Home > Consumer Reviews > Zune Home A/V Pack
Zune Home A/V Pack
See it at Amazon.com for $28.95Average Customer Rating
(4.0 out of 5)
Amazon Customer Reviews
Most Helpful First | Newest First | + Share140 of 142 people found the following review helpful:
Zune Home A/V Pack is Awesome!
(5 out of 5) by Scott Larsen on Nov 30, 2006 (Aurora, IL USA)I purchased the Black Zune and just received my AV Packs today. I hooked it up to my home A/V system in less than 5 minutes. Yellow, Red, and White hookups just like any other device.
The dock is very sleak and clean looking with a frosted plastic base and shiny gun smoke/titanium colored black plastic top where the Zune rests. It is actually matches the metal on the front of the Zune surrounding the screen and control dial.
After reading the manuals I was happy to learn that the top panel can be changed when future Zune players come out. So, instead of having to buy an entirely new A/V kit I will only have to replace the top to fit the next Zune.
The remote works well. The controls match those on the Zune with the addition of a skip forward and back button and individual volume control buttons. It is black with a frosted plastic coating similiar to the black zune without the blue contrast. It is magnetized like the earphones so you can stick it to anything made of metal. I thought that was a nice feature depending on where you use your Zune. It will stick to the fridge!
Once I had everything hooked up to my stereo receiver and TV, I was really happy with the ability to pull up my Zune menu and control the device on my TV screen with the Zune remote. It is literally like a "Supersized" Zune. The album art does not take up the entire screen like it does on the Zune but it does still appear on the screen the entire time you are listening to a song.
The pack ships with the Zune Dock, Wireless remote with battery installed, an A/V cable, a power adapter which is made of shiny black plastic(IPOD like), and an additional Sync Cable. The sync cable plugs into the power adapter via a USB port on the power adapter.
CAR STEREO INSTALLATION TIP: I purchased a second A/V pack that I am using with my car. I put the Zune dock in my car, plugged the Zune car charger into the dock and plugged the Zune a/v cable into the aux audio in(red/white RCA) cable coming off the back of my Alpine headunit. Bottom line, I am now able to charge via the dock and control my Zune via the wireless remote in my car without having to plug anything into the Zune. I just put the Zune in the dock and it is ready to go! If my car stereo were setup for video and I had LCDs I could then also hook the Zune A/V cable Video connection (yellow) up and the Zune video would play through the LCDs as well.
I am also using the Zune dock as a docking station for my computer. All you have to do is hook your sync cable into the back of the dock and you have a docking station that syncs with your PC and the Zune software. Pretty cool!
About the only negatives I have found with the A/V pack is that you are not able to turn the Zune off with the wireless remote. You have to walk up to the dock to turn it off or remove the Zune from the Dock. This isn't a major deal since it is always charging in the dock but it would be nice to be able to turn it off via the remote. Also, the resolution isn't perfect or HD quality. I have a 4/3 43" projection TV so that may play a part. This issue doesn't have much to do with the A/V Pack though. This has more to do with these type of devices not being able to store information in large resolution formats.
The dock is very sleak and clean looking with a frosted plastic base and shiny gun smoke/titanium colored black plastic top where the Zune rests. It is actually matches the metal on the front of the Zune surrounding the screen and control dial.
After reading the manuals I was happy to learn that the top panel can be changed when future Zune players come out. So, instead of having to buy an entirely new A/V kit I will only have to replace the top to fit the next Zune.
The remote works well. The controls match those on the Zune with the addition of a skip forward and back button and individual volume control buttons. It is black with a frosted plastic coating similiar to the black zune without the blue contrast. It is magnetized like the earphones so you can stick it to anything made of metal. I thought that was a nice feature depending on where you use your Zune. It will stick to the fridge!
Once I had everything hooked up to my stereo receiver and TV, I was really happy with the ability to pull up my Zune menu and control the device on my TV screen with the Zune remote. It is literally like a "Supersized" Zune. The album art does not take up the entire screen like it does on the Zune but it does still appear on the screen the entire time you are listening to a song.
The pack ships with the Zune Dock, Wireless remote with battery installed, an A/V cable, a power adapter which is made of shiny black plastic(IPOD like), and an additional Sync Cable. The sync cable plugs into the power adapter via a USB port on the power adapter.
CAR STEREO INSTALLATION TIP: I purchased a second A/V pack that I am using with my car. I put the Zune dock in my car, plugged the Zune car charger into the dock and plugged the Zune a/v cable into the aux audio in(red/white RCA) cable coming off the back of my Alpine headunit. Bottom line, I am now able to charge via the dock and control my Zune via the wireless remote in my car without having to plug anything into the Zune. I just put the Zune in the dock and it is ready to go! If my car stereo were setup for video and I had LCDs I could then also hook the Zune A/V cable Video connection (yellow) up and the Zune video would play through the LCDs as well.
I am also using the Zune dock as a docking station for my computer. All you have to do is hook your sync cable into the back of the dock and you have a docking station that syncs with your PC and the Zune software. Pretty cool!
About the only negatives I have found with the A/V pack is that you are not able to turn the Zune off with the wireless remote. You have to walk up to the dock to turn it off or remove the Zune from the Dock. This isn't a major deal since it is always charging in the dock but it would be nice to be able to turn it off via the remote. Also, the resolution isn't perfect or HD quality. I have a 4/3 43" projection TV so that may play a part. This issue doesn't have much to do with the A/V Pack though. This has more to do with these type of devices not being able to store information in large resolution formats.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
Definitely a must-have for Zune owners
(5 out of 5) by B. Sherman on Jan 9, 2007 (Portland, OR)Solid design delivers as one would expect. Easy to set up and logically laid out.
