Refurb Black Zune $99

Got both of mine today. Can't say that I'm too disappointed, it was less than a week. Very nice units, I just wish that they didn't have refurbished plastered all over the place. No signs of use though.
 
Mine just came in and it looks brand new.
Are they supposed to come with songs and videos on them?

I am watching a skateboarding video right now.
 
I have been waiting impatiently for 2 days for my Zune to get off the local delivery truck at my house, and 15 minutes after I leave the house to run an errand it showed up.:rolleyes:

Anyways, I got home and opened it up. Mine is in pristine condition. I am very happy with my purchase. The Faster Kill Pussycat video on it is pretty good too.:cool:

The refurbished sticker peels right off with no leftover residue.

The pouch with it barely fits the Zune with no way to carry the headphones or sync cord. That's pretty lame. I'll have to borrow an old camera pouch to pack it, the headphones and cable in when I travel next week.

Now, if the software actually loads and it syncs, all will be good with the world.

Don
 
Got the software updated and firmware was updated as well.
Took a few tries to get the unit to sync, but it synced now and I am putting a bunch of songs on it, seems kinda slow though.
 
got mine - wow, I cant believe i paid $100 for this! I was so close to getting a nano last week, I'm glad I held out. 30gb => room for med. school stuff AND music :)

Can anyone suggest a pair of quality portable headphones? I'm using the Sein. 497's at the moment and they are a bit too big to be trucking back and forth all day.
 
Got the software updated and firmware was updated as well.
Took a few tries to get the unit to sync, but it synced now and I am putting a bunch of songs on it, seems kinda slow though.
Click to expand...

Everything installed the first time. It synced up and had dumped hundreds of random songs on there before I realised what was happening.

Cleared out the crap the auto sync setting dumped on there, turned off auto sync, did a couple of manual syncs with short playlists and individual songs, and it works great.

It takes less than a second per song to sync, so if yours is slower than that, you may not be in a USB 2.0 port.

Now I just have to put together some playlists and dump them over there and I'm all set. Oh, I also have to figure out how to get some videos over there. It is still adding my songs to the Zune library.

Don
 
got mine as well. Cosmetically it looks great. Thank god it didn't come with a polished body like the iPod. I wonder if they replace the earphones? I don't want anybodys gunk left on the earpiece:eek:.
 
mine look brand new. And i don't think they would risk any kind of law suit by sending out used earphones.
 
Mine looked like they had been pre-owned, but very, very little use. Overall I'm very happy, I updated the software and firmware fine and everything loaded perfectly.
 
What are you using to get the Refurb sticker off?
Also describe your experience of doing it ie was it really stuck down, or just a little; what tools/solvent you used etc.
thanks :)
 
I got mine today too. I thought I had one of the DOA's that were mentioned as a possibility on the Woot site a few days ago, but it turned out that the battery was so dead that it wouldn't turn on, and my USB ports suck to I had to hook up my powered hub for it to recharge.

Overall I think it's an awesome deal. $105 and it holds 15 times my phone's capacity. I think mine was returned because it has one stuck pixel near the right side of the screen. No big deal to me, and once I know this thing works like it should I'll probably open it up and try to massage the pixel with a cotton swab - it worked for an IBM laptop I had for work a few years ago, so why not try?

Next item on my list of things to do with this is to fix some of my ID3 tags. Seems that the CDDB is somewhat crappy because I have a few albums that show up two or three times with a few tracks from the album in each folder.

Time to discharge the battery and recharge it....or is this a lithium-ion battery and it doesn't matter?
 
Got mine today. Works great! Have a lot of music to sync. I don't like the zune software, but it works.
 
Mine showed up today. I love it. The only thing is it has been somewhat less than easy to get videos converted and loaded. Sometimes the audio ends up sounding like crap or sometimes there ends up being no audio at all. Either way excellent price for a sweet product.

Does anyone know if there is a way to make it not display photos in landscape mode? some photos aren't widescreen and end up being shrunk.
 
MasterOfNone said:
Next item on my list of things to do with this is to fix some of my ID3 tags.

Time to discharge the battery and recharge it....or is this a lithium-ion battery and it doesn't matter?
Click to expand...

I wish there was a good "cleanup" tool that can look at the current tags, update them, download album art- and keep your collection clean. I have yet to find one.

JapaneseGorilla said:
Mine showed up today. I love it. The only thing is it has been somewhat less than easy to get videos converted and loaded. Sometimes the audio ends up sounding like crap or sometimes there ends up being no audio at all. Either way excellent price for a sweet product.
Click to expand...

In Zune software there are quality settings...
Go to Sync- Sync Options- More Options- Devices- Properties- Quality.
 
