Windows Experience Blog : Music

Using Play To in Windows 7 with the Linksys Wireless-N Music Extender

Brandon LeBlanc — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:04:29 GMT

After seeing Brad Brooks’ demo of Play To in Windows 7 a couple weeks ago at the New York City Windows 7 Launch Party, I decided immediately that I must use Play To in my home. I went out a picked up a Linksys DMP100 Wireless-N Music Extender by Cisco. This device is on the market today with firmware that is currently compatible with Play To for Windows 7.

Future releases of firmware for the DMP100 will enable it to be logo’d for Windows 7 which means it will have passed all of Microsoft’s internal tests and has complete functionality in Windows 7 such being see it in Devices & Printers, ability to name the device, and easier setup with wireless networks.

What you do with this device is connect it to a stereo system and/or a set of speakers and then to your network. You then can play your music to this device over your network.

The Linksys DMP100 supports Draft Dual-Band 802.11n, 802.11g, 802.11b (2.4GHz and 5GHz) and WEP, WPA, WPA2 for security. If a physical network connection is needed, it also has an Ethernet port. For connecting to a stereo or speakers, it has a RCA L/R Input, a RCA L/R Output, an S/PDIF Output, and a 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Output.

I set up the Linksys DMP100 on a shelf in my office (please pardon the Star Trek DVDs) and connected some Altec Lansing speakers to it via the 3.5mm Stereo Headphone Output.

With my D-Link DIR-655 Router, I was able to easily connect the Linksys DMP100 to my wireless network as it supports Windows Connect Now.

On my Windows 7 PC, I fired up Windows Media Player and I have a playlist for the entire Beatles catalog (I purchased ALL of their remastered albums a few months ago). To “play to” the Linksys DMP100, all I needed to do was right-click on my Beatles playlist and chose “Play To” and select “Cisco Player”. I was then able to start playing the playlist.

And while I was playing music to the Linksys DMP100, I was also able to play music and video to other PCs on my network and videos to my Xbox 360.

I will also be talking about other devices that support Play To in Windows 7 – stay tuned!

New Zune Software Update for Zune 4.0 Optimized for Windows 7!

Brandon LeBlanc — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:13:21 GMT

Today, Zune 4.0 hits. Zune 4.0 comes with awesome new devices (the Zune HD), new software, and new online services. For the complete announcement for today’s release, see this press release [Link coming soon] or see this post by my Zune pal Brian Seitz over on Zune Insider.

There’s been a lot of talk about the amazing Zune HD. Having the honor of using one for the last few weeks, I can say it truly is one great device. However, I want to talk about what’s in new Zune software update. The Zune Team has put a lot of work into the software update – including optimizing it for Windows 7! More on that in a bit…

The Zune 4.0 Software Update brings in several key new features designed to make discovering new music and playing music in your collection even better.

Quickplay is a new screen in the Zune software that gives you quick access to your content.

Here, you can pin your favorite content (up to 6 items), see new music and videos added to your collection, and view your history of recently played music, podcasts, and videos. Quickplay also showcases 5 Smart DJ mixes of your favorite artists or bands you pick.

Speaking of Smart DJ…

A Smart DJ “mix” automatically creates a playlist of music from your collection - but goes the extra mile by ALSO mixing in music from Zune Marketplace. These Smart DJ mixes are available by right-clicking on an artist, a song, or an album in your collection. When a Smart DJ mix is created, it pulls in music from your own collection and also the Zune Marketplace. If you have a Zune Pass, all songs including those from Zune Marketplace will play for you. If you don’t have a Zune Pass, “suggested” songs in the Smart DJ mix will be grayed-out.

If you prefer not to see “suggested” music from Zune Marketplace in your Smart DJ mixes, you can unselect a radio button and only your personal collection will be listed.

You can also choose to save the Smart DJ queue as a playlist, with finite control in the “edit playlist” setting, for listening at a later date.

The below screenshot of the Smart DJ mix for Weezer playing shows what playing a Smart DJ mix looks like with the options to save as a playlist and the ability to choose not to play songs from the Zune Marketplace.

But wait, there’s more!

The Zune software now comes with Mini Player Mode. This allows you to keep the player always on top of other applications while browsing the Web, checking email, or whatever else you might be doing on your PC.

And if Mini Player Mode doesn’t do it for you, you can also add playback controls to the Windows Taskbar (right-click on taskbar, choose Toolbars, and then choose Zune).

As I mentioned above, the new Zune software is optimized for Windows 7. That means it takes advantage of key Windows 7 features!

Using Jump Lists in Windows 7, you can access albums you’ve “pinned” under Quickplay as well as your preconfigured Smart DJ mixes of 5 of your favorite artists or bands. It also lets you shuffle all music and resume playing music if on pause.

With Taskbar Previews (just hover your mouse over the Zune button on the Windows Taskbar in Windows 7), you can move to the next song, go back to the previous song, and pause your music and rate songs!

