Adding Zune To WMC 7

[newfiend]

I have wanted to do this for awhile but have never really looked into it until recently. I am sure some of you have already done this as I am sure I am late to the party..
But I tried this and it works quite well and you can navigate the software with the remote a bit but the Lenovo R 5902 is great for this!!

I always wanted the option to be able to launch Zune from MC. I enjoy the player much more than even the WMC waterfall effect that the default music player has. I think who ever designed the Zune software did an excellent job with the different fading Artist backdrops and scrolling text. It looks sophisticated and well thought out.
If you would like to add Zune to your WMC Menu strip and be able to launch it from within MC and have MC reopen when exiting Zune this is a great tip.

First you need to have Media Center Studio Installed. I know the developer (Advent) has taken his site down but thanks to Assassin HTPC http://assassinhtpc.com/ he has managed to salvage this important piece of software for us all to use. So a huge thanks to him for this. You can get Media Center Studio and install it by following the directions here: http://www.hack7mc.com/2011/11/media-ce ... ation.html

*A quick note on this..I had to create 2 directories that did not previously exist one was Apps and the other 2.0 and then placed the unzipped file aka "Huge_String_of_Junk file" into that.*
After that I opened the "Huge_String_of_Junk" file and found the Media Center Studio.exe and right clicked it and created a shortcut which I placed on my Desktop so I could launch MCS easily.

Now with MCS working again I can add the Zune Player software Launcher to WMC 7 (I just formatted and Reinstalled Windows a month or so back and just now re-installed MCS)
Follow the instructions here to add the Zune software to WMC 7: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/17545/ad ... ia-center/
I added the Zune Player to my Music Strip as I thought it would fit best here.. You can insert it in any strip you like.
I can now launch Zune from WMC 7. I just recently got my Lenovo R 5902 mini keyboard backlit remote and it works great for Zune.

Just thought I would post this for others in case you wanted to add the Zune Player to your Media Center.

newfiend~

[milli260876]

I'd like to see Zune made a bit more remote friendly and mediacenter dropped in w8 to be honest. Use it a lot now I have a wp7 and its great. Live tile for tv and mediabrowser too obviously!!!
Oh and if anyone uses DVBViewer for satellite you can use this method for that too. I tried it and it worked a treat...

[newfiend]

Agreed.. wish Zune was a little more remote friendly. It can be used, but it's not as good as it could be. The Lenovo remote is a great remote for use with Zune. It's nice to have the ability to add the Zune Player to MC.. I no longer have to exit MC, then Launch Zune, then exit Zune and reopen MC.. It was a small PITA.. I like the ability to be able to launch it from within MC now.. Hopefully Windows 8 adds the features you suggested.
newfiend~

[Jay]

What are the advantages of Zune vs. standard MCE for music, and what i the impact on Extenders (i.e. is it usable)?

[newfiend]

What are the advantages of Zune vs. standard MCE for music, and what i the impact on Extenders (i.e. is it usable)?

Adding Zune to MCE adds the ability to download new content. It has a built in Marketplace for Music, TV shows and Movies. You can get new content pretty quickly over a broadband connection. There have been many times listening to a song that reminded me of another song or artist I wanted more content from and had to exit MC then open Zune, find, then download the content. This just makes it much easier to add to my collection. I also have a Zune Pass which allows me to listen to anything available in the marketplace any time I choose. If I really like it I can purchase it and keep it. The Zune Player has a much more polished look when playing back music. It will randomly rotate through artist images and has scolling text of Artist and Song title.. Visualy pleasing on a large screen. You can use a standard MCE remote to navigate but it isn't really set up to be used on the 10' interface. It works better with a mouse and keyboard or a Lenovo n5902 remote. I would say the largest advantage is being able to add to the collection through the marketplace. Especially if you have a zune pass.
I actually have not tried it on my extender (DMA-2100) and the XBOX has Zune built in so I didn't bother using it on MC as an extender sorry I couldn't give you a little more info on this part.
newfiend~