Cnet has just done a review to find out which of MP3 players are best suited for podcasts and concluded that Zune was the best!

A fantastic podcast option, the Zune even ekes past the iPod for the top spot. The software is excellent for podcasts:

What Cnet liked about the Zune was its ability to allow us to manage the number of episodes we want to sync to our Zune and the fact that we can unsubscribe from podcasts directly from our Zune. And they were looking for the ability of players to provide features such as Zune’s accelerated fast forwarding and the passive bookmarking option which automatically remembers the spot we are at in each podcast.

These features, say Cnet, make Zune the best MP3 player for listening to podcasts.

We have previously featured several excellent podcast sources - both audio and video - on Wowzune. So if you haven’t yet discovered the wonderful world of podcasts, maybe this Cnet review will motivate you to give it a try!

Share

We have recently done a post showing how to get videos onto our Zune for free. Basically this software converts video files into Zune compatible files, auto loads to iTunes (yep, we have to rely on iTunes for this) and then we sync to our Zune from there. The convert is super easy and very fast.

The problem with this software - called TransferMy Video - is that while it converts DVDs from our D-drive so that we can watch them on our Zune, it won’t copy “right protected” DVDs. And lets face it, most of our favorite DVDs are “right protected”.  But if we have already purchased the DVD, we should be able to watch it on whatever device we have, right?

Well, we have found a really easy to use piece of software  that simple runs in the background and allows TransferMyVideo to convert “right protected” DVDs so that we can watch them on our Zune!

Take a bow, guys! The software is called DVD43. Just download it and then you can forget about it. If you haven’t already downloaded TransferMyVideo, you can get it free from this link. (just scroll down find the download for the free version). Now, as we said in our previous post, it does have a watermark in the middle - so you might prefer the watermark-free version.  You can get that by following this link.

In any event, with DVD43 and TransferMyVideo, you will now be able to watch any DVD on your Zune.

All for free (if you don’t mind the watermark) or for the cost of just one DVD if you want to get rid of the watermark.

Either way, too good to pass up! Everyone on the Zune team has set themselves up with this (using either the free or paid version) and all reckon its the best thing since sliced cheese!! As you can see above, I have recently transferred Taken (staring Liam Neeson) onto a Zune to watch on a flight I am taking tomorrow.

Share

Zunes can now use audiobooks!  Two sites that are worth mentioning - because we can get free audiobooks from them - are  audible.com and overdrive.com. Audible are currently offering a free 30-trial to Zune users which includes three free audiobooks of your choice. Which is cool - but remember, if you forget to cancel your free trial, you will get billed for $22.95 every month till you remember to cancel

Overdrive is a whole other ballgame - and its great to see Zune making it possible for us to use this service. It has been available on iPod  and now  it cab be used by that Zune owners as well.

What overdrive does is makes it possible to borrow books from libraries via the Zune format - in other words,  as an audiobook. Now only some libraries offer the service and only some books are available in this format. But a quick check at overdrive will tell you whether there is a library near you that offers this service. And its free! Potentially dozens of books  can be enjoyed this way!

For example, I am a Lee Child fan - and 3 of his books have been published in the MP3 format by Books on Tape, including “Gone Tomorrow” which I have not yet read. Overdrive shows that this title is available at dozens of libraries around the US. When I click the link to the State Library at Seattle for example, there it is!

So long as we are a member of the library, we can borrow this book for free - download it to our PC and then  to our Zune. Now most libraries explain that the OverDrive WMA Audiobook excerpts are delivered as WMA files. These  can be used with any version of Windows Media Player.

To use a full OverDrive WMA Audiobook title, you will need to download OverDrive Media Console 1.0 or newer and complete a one-time ‘Windows Media Player Security Upgrade’ on Windows Media Player version 9 or newer.

Its not difficult and every library provides guidance to help get us setup. Check it out!

Share