And with Aero Snap, you can resize the Zune software to the top or bottom, left or right of your screen.

Zune now also features for the first time download-to-own, or rent full movies in combination of their growing TV show library. These movies and TV shows can be downloaded in standard definition (SD) or high definition (HD). A remember, Zune Pass is only $14.99 and now comes with unlimited access to streaming music online! Oh and you also get 10 MP3 song credits a month to redeem too.

Give the new Zune software a try for free by clicking here.

Disclaimer: My music tastes do not represent that of Microsoft ;-)

New Social Features Make Their Debut on Zune.net

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 04:09:07 GMT

The Zune Team has updated Zune.net today with several new interesting features. Their entire podcast catalog is now available to be browsed via Zune.net and can be subscribed to. When you pick a podcast to subscribe to, it fires up the Zune software and adds it to your Podcast collection. What’s even better though is all 12,000+ audio podcasts can now be streamed directly from Zune.net using Silverlight. So if there is an audio podcast you may want to listen to but not necessarily subscribe to (or download to your PC) - you can give it a listen on Zune.net. Currently, audio podcast streaming is available to folks in the U.S.

Another new feature hitting Zune.net is the ability to create music quizzes on your user profile. This allows you to quiz your friends with all your awesome music knowledge. You create the question and answers and people try to answer.

Zune Team member Jessica Zahn goes a little more in-depth on the new music quiz feature in this blog post.

Special thanks to Brian Seitz over on the Zune Insider for the heads up on today’s Zune.net updates. I’m told the Zune Team isn’t done making news this year so it will be very interesting to see what else they have up their sleeves.

If you haven’t already, you should check out the Zune 3.0 software. It offers a unique music listening experience and is a great way to discovery new music. Give Mixview a spin. Because music is an important part of me, I am constantly living inside the Zune software or playing music off my Zune 80 here in the office writing blogs or posting to Twitter.

Psst, you can also use Mixview on Zune.net too.

Zune 3.0 Has Arrived, Blue Zune 8 Unboxed!

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 01:58:00 GMT

As was announced last week - the Zune Team rolled out their Zune 3.0 release today consisting of updated Software and Firmware which is now available for all to enjoy at the updated Zune.net website. Click here to go directly to the Zune 3.0 software download page. Once you download and install the Zune 3.0 software, your Zune device once it's connected will be offered new firmware. You can now enjoy new features such as Channels, Personal Picks, Mix View, Buy from FM and more. Oh and the new Now Playing screen is pretty slick too! Also hitting store shelves as we speak are 2 new Zune devices: the Zune 16 and Zune 120. And the Zune 8 is now available in shiny blue-on-silver. As readers of the blog are aware, I've expressed keen interest in picking up a Blue Zune 8. And I did! To celebrate today's Zune 3.0 release I figured I'd post some unboxing shots of the new blue Zune 8.

The Box

Opening the Zune 8 Box

Unboxed

The BLUE Zune 8

I also did some shots comparing the Blue Zune 8 with a Black Zune 8 and a Zune 80. Take a look:

Zumerama does an unboxing of a Zune 16 and Paul Thurrott unboxes the Zune 120. Jason Dunn from Zune Thoughts also discusses his recent trip to Zune Headquarters in Redmond which is also worth a read.

The Zune 16 is available in stores in all black however today it was announced that people can order different colored Zune 16's exclusively via Zune Originals. Zune Originals will offer the Zune 16 in blue, red, pink and green as an online exclusive only. New artwork will also be hitting Zune Originals as well!

To help users utilize the new wireless functionality in their Zune devices - the Zune Team is also announcing today that it is working with high-speed Internet access provider Wayport Inc. to offer Zune users free wireless access to the Zune Marketplace from more than 9,800 participating McDonald's restaurants across the United States.

I'm always looking to discover new music. Add me as a friend on the Zune Social and let me know of some new music I should try out.

Sneak-Peak at the Upcoming Zune 3.0 Release

Brandon LeBlanc — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 07:44:00 GMT

Yesterday, the Zune Team announced their Zune 3.0 release was hitting next week on September 16th. As a Zune user myself, I am pretty stoked for the Zune 3.0 release. The Zune 3.0 release consists of updates across the entire Zune ecosystem including new firmware updates for all Zune devices, new Zune software update, and updates to the Zune Social. The Zune 3.0 release focuses on music discovery and taking it to the next level.

Instead of me talking about the new features in Zune 3.0 that help users discover new music - I figure I'd just show you these videos from members of the Zune Team instead that show off the new features themselves (I love that new Zune animation they use at the beginning and end of the videos!).

