Glossy black gadgetry lit only by the very table on which it rests isn't exactly an ideal situation for photography, but when it's our first sighting of the
Zune HD video dock, we'll do our best. Microsoft had a small booth set up at tonight's
gdgt launch party in San Francisco, where they were showing off the device (no shots of the UI allowed, even if it's largely unchanged since our
last handling a month back). The dock was connected to flat-panel screen via HDMI and output 720p. A separate remote is provided for navigating through your videos from the comfort of your couch while leaving the media player docked, but once we got our hands on that, it was at this point that a rep made us put the camera away. Bummer. Hopefully we can get a better glimpse soon, but for now, images in the gallery below.
posted Aug 5th 2009 12:05AM
No photos? Booooo! I was hoping to see more images or video of this thing in action.
Obviously Engadget got shots of the dock. I'm dissapointed nobody was apparently allowed to take shots of the UI and what not.
They are too embarrassed to show it because it's plugged into a shitty mac. hahaha
What's up, dock? Nothing. Zzzzzzz.
Zune HD is beautiful
That remote is hideous and huge!
at least i wont lose it like my apple remotes
@Kain
Who cares what the bloody remote looks like, as long as it does it's job.
I was able to get a video of it, not to up close but u can see some of it. and hear him talk a lot about it. Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qtfLEd9Gtk&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eyoutube%2Ecom%2Fuser%2Fjimmithy&feature=player_profilepage
Awesome !
Awesome +1
This is great, bring on the death of the disc. Now if only Microsoft will sell this thing outside the USA.
Phone sized devices are going to knock out the disc player as well, portable everything!
Can anyone tell if that dock uses the same connector as the current Zunes? I'd rather not get a new clock radio.
It does, it's been confirmed.
lets hope we're not forced to buy a whole new dock because of the shape. I pray MS will do the right thing and just make use of interchangeable molds for the last 2 zune generations.
Wow the Zune Hd at the Gdgt event wish i could have been there. Seems like a fun night with gadgets at night!
Like watching a lesbian porno........o_O
I was there. You could tell the Zune HD was the star of the evening. I had to wait about 10 minutes for one huddle of people to clear so I could see it closer. I got a chance to hold it. It's pretty light though still feeling solid. I also got a chance to check it out while displayed on an HDTV. The menu navigation on both ZuneHD and on TV was nice and smooth.
I got a chance to masturbate on it. They wrestled me to the ground when they figured out what I was doing--but it was too late.
rofl @ dave
I was there last night, and I must admit, I was very impressed with the Zune. The build quality was very solid, and it was very thin and light. The UI was great, and the Tegra chipset was really cool; photos rendered incredibly quickly and no matter how quickly you flicked through the photos, there was zero lag and they were rendered instantly. Playback on the TV looked great, though I personally wouldn't use that function.
Talk about having a snazzy remote for the dock ~
a dock , what's next the colour of the power cord...
You know the power cord color?! TELL ME!! I DEMAND THAT YOU TELL ME RIGHT NOW!!!
When the hell is this thing coming out?!
Word is September (like the 8th I think), but Microsoft hasn't given an exact date yet.
if this thing does support unicode, then i'll finally buy it.
and if the zune hd is a success, zune phone hd anyone?
http://www.zunethoughts.com/news/show/94036/zune-hd-will-have-unicode-support.html
Meh. I need to see at least 128GB of flash storage before I jump on the non-hard-drive-based media player bandwagon. Other than that, this thing looks pretty cool, aside from the stupid "HD" name.
You do realize that's because of the HD video playback via the above dock, the fact it has an HD Radio, and that it has a 16:9 ratio screen. I guess what i'm saying is that yes this device is infact HD
zune hasn't been cheap... no real game control for it yet?
It's so Microsoft
:-)
No report of video quality? Boo Engadget (or gdgt?). Boo.
Video quality on the device was great as is expected from an OLED screen. The video out to the TV was just like watching any other HD video (they were showing Heroes).
Any details on the remote, what's that big square indentation near the front?
it's the 5-Way Navigator or as most people know it the D-Pad
@Zuner@Heart:
Or the "Sqcircle".
So, in addition to the Back and Play/Pause buttons, the remote has the standard up/down/left/right/enter cross and a separate touchpad like navigator?
Just looking for clarity.
I just wish the same people that designed the zune designed the remote...
They'd better not make me buy this thing to sync with my PC. I wanna be able to use my current dock with the ZuneHD. Even if it is just to sync
Presumably they're going to a) Bundle the dock with the device, or b) INCLUDE A FEAKING SYNCHING CABLE. I mean, come on.
I mean using my current dock with the ZuneHD.. =/ Not like they did with the Zune 30 docks where they didn't include faceplates for the new models or anything.
The old 30gb docks work fine. I use a few of them with my 80gb. Just forgo the silly ass faceplate. Fits fine.
I'm pretty sure they've already said the old docks worked perfectly fine with the Zune HD.
