Zune Breaks with Windows Media Past

The Zune device and associated online store use Microsoft’s Windows Media platform: songs purchased from the Zune Marketplace are encoded in the Windows Media Audio format and protected with Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM). However, Zune is different from past Windows Media devices in several important ways. Most notably, Zune will not use the Windows Media Player, which ships with nearly every copy of Windows.

Rather, as with Apple’s iPod, users will have to install Zune PC software, which runs on Windows XP SP2 or Vista (and not on the Mac). The Zune software will automatically scan the My Music, My Photos, and My Videos folders to populate its content library, and users will be able to scan other folders manually; however, the Zune library will not automatically be synchronized with the Windows Media Player library. As with the Windows Media Player (and iTunes), users will be able to employ the Zune software to rip content from CDs, organize it into playlists, and play existing content on their PCs.