Terry Farrell, Product Manager on Zune Marketing Team, discusses the new Channels feature. Channels are like "regularly updated playlists" as Cesar Menendez explains in his blog post on the Zune Insider talking about the Zune 3.0 release. One of the Channels users can be able to subscribe to is the Billboard Top 100. Check out Terry's demo for the low-down:

Video: Zune Fall Update: Channels

Dave Jones, Lead Program Manager on the Zune Software Team, discusses the new Zune software features in Zune 3.0 such as Mix View, the enhanced Now Playing screen, and Personal Picks:

Video: Zune Software Features - Zune Fall 2008

Terry Ferrell discusses the new wireless features in Zune 3.0 such as browsing the Zune Marketplace wirelessly by attaching to a local wireless "hot spot" (hot spots can range from your own wireless home network to your local coffee shop):

Video: Zune Fall 2008 Wireless Features

Megan Tedesco, Program Manager on the Zune Device Team, discusses the Buy from FM feature let lets you add songs you hear from a FM radio station to your cart for purchase and download from the Zune Marketplace:

Video: Zune Fall update: buy from FM

On top of the features mentioned above, the new firmware update for Zune devices will also bring Games and Audiobook support.

The Zune Team is also introducing two new devices with the Zune 3.0 release: the Zune 16 (16GB) and Zune 120 (120GB). Shiny new blue-on-silver and sleek all-black color schemes are also being introduced. I'm going after the new shiny blue-on-silver Zune 16 once it hits stores!

Whether you have a Zune 4 or a Zune 120 - all Zune devices have FM and wireless capabilities so users will be able to enjoy these new features (Buy from FM, Browse Zune Marketplace) across the board.

For more information on the Zune 3.0 release definitely check out Cesar Menendez's post over on the Zune Insider. I know its a bit late but congrats Cesar on the new Zune-ified theme for Zune Insider!

I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to next week's release :-)

Listening to Music in Style with New Zune Device & Software

Brandon LeBlanc — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 01:37:00 GMT

Yesterday was an exciting day for the Zune Team. Their new Zune devices - the Zune 4, Zune 8, and Zune 80 - hit store shelves and they launched a brand new version of Zune.net now with your very own Social Profile (your Zune Card). The Zune Team also launched a new version of the Zune software - completely re-done and much improved. There is quite a bit of reviews on both the new devices and Zune software all over the web today. I'd like to call out the reviews by Featured Community member Jason Dunn over at Zune Thoughts. He's got some fantastic videos up on the new devices and software worth checking out.

I'd like to share a few things myself on the Zune software, the Zune 8, and the Zune Social web service.

First off, yesterday I created a video demo of the Zune software designed to give you a quick overview of what the Zune software offers. I shot the video yesterday hoping to get it up yesterday so when I say "today" I really mean yesterday. Take a look at the video:

That was just a quick overview. The Zune software is about you and your collection of music, videos, and photos. The new software also now supports the ability to subscribe to podcasts as well. For folks who record TV shows with Windows Media Center on Windows Vista (such as myself), the Zune software is able to take those videos and put them on your Zune device. One thing I'd like to stress is that even if you don't own a Zune device, you can still download the Zune software to use with your music collection. You really need to check out the Now Playing screen ;-)

In conjunction with the release of the new software, I went out and bought myself a Zune 8. The Zune 8 is the 8GB flash memory model. I was originally intending to buy a Zune 80 (the 80GB harddrive model) but I already own a brown Zune 30 and really wanted to try a smaller flash device.

I was amazed at how small the device is. And the new Zune Pad makes a huge different in navigating the device - by the touch of my finger. And the new glass screen makes watching videos and looking at pictures crystal clear on the device. Yes - the Zune 8 supports video (including my recorded Windows Media Center TV shows!).

To go with my Zune 8, I also picked up the Zune Dock. The new Zune Dock supports the new Zune devices (the Zune 4, 8, and 80) as well as the Zune 30. It comes with interchangeable "seats" for the devices. The Zune Dock also has video out capabilities.

It also comes with a power adapter. If my Zune 8 is plugged in to the wall to charge - if I've set up wireless syncing, my Zune 8 will automatically sync to my PC as I add music throughout the day.

The next thing I'd like to talk about is the new Zune Social features on Zune.net. When you login to Zune.net with your Windows Live ID that is your Zune/Xbox account - you now have a Zune Profile on Zune.net. This Zune Profile consists of your played music as well as your Friends List (same Friends you have from Xbox Live). You can also browse the Zune music catalog via Zune.net and send songs to your friends which will then show up under the "social" of the Zune software. This is becoming one of my most favorite features of the new Zune releases as not only can I share my music tastes with my friends, I can also see what my friends are listening. Because of this - I've discovered many new artists I've never heard before as well as rediscovered a few I've not heard in ages.

Feel free to check out my Zune Profile and my Zune Card here.

Music is very important to me and being able to play my music and mange my digital media in such a unique way, sync to a really cool device and then share my music listening habits with friends makes for an incredible experience.

Photos of the Zune and Zune Dock uploaded to Flickr using Windows Live Photo Gallery.