Interview reveals Zune HD pricing, other details

Awesome! So with cutting edge codecs being used on these films, a decent bit rate for 720 will still be around 3000-4000kbps AT LEAST plus a gimped 128kbps for audio. Lets do that math.

3628kbps(3500avg video + 128 audio) x 5400secs (90min) = 19591200bits = 2448900bytes = 2.5GB per movies (at least)

Not to mention movies these days are an average of about 105 minutes long rather than 90. So we're really looking at a minimum of 2GB for a short movie with lots of compression and up to 4-5GB if its a long movie with less compression.

So the 16GB model after formatting and not holding any music or pictures will hold you somewhere from 3-7 movies. Great plan guys! I think they rushed this idea out just to try to get a 1up on Apple, rather than waiting for storage costs and capabilities to catch up. Sorry, you need a movable parts HDD with at least 120GB to make this device a success. Microsoft is going to have a lot of pissed off customers when they put their favorite trilogy in the device and realize it's full.

Originally posted by Bluevoid:

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So the 16GB model after formatting and not holding any music or pictures will hold you somewhere from 3-7 movies. Great plan guys! I think they rushed this idea out just to try to get a 1up on Apple, rather than waiting for storage costs and capabilities to catch up. Sorry, you need a movable parts HDD with at least 120GB to make this device a success. Microsoft is going to have a lot of pissed off customers when they put their favorite trilogy in the device and realize it's full.

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I have Zune 80 GB but I'm waiting to buy Zune HD ......minimum 64GB

While this is good for many people, I would like to see a 120GB hard drive version. But I think that bluevoid is right: there's no need to see 720p video on the small screen bc u will not c no difference at all, period. Only on a HDTV will you see it and that with a specialized over-priced cable, and i don't see alot of people doing this either. You already have DVD players that up-convert home-burned video on a disc to view on a HDTV anyways, but that's just my opoinion . . .

Remembering back the first mp3 player I ever saw was 64mb. Essentially a 1cd system. The only advantages over a CD player was it's size and the battery life. Few people bought that, but it was an important step. I think we have found ourselves in a similar situation here. I would say that 95% of the people that buy this thing will purchase less than five HD movies (unless microsoft allows the movies to come a portable and non portable format). They will find that HD movies eat the HDD, but SD movies (while looking the same on the zune) take up far less (1GB).

What I don't understand is why Apple and MS insist on pushing SSD on customers without a real HDD alternative. I thought the touch was awesome. Decent sized videos on the go? Great! Then I head 32GBs only and said "No thanks, I'll wait". Same thing here. Good for MS, they made a product with features we may want to purchase. Then they didn't provide enough storage. That's like making a flying car that goes 5000 miles an hour, but has a 2 gallon gas tank. Sorry, epic fail.

what is the point? 720p on a small screen? normal resolution would be fine, and again, there is no different languages that you can select, put some asian songs on there, it be all scribbles just like the original crap zunes that Microsoft came out with, but yet, the magnetic ear set are still pretty cool. I rather get an ipod anyways.

ok, guys, the screen is NOT 720p. it can PLAY 720p videos on that screen, and you can get video-out at 720p. but your not going to be watching videos at 720p on the zuneHD screen.

@hyasuma, there is going to be foreign language support. well i dont know if you can select your own language, but you wont have those funny scribbles and boxes.
http://www.anythingbutipod.com/archives/...to-the-zune.php

Originally posted by marchyno:

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I have Zune 80 GB but I'm waiting to buy Zune HD ......minimum 64GB

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Originally posted by Hyasuma:

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what is the point? 720p on a small screen? normal resolution would be fine, and again, there is no different languages that you can select, put some asian songs on there, it be all scribbles just like the original crap zunes that Microsoft came out with, but yet, the magnetic ear set are still pretty cool. I rather get an ipod anyways.

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Originally posted by dragnandy:

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ok, guys, the screen is NOT 720p. it can PLAY 720p videos on that screen, and you can get video-out at 720p. but your not going to be watching videos at 720p on the zuneHD screen.

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Originally posted by dragnandy:

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ok, guys, the screen is NOT 720p. it can PLAY 720p videos on that screen, and you can get video-out at 720p. but you're not going to be watching videos at 720p on the zuneHD screen.

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