I haven’t been posting much for various reasons:

1. Busy with work and personal matters
2. Not much new Zune news to report
3. Enjoying the use of my Zune!

I have, however, been answering comments posted by readers on a daily basis, so I am trying to stay active with this web blog. Most questions are regarding videos not converting correctly, etc. Again, the usual culprit to videos not converting completely or missing/out-of-sync audio is bad or conflicting video/audio codecs on your system. If you’re having such problems, do a search for “codec” in this web blog for past postings on the topic.

So, everybody have a nice 4th of July weekend.

It seems that once the game developer SDK was released for the Zune, lots and lots of people began creating unique applications for the Zune devices. Not only games, but other nice utilities (clocks, calendars, etc) are available. ZuneBoards has a list of games and applications available for download from this link. Definitely worth checking out.

The only bad thing, is that you must install Visual Studio Express (a Microsoft developer package) to install these applications on your Zune. Since I have other software development packages already installed on my desktop and laptop systems, I’m a bit reluctant to installing VS Express for fear of it conflicting with my other development environments. I guess some day I’ll be brave and bite the bullet and try installing a few Zune games and apps.

Sorry for the lack of postings. I haven’t come across any useful tips lately, so I don’t have much to talk about. I’m still using my Zune 80 daily to watch recorded shows while I sit on the couch with my son, when he watches his Max and Ruby and Bob the Builder videos. So he’s got his DVD player and I’ve got my portable video player. I’m also using my Zune at night for about an hour to watch a recorded TV show before going to sleep (sometimes, I shut my eyes for a bit and wake up with the show ended!).

What’s strange, is that my refurbished Zune (which was sent to me when I returned my defective Zune) seems to have longer battery life than my original Zune. I’m not complaining, as I can watch at least 3 hours straight without having to recharge my Zune.

If I come across any relevant news, I’ll be sure to continue posting again. Otherwise, I’ll check the comments sections daily and will try to respond to your questions ASAP.

And, Happy Father’s Day!

There hasn’t been much happening over the last few weeks in the Zune arena. I did find this one tidbit that you might be interested in:

Microsoft is giving away a 30 GB Zune in their “Try MSN Mobile Now” promotion. It seems that you can enter daily by doing one of the following:

1. Go to www.msnmobilefix.com/zune and enter your cell phone number on the form. A text message will be sent to your cell phone with a web page link.
2. Using your phone’s web browser go to this web site: mobile.msn.com
3. Go to this web link and enter your phone number

So if you’re big on entering contests, here you go!

As you’ve probably read from my previous postings, I use the freeware utility called DVRMSToolbox (DTb) to automatically process the video recordings from my TV Tuner card to Zune format. Although DTb has a built-in action to convert the DVR-MS recording file to WMV format, it doesn’t have any provision for cropping out the top two lines of the video source (to remove the noise). In this posting, I talk about how I resolved that issue by doing the following in DTb:

1. Cut out all commercials from the DVR-MS recording file.
2. Convert edited DVR-MS file to MPEG2 format.
3. Make an external call to Windows Media Encoder 9 to convert the MPEG2 file to WMV format and crop out the top two lines of the video source.

This has been working ok, but requires an intermediate conversion to MPEG2 format before converting to the final WMV format. Since the DVR-MS format is very close to MPEG2 format, the time for this conversion is minimal, however, I’ve noticed some pixelation in the resultant WMV file between the edited commercial breaks.

Recently, the maker of DTb added a new application called DVRMStoWMVHD which is suppose to convert a DVR-MS file to WMV format and has the ability to crop the video source. So, I decided to replace using WME9 and simplify the video processing procedure. Below is what I’m doing now:

1. Cut out all commercials from the DVR-MS recording file.
2. Convert edited DVR-MS file to WMV format (using DVRMStoWMVHD) with cropping parameters

Note, that DVRMStoWMVHD takes as input the same zune_profile.prx profile file that I use with WME9, so the final WMV file is essentially the same as what I was getting using my original method, but I’m able to simplify the process. Whether DVRMStoWMVHD is faster than WME9 or gives better results, I don’t know. So far, it seems to work ok and the WMV file that it generates looks good.

In case you’re curious, the parameters that I’m using in step 2 are the following:

dvrmstowmvhd -i “test.dvr-ms” -o “out.wmv” -p “C:\Dave’s Files\VideoTools\zune_profile.prx” -ch 2 -ct 2

I highly recommend you check out DVRMSToolbox if you have a TV Tuner card and want automate the conversion process of recordings to Zune format.

