Zune and Media Center sounds great... if you can hear it

As a big Media Center fan, I was always disappointed in the lack of MCE support with the original Zune. Adding this functionality in the next generation Zune is a huge plus in my book, but of course, that's because I'm constantly recording content and want to take it along. Since I record digital and high-definition programming, Craig Pringle's recent Zune observation perked up my ears while leaving his wanting for sound. Turns out his high-def recordings played fine visually on his Zune after synching the content, but there was no audio. Apparently, the Dolby Digital audio streams aren't yet supported so only his standard definition programming had audio playback. Hopefully, this gets researched or resolved since part of the "HD experience" is the high quality sound that goes with the video. While I don't expect the Zune to support 5.1 surround sound, I'd happily take a standard stereo track for video in my pocket.

Comments

[Chris Lanier]

Poor decision on the part of Microsoft here. Windows Vista includes everything they need to transcode that AC-3 audio track to WMA. Heck, Windows Media Player and Windows Movie Maker can do it. In Windows XP, you can sync HD recordings with AC-3 audio to Portable Media Centers using Windows Media Player (they seem to have broken that in Vista). You can also sync with a 10-foot UI from Media Center, something Zune can't do at all.

http://msmvps.com/blogs/chrisl/archive/2007/11/14/1313344.aspx