. I have over 20 playlists, several smartlists (does Zune have these??) and I'm also very invested in my song ratings and playcounts for my 13,000+ songs. If I made the switch, I would hope their would be a way to import my current Library into the Zune software and keep all my playlists, ratings, playcounts, etc. Is this possible? Is there any 3rd party software that exists that could do this? It would be a VEEERY long and painstaking process to completely start over with a whole new library, not to mention all my playcounts would be back to 0.

And how exactly does the Zune software compare to iTunes?


To all the Zune owners, and people who have owned both a Zune & an iPod, what do you feel are the biggest Pros and Cons to making the switch? Fill me in on some more of the Zune's best features. I still do not know a whole lot about them, and this is a serious decision to make. What seperates a Zune from an iPod? What would I be missing if I made the switch?


Any advice, opinions, stories, or ideas are welcome.

The transition from itunes to the zune software will not be smooth but I think its worth it, because the zune software is much more aesthetically pleasing, its much better than staring at a spread sheet. I could not get anything done with itunes, it was too confusing for me.

The zune has no smart playlist, but the song tracking program (zune social) works quite well if you listen to western mainstream artists. The zune 120 is much better than the classic, i mean the zunes large screen size is enough to make me buy the zune