October 13, 2007 4:15 AM Processed DALLAS, TX *
October 12, 2007 8:01 PM Shipment Accepted DALLAS, TX *
October 12, 2007 6:34 PM Sortation Center Departure DALLAS, TX
October 12, 2007 5:25 PM Electronic Shipping Info Received DALLAS, TX *
October 11, 2007 6:00 PM Sortation Center Arrival DALLAS, TX
October 11, 2007 5:30 PM Pickup CARROLLTON, TX

* indicates data from USPS


Leave Dallas dammit! :mad:
 
I hear a program called MediaMonkey may be good. I've never tried it.

I use the Slysoft AnyDVD package (cloneDVDMobile) to rip and convert from my DVDs. Until the update on Nov 13, you'll still have to have the Zune software convert that output to the Zune, but after the update, it'll just slide right on :D
 
Looks brand new, operates great.

Look a bit of trickery to get worked in win x64. No problems after that!

Sweet product microsoft!
 
You know, I've got to say that the zune software isn't anywhere near as painful as I expected. The only pain was when it started to auto sync everything in my library. Of course, the last proprietary audio software that I used was for my old 40gb creative zen something or other. I mean, it's basically just windows media player but "zuned" out (I know, zune isn't a verb).
 
Mine is brand new! Well looks that way anyway.... This is awesome! I had like 30 songs on it. No problem syncing, no scratches, nothing.

Do they make sports bands for the Zune? Before you flame me for working out with it, I will say that I am a bodybuilder and I wear a sportsband when i lift. When I do cardio I take it off......
 
Do they make sports bands for the Zune?
Click to expand...

I ordered an accessory kit for my Zune off of Ebay. It has a black silicone skin with sports band, car and home chargers, retractable sync cable and a screen protector for like 25 bux delivered. The stuff you can pickup locally is prolly better quality, but would cost over $100 bux.

After I get the stuff and try it out, I will let you know if I felt it was worth it.

Don
 
im so s'in pissed at fedex. Out for delivery at 7.41 am. Been home waiting all day. Outside ejoying the weather on my tailgate waiting on fedex. Just checked the trking info and says attempted delivery at 4:11 pm. Customer not available or business closed. My ass. I have been waiting outside all damn day and then the f'n drive says that shit. He never even came. Just got off the phone with customer service rep who barely speaks english and says sorry a million times dont know what happened. Now wont see it till tuesday. FEDEX KISS MY A$$!!!!!
 
Got mine today. All connected, sunched, and charging right now. There is nothing about this shipement that tells me the zune retail box was ever opened. Can't make a real call until after I get to play with everything some. But so far so good...
 
i got mine. its sweet. i'm currently doing some mods to it. i can't wait :D

sound is very good with the supplied ear buds. the video is top notch too. not the best angle viewing but it is meant for one person ;)
 
Fedex has been crappy to me too. It says its been on Delivery since 8:42AM. I have been here all day too. :(

I still don't have it.
 
Is podcast functionality [like iTunes] to come with the November firmware update?
 
Wow.

Opened the box up and my Zune had absolutely NO cosmetic flaws. The entire case looks silky and smooth and the glass has not one single scratch on it. I haven't had the chance to play with yet but right now, I'm floored. :)
 
Chowder Head said:
Wow.

Opened the box up and my Zune had absolutely NO cosmetic flaws. The entire case looks silky and smooth and the glass has not one single scratch on it. I haven't had the chance to play with yet but right now, I'm floored. :)
Click to expand...

If one were to give this some careful thought, it would appear that Woot sold thousands upon thousands of these things.

Think about it, where have you read that that many could have possibly been returned? No way was there ever enough returns or defective units to qualify all of these to be refurbs.

If you notice, the factory box itself has refurbished printed on like its original. As a rule a referb sticker is a tape on label. You really think they paid someone to peel off all the old stickers on the backs of the units and replace them with the refurbished sticker? I sure don’t.

While there very well may be some refurbished units shipped my guess is the vast majority are brandy new and were shipped this way on purpose. How would you feel if you owned a big box store and suddenly you saw “new” units at the retail level for far less then you paid for them yourself? There was never that much margin in these to start with so as a retailer I’d be really upset. The only justification for this is it was a way to placate the retailers and keep them as customers.

This unit was built by Toshiba, the new ones MS clearly stated were going to be parts from various places and assembly done by a third party. Toshiba got screwed when they agreed to dump their original “S” series Gigabeats so they could do business with MS. The Gigabeat “S” series went on sale cheap and they are fine units. MS opted to change vendors at the last minute. Now that sounds like the MS we have all come to know and love.

Meanwhile a few tips. Don’t install the software you got with the unit. Plug the unit in and wait until Windows can’t find any software and first, it will do a Windows update and second will point you to the new and improved software.

Download and install the new software and attempt to use it, it will probably error out which is ok. Reboot and plug your new Zune back in and suddenly the new software will not only work but automatically install the newest update. All very pain free.

It’s a scary thought, but if you start thinking like MS, stuff works.:rolleyes:

I saw the above post about media monkey; it’s a great program even in the free version. It totally fixes and or adds proper tags almost instantly.