Microsoft seems to be a company that imitates other companies that have great ideas. They imitated the Windows OS from Apple, tried to get market share in in the iPod/iTunes space (with the Zune product), and also tried to jump on the PDA bandwagon by producing a competitor (Pocket PC/Windows Mobile) with the Palm OS devices. Recently, Microsoft seems to be competing with Google to gain their success in the area of online advertisement via search engines and web-based applications. In fact, some people have joked with Bill Gates during interviews that he wouldn’t say the word “Google” as they were a prime target for Microsoft’s “innovation” plans.

In the area of cell phones, Microsoft did have a lead on other companies since their Windows Mobile OS was a perfect crossover product for the “Smartphone” (PDA/Phone) devices. Apple recently entered the phone arena with their iPhone product, which impressed the general community with their slick, highly graphical OS and applications. However, it seems that Google is trying to one-up Microsoft and Apple with their upcoming Android project, which will provide a new, free OS for modern Smartphone devices.

You can read more about Android at this link, and see various demo videos of the new OS. Google is planning to release the Android OS sometime in the 2nd half of 2008, and will be providing it as open-source. This means that users can download and install the OS at no-cost on their phone devices (provided that the cell phone service providers support such an OS installation). This will certainly throw a money wrench in Microsoft’s and Apple’s phone OS plans.

If you watch the Android demo videos, the OS looks very slick. The demos used a prototype device that had touch screen capabilities, which allowed the OS to operate much like the Apple iPhone. In addition, the applications that run under the Android OS are all written in Java, so we might see lots and lots of applications being produced by Java developers. So why is Google doing this? So they can display small ads and continue their highly successful advertisement campaign.

So, this is definitely something to keep an eye on if you’re a Smartphone or iPhone owner. I would think that soon, manufacturers will be creating a single handheld device that combines the functionality of a cell phone with WiFi for web browsing along with other PDA-like features and of course, an MP4/Video player like the Zune.

I’ve noticed that most pre-teens have desktop computers that were old hand-me-downs from their parents or relatives. Usually someone in a person’s extended family likes to upgrade their computer every year or two, so there’s always an older computer available for someone’s kid. In my case, I usually give my older computer to my father-in-law who welcomes something that’s a bit faster than what he currently has.

Recently, my niece has been trying to install her Webkinz and Barbie software on her ancient Windows 2000 OS machine without any luck. It seems that most software these days require at least Windows XP, so her computer is getting really too old. She also has trouble browsing certain web site that require special Flash plugins, and the older hardware (slow disk drive, minimal memory, etc.) isn’t helping much. Unfortunately, her parents can’t afford to buy or upgrade her computer, so my wife and I decided to help out.

Now, we don’t have a lot of money to spend, so I took a look at some budget alternatives. First, we decided on the Windows Vista OS, since WinXP is on it’s way out and we didn’t want to pay for a WinXP OS license. We also wanted to get something that would run fairly quick and wouldn’t be obsolete in the next 12 months. A quick search revealed that a new computer system (eMachines) with 1 GB of RAM, CD/DVD ROM, 80 GB Hard drive, and video card runs about $300 US. That price is a bit high for what we wanted to spend, so I began pricing out what it would cost to build a new computer from scratch. Here’s the list of components that I found:

• MicroATX Motherboard with Intel Celeron (1.8 MHz, 512MB Cache) Processor - $59
• 1 GB RAM - $24
• DVD-ROM - $15
• 80 GB Seagate 7200 RPM hard drive - $38
• PCI Video Card (256 MB Video RAM) - $25
• MicroATX case - $40

Most of these components were found on www.newegg.com (my favorite computer online store), with the exception of the Motherboard/CPU which I found as an advertised special at Fry’s Electronics in the Friday newspaper ad. So for around $200 US, I could build a new computer (minus the monitor, keyboard and mouse) which could run Windows Vista sufficiently.

So far as purchasing the Windows Vista OS, that actually would be at no-cost since my wife was about to participate in a Microsoft Usability Study at the Redmond campus where Microsoft gives you one selection of an item on a software list as a gratuity for your time. She was planning to get the Vista OS so we’re covered with that piece of the puzzle.

