ZuneTVWatcher beta to bridge Media Center gap

Microsoft certainly has its basket full with peace disturbance complaints and even a potential doubleshot casing dispute with Apple -- perhaps distracting it from properly integrating Zune TV show uploads with Media Center. Zune software doesn't read Media Center's proprietary DVR-MS files, perform .wmv conversions for Zune playback, nor does it list hand-encoded episodes as TV shows in the library. This means your patience is in for a workout when it comes to getting TV shows and movies onto your Zune from a Windows Media Center PC. Newly released ZuneTVWatcher beta acts as a liaison by monitoring your recorded TV show folder and automatically converting files to a .wmv format, meaning way less manual labor on the user's part. While third party conversion apps tend to incorrectly label shows as "Videos" on the Zune, ZTVW sets the metadata to group them as "TV Shows," and also syncs to delete shows from the Zune when removed from Media Center. For those left hangin' from Media Center's inadequacies, this option might be worth a try for smoother-sailing integration.

[Via Chris Lanier]

[hchute @ Mar 5th 2007 12:13PM]

Kudos to TVWatcher for filling this gap!! This really should have been integrated into Zune from the get-go.

Zune works great for music, but the video side needs to catch up quickly.

Harvey
Zunerama

[ShortFuse @ Mar 5th 2007 12:27PM]

I don't have a Zune, I use a Clix. When I skimmed the article I was excited. Then I realized that it doesn't stream over WiFi. I'd have to sit there, in front of my computer, and convert it and copy it. So much wasted potential.

[TheCount @ Mar 5th 2007 5:28PM]

Umm... syncing video/music via Wifi to a Zune was ruled out ages ago, where have you been?

[Peter @ Mar 5th 2007 12:51PM]

Watch out iPod!

[LPD @ Mar 5th 2007 1:24PM]

Microsoft should make this all seamless so they can be sued for more anti-trust violations.

[Tony @ Mar 5th 2007 1:46PM]

My Archos604wifi syncs Media Center DVR files (dvr-ms) with just Windows Media Player 11 right now... no extra software needed, works fine.

With a little extra work, and DVRMSToolbox you can even have a copy without commercials.

[Scott @ Mar 5th 2007 1:58PM]

Based on a 1 hour TV show...
DVR Edit (to take out the commercials) from thegreenbutton.com FREE (10 mins)
ArcSoft ShowBiz 2 (to convert from DVR-Ms to MPG2) from ArcSoft.com $25 (10 mins)
iPod Movie creator (to covert it from MPG2 to MPG4 ) from www.pqdvd.com $30 (40 mins)
iTunes (to transfer video to my iPod) from apple.com FREE (5 mins)

being able to upload your TV shows with 1 click.... PRICELESS

[andy @ Mar 5th 2007 2:06PM]

@ Scott

That adds up to 1:05 for each 1hr show. Why wouldn't you just watch the show on your television in 45mins with the bigger screen and better sound?

IMHO, if it's not drag and drop, it's worthless.

[mark @ Mar 5th 2007 2:59PM]

who wants to put a gigantic dvr-ms file on their zune - or wait all night for the file to be converted to a .wmv. dvr-ms files are very limited in their portability because the files are so big and it takes forever to convert them to other formats - especially if you want decent quality.

[michael @ Mar 5th 2007 4:34PM]

That's what I really wished Microsoft would have done with the Zune, fully integrate it with Media Center. If they could just do that, it would be as close to perfect as can be. I don't know what's exactly stopping them though, some legal issues, but at least here is something close enough to the real thing. Yahoo!

[Dave95 @ Mar 5th 2007 5:06PM]

You would think that all techs coming from MS would work seamlessly together, but that's asking way too much from such a large corporation.

[MikeC @ Mar 6th 2007 4:47AM]

Wow, so now I can use My Gigabeat S60 like I thought I could when I bought it? Sweet.