Bah, that post was in response to Eddie.exe, who said:
"They'd better not make me buy this thing to sync with my PC. I wanna be able to use my current dock with the ZuneHD. Even if it is just to sync"
Thanks Engadget commenting system!
You have one hell of a turnaround time, Ross.
- Ben
I can't wait!
+1 i'm in the same boat. I honestly don't wanna hear anything else about the zunehd except for availability and price (which i hope won't break the bank)
Good one. Because you can't see the UI in all the shots of it on the interwebz. *rolls eyes*
These are the kinds of comments we do not need. The ones that are absolute ipodfanboy ignorance and arrogance. Microsoft has already shown off the Zune's UI (which is actually very highly commended) and if you actually read you would know that they did show the UI, just did not allow pictures. They wanted exclusivity to the people at the event.
The "i"... don't be a moron.
Just so you know, you can't reply to users with special characters (like ") in their name - broken comment system. Your replies become new comments.
I want to take exception with your comment about "absolute ipodfanboy ignorance and arrogance".
Ignorance and arrogance are not shown only by rabid iPod fans. Ignorance and arrogance are also shown by rabid Zune fans, and Pre fans, and Apple fans, and MS fans, and insert-your-own-company-or-device-here fans. You don't have to read far through Engadget comments to know that.
Just to be clear, are you angry about ignorance and arrogance OR are you only angry about ignorance and arrogance when it is displayed by supposedly pro-iPod commentors (and you're okay with ignorance and arrogance when displayed by people who are not iPod fans) ?
We are never going to make any progress against the trolls while people are still (ignorantly, I have to say) assuming that all trolls are fans of a particular company, or that all fans of a particular company are trolls. Neither of those statements is true.
pretty sweet... to be honest i've had a zune 30 for 3 years and just found out like 2 weekends ago there was even a dock that had a remote that allowed you to scan songs and what not with a controller lol... I thought the docks were just for people who wanted it to stand upright so i never looked twice at it (which is pretty sad considering how big of a gadget nerd i am). It also doesn't help that i'm in a small college town for almost the whole year and the only electronics store is a wal mart that sells the actual zune and thats it, not even new usb cables or headphones, so i never get to see the new zune stuff. I've also been waiting for the Zune HD since it was announced awhile back, so I haven't quite been shopping for accessories for my zune 30 haha...
Sept 8th is only 2 days before my bday and 10 days after i graduate... graduation/bday present anyone? haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5cMi_Qp7eb4
here is the video of the UI from the gdgt event
Are you dense? They DID let people use the device at the part but didn't allow people to take pictures of screens with media content. If you want to see the UI in action look for a video that was taken a month or two ago. From what I saw at the gdgt party the UI flows really well.
hrm.. the dock and remote look kind of bland... and boring..
Is it like a test model?.. I don't see any branding or logos on it either.. its kind of meh..
At least the Zune HD itself looks sexy.. I think i've decided on a ZuneHD unless apple announces a new refresh to the ipod touch that also features an OLED screen...
Looks like IEmobile is going to shit on Safari Mobile! yeah! :p
http://www.mobiletechworld.com/2009/08/05/another-zunehd-hands-on/
Makes me wish the screen res was a ltitle higher, really. My Touch has been acting up as of late so I'm interested in switching, but the reduction in screen real estate whilst using it as a internet-while-on-the-shitter device is really making the decision difficult.
@ The "i":
Yep, sure man. Definitely for the money. Ahhaa.
That remote looks amazing. I am so pumped up again for this device. I may need to smuggle it across the border but I will get one before year end. This gives another reason to get a HDTV.
Wow, fapping over a Zune dock? Engadget has left the building.
Why are the photos dated April 4th 2009?
Why are the photos dated April 8th 2009?
I would be inda cooler if this could all be done wirelessly..... Or proprietary connector-lessly.....
The dock also has an antenna wire for the hd radio
Man it is going to be great! A Microsoft store just up the road in Scottsdale and the new Zune HD around the same time.
I love being a geek. :D
2 questions:
1. Does HD radio get better reception at a longer distance form the source, My Zune 80 seems to have week radio reception.
2. Has anyone even guessed what the price will be?
1. IDK
2. The numbers being thrown around are $249-279 for the 16GB.
That doesn't make sense to me though.
Sure the 16GB Touch is $299 now, but by the end of September Apple will have launched the Touch 3 and 16GB will drop to $199. Now MS has a lesser known device for $50 more.
So I'm hoping we're looking at $280 for the 32GB and $199 for the 16GB.
Man, my panties are wet by this news. And yes, I'm a dude!
Manties are a valid lifestyle choice.
Will I be able to sync this through bootcamp on a mac? Cause I really want one of these!
what I would like to know is
where's the remote for the remote?
Hey Guys,
Now that the Zune HD is going to feature a HD Radio Tuner does any one know if the remote featured above can be used to control the radio as well (i.e. navigating to a reset station, scanning for stations, etc)?