Still trying to keep the cost down further, we decided to just buy the Motherboard/CPU and 1 GB RAM and put it in an old HP Computer case which we had sitting in the garage. The power supply in the case seemed large enough to run the board, and we were able to salvage the 120 GB Hard drive and DVD-ROM drive. Normally, I wouldn’t use a used hard-drive in a newly built system, but we thought using it would be ok for the time being and if necessary we would spend the $38 later and get a new hard drive.

The only big concern I had, was the video card requirement for running the Vista Aero interface. As a minimum, 128 MB of video RAM is necessary for having the full Vista Aero interface experience, so I has hoping that the on-board video circuitry on the Motherboard would be sufficient. After assembling the upgraded computer and loading Windows Vista (30-day demo), it turned out that the on-board video was indeed sufficient for running Vista at a reasonable speed.

So, for just under $100 US, I was able to upgrade one of my old computers into a highly usable Vista machine for my niece. The key, was getting the Motherboard/CPU combo from Fry’s Electronics at such a good price (For those interested, the Motherboard is a ECS 945GCT-M/1333 LGA 775 MicroATX with on-board video and audio).

ZuneBoards.com recently released ZuneTV, which is a web site for downloading video files. It operates much like YouTube.com, except it allows you to also download videos in Zune compatible format. So far as I can tell, the video downloads are free (you need to have a ZuneBoards account to download files).

The nicest thing about this site, is that you won’t need to use external programs (such as Orbit Downloader) to download the files and convert them. The limiting factor for me, is that the video content seems lacking (having similar user-generated videos as YouTube.com). I’d rather download TV episodes, documentaries, etc. than Charlie the Horse in Candyland.

So for now, I’m still sticking with hulu.com and veoh.com for TV Show downloads. And, I’ve got my TV Tuner card with Vista Media Center recording and converting scheduled TV shows for my Zune!

When converting video files to MP4 or WMV format for the Zune, it’s often helpful to know certain facts about your source video. Information such as frames per second (fps), video codec, audio bit rate, screen resolution, etc. are important for setting the parameters in your video conversion software. For example, if you convert a video file using a setting of 29 fps but the video source is at 24 fps, your audio may slowly become out-of-sync with your video. So, it’s important to identify information such as frame rate when doing video conversions.

Normally, I recommend the freeware program called GSpot which can open most video files and display relevant information about them. However, GSpot is a bit overkill for some, as it displays lots and lots of information (maybe too much at times). To simplify matters, I decided to brush up on my Visual Basic programming and create a basic application called zVideo which displays pertinent video/audio information for a source video file.

You can download my application from this link. My simple application basically runs the program called FFMPEG and parses through the output from that program to get the relevant video/audio information. It then displays this information in a dialog box window. You can also activate an option for it to display the optimum screen resolution dimensions that you can use for your video conversions (if the video source resolution is larger than 320 by 240).

To use this application, download the zVideo.zip file and unzip the contents in a folder on your Windows system. Then, double-click on the zVideo.exe application icon. Note, that you need to have the file called FFMPEG.exe located in the same folder as the zVideo.exe file. Sorry that I don’t have a slick installer application to load this software.

Now, this program doesn’t do any actual conversion. It only shows the attributes of a selected video file.

Have fun with my simple application, and let me know if you find any bugs or have any issues.

With the recent release of the XNA SDK for game development, a lot of resourceful people have already started creating applications (not games) for the Zune. This link on GotZune.com shows three such applications (e.g., clock, calculator, and calendar). With this capability, a developer could create whatever application they wanted so long as it stays within the boundaries of what is available for game programming. Wouldn’t it be cool to have your MS-Outlook calendar and contacts synced to your Zune? What about having the ability to use a WiFi connection at a local coffee shop to check emails, or web browse? Of course, this is assuming the XNA SDK would allow for such access to the device’s WiFi and other system functions. Also, you’re limited to what you can input using a touchpad control and a few buttons. I’m sure some clever and resourceful developers will come up with some interesting applications for the Zune!

Currently, the only major limitation is installing such applications on your Zune. So far as I can tell, you need to install the Visual Studio C# Express development software on your PC to make a connection to your Zune to upload the applications. This is still a bit too techie for most people, so I don’t think a lot of Zune owners will be installing applications. But then again, a clever developer could probably create an simple installer application to circumvent this issue.

So, stand back and wait for the flood of cool apps soon to be coming our way for the Zunes!