Great deal, enjoy.
 
i screwed up my registry as far as teh zune goes. i can still put files on it but the files i converted to sync, they now get converted by the zune software :(. still works correctly on my laptop though. why did i try to make the zune into a big harddrive usb ;)

any thoughts on how to fix my desktop's registry for the zune software to not convert converted files upon sync, is very much needed
 
matrix563 said:
i screwed up my registry as far as teh zune goes. i can still put files on it but the files i converted to sync, they now get converted by the zune software :(. still works correctly on my laptop though. why did i try to make the zune into a big harddrive usb ;)

any thoughts on how to fix my desktop's registry for the zune software to not convert converted files upon sync, is very much needed
Click to expand...

Yes, go into sync properties and turn off auto sync.


Your Zune will appear as a drive which is good because windows explorer can see it to let you delete and move files.;)
 
BillR said:
Yes, go into sync properties and turn off auto sync.


Your Zune will appear as a drive which is good because windows explorer can see it to let you delete and move files.;)
Click to expand...

OMG i didn't screw nothing up. i changed the setting myself without realizing what i was doing, i think :D.

thanks man :)
 
Ugh... I had to reinstall windows this morning because driver issues, and when I go to configure the zune software again, it decides that it should delete all the contents of the zune because it's a "new" computer. It's ridiculous. It gave me the option that the zune could be a "guest," but it'd probably have limited capabilities then. Guess I have to reconvert my videos again.

I like the zune, but the software is a piece of trash.
 
loneraven said:
Ugh... I had to reinstall windows this morning because driver issues, and when I go to configure the zune software again, it decides that it should delete all the contents of the zune because it's a "new" computer. It's ridiculous. It gave me the option that the zune could be a "guest," but it'd probably have limited capabilities then. Guess I have to reconvert my videos again.

I like the zune, but the software is a piece of trash.
Click to expand...

Don't use the Zune software, Zune is perfectly compatable with mediaplayer. You also have complete control over your guest account including full access.
 
BillR said:
Don't use the Zune software, Zune is perfectly compatable with mediaplayer. You also have complete control over your guest account including full access.
Click to expand...

so we use the trick that lets us use media player?

anything else special?
 
The zune is not "natively" compatiable with Windows Media Player 11, you have to 'trick it'. There's a bunch of reg hack infos out there, I use zuneboards.com there's a nice software suite a guy made, for zune hacks, very helpful.

I just got my two in today. Both work great. woot for Woot!.

I suggest heading over there
 
All good points BillR, thanks for replying.

I had some doubts myself that they were all refurbished because they sold so damn many. $100 for a brand new 30GB MP3 player....that sounds even better! :D

Just a quick question for you man. I originally downloaded the Zune software so I could add some songs and the interface was somewhat clunky IMO. Not too bad but not the greatest thing ever. I read your tips and decided to try that out so I uninstalled the software, and went at it but I ran into some problems.

Meanwhile a few tips. Don’t install the software you got with the unit. Plug the unit in and wait until Windows can’t find any software and first, it will do a Windows update and second will point you to the new and improved software.

Download and install the new software and attempt to use it, it will probably error out which is ok. Reboot and plug your new Zune back in and suddenly the new software will not only work but automatically install the newest update. All very pain free.
Click to expand...
I'm trying to accomplish this but for some reason, it's not working for me. When I plug the Zune in without the software, it says "Found new Hardware" It then asks me if I want to connect to Windows Update Web and search for software. I select "Yes, this time only" and in the next page, it asks if I want to install the software automatically or from a list or specified location. I choose the "Install the software automatically" and it says something like it cannot find the necessary software to install this hardware.
 
Slufa111 said:
Mine is brand new! Well looks that way anyway.... This is awesome! I had like 30 songs on it. No problem syncing, no scratches, nothing.

Do they make sports bands for the Zune? Before you flame me for working out with it, I will say that I am a bodybuilder and I wear a sportsband when i lift. When I do cardio I take it off......
Click to expand...

DLO Action Jacket. its a neoprene case with an armband. prolly around $30
 
bufodr_T said:
im so s'in pissed at fedex. Out for delivery at 7.41 am. Been home waiting all day. Outside ejoying the weather on my tailgate waiting on fedex. Just checked the trking info and says attempted delivery at 4:11 pm. Customer not available or business closed. My ass. I have been waiting outside all damn day and then the f'n drive says that shit. He never even came. Just got off the phone with customer service rep who barely speaks english and says sorry a million times dont know what happened. Now wont see it till tuesday. FEDEX KISS MY A$$!!!!!
Click to expand...

FWIW, I have been really disappointed with UPS lately. Every single box I have gotten in the past few months has been beat to peices. Either holes in it, an entire side smashed, or something. This is both from work AND home deliveries.
FedEx seems to take better care of their stuff... anything delivered by them has the box intact at least.
 
For those that missed out on this deal, Buy.com has the brown one for $106.58 shipped.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top