Hopefully the first of many "coordinated" toys for the Zune.
To date, the only negative I have (which is somewhat counterintuitive) is that the docking station is such a perfect fit, you must remove any cover from the Zune prior to docking. This is only a problem if you have purchased a hard shell that is not made to be put on/taken off frequently.
Hopefully the first of many "coordinated" toys for the Zune.
To date, the only negative I have (which is somewhat counterintuitive) is that the docking station is such a perfect fit, you must remove any cover from the Zune prior to docking. This is only a problem if you have purchased a hard shell that is not made to be put on/taken off frequently.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
Excellent
(5 out of 5) by D. McMahon on Jul 29, 2007 (New York US)This is the one accessory you must have if you own a Zune, very sleek works exactly like it should, easy to plug in to existing stereo equipment and the magnetic remote is a very clever idea. Very happy with it
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
Great value! Remove dock's silver faceplate to use with 80GB Zune
(5 out of 5) by Ramona on Jul 8, 2008 (Atlanta, Georgia USA)This is a super value. The big-box stores in my area sell the wall plug adapter alone for $30, but with this package it's included with lots of other goodies. The local big-box stores in my area sell a similar boxed set for $80, but it's not as good because their remote has fewer controls. This one on Amazon is definately a best buy. The remote control is useful for skipping a song in a playlist during dance classes, and I love the volume control & pause features on the remote. I doubt I'll use the video output cables, but this could be useful while staying in a hotel if you wanted to watch a movie from your Zune on a TV while traveling. There is a small instruction booklet which comes with the set, but it doesn't explain that you do need to remove the silver faceplate from the dock in order to plug in the 80GB version of the Zune. It took me a while to figure that out, and I used a screwdriver to gently press in the little button to release the silver faceplate from the dock (it's a narrow button).
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Important to know!
(5 out of 5) by H. J. Matthews on Apr 8, 2008 (Alexandria, VA)Not all Zune models work the same with this Home A/V Pack. Here are three key facts one should know:
1. Only the Zune 8GB and Zune 80 GB are 2nd Generations models. The 4GB and 30GB models are 1st generation, but still quite good. All models support the audio features of the Home A/V Pack.
2. The Zune Home A/V Pack is an outstanding accessory that makes your Zune more useful - especially with the remote control. It's essentially a powered dock that charges your Zune and provides audio and video output cables to your TV and/or stereo system. The cables are standard composite a.k.a. "RCA jacks", the same red/white/yellow kind that come from a traditional VCR or video game. If you connect the Home A/V Pack to your sound system, you'll probably have to plug into the "VCR In" jacks to get the video feature. All the "CD In" connections I've seen on receivers don't include a jack for video because CD players are typically audio only.
3. When using the Home A/V dock, only the large capacity Zune models (30GB and 80GB) support the video output feature letting you view your Zune screen on your TV. Therefore, only the 80GB model has both the video output feature and the 2nd generation technology. Compared to the 30GB model, the 80GB Zune has significantly increased resolution which helps considerably when viewing digital pictures or videos.
All things considered, I recommend the 80GB Zune over the 8GB model. With 10 times the capacity plus the video output feature, it's well worth the price jump from $150 to $250. It really is cool to browse through hundreds of CDs with your remote and then play songs (or playlists) with the album art displayed on a big-screen TV with surround sound.
P.S. The only complaint I have with using the Zune Home A/V Pack is minor. Every time you place the Zune in the dock, you have to navigate the Zune's small screen for a while to reach the menu option switching it to video output ("TV output: On"). You can do this with the remote control if you can still read the small screen from that distance. The Zune can synch wirelessly to pull from your PC any new songs you have ripped from CD or downloaded from the Internet. Therefore, you don't need to remove and re-dock the Zune much if you just use it as a large CD jukebox. If you take it with you as a portable device, docking again is more of a nuisance if you want to see the video output on your TV.
1. Only the Zune 8GB and Zune 80 GB are 2nd Generations models. The 4GB and 30GB models are 1st generation, but still quite good. All models support the audio features of the Home A/V Pack.
2. The Zune Home A/V Pack is an outstanding accessory that makes your Zune more useful - especially with the remote control. It's essentially a powered dock that charges your Zune and provides audio and video output cables to your TV and/or stereo system. The cables are standard composite a.k.a. "RCA jacks", the same red/white/yellow kind that come from a traditional VCR or video game. If you connect the Home A/V Pack to your sound system, you'll probably have to plug into the "VCR In" jacks to get the video feature. All the "CD In" connections I've seen on receivers don't include a jack for video because CD players are typically audio only.
3. When using the Home A/V dock, only the large capacity Zune models (30GB and 80GB) support the video output feature letting you view your Zune screen on your TV. Therefore, only the 80GB model has both the video output feature and the 2nd generation technology. Compared to the 30GB model, the 80GB Zune has significantly increased resolution which helps considerably when viewing digital pictures or videos.
All things considered, I recommend the 80GB Zune over the 8GB model. With 10 times the capacity plus the video output feature, it's well worth the price jump from $150 to $250. It really is cool to browse through hundreds of CDs with your remote and then play songs (or playlists) with the album art displayed on a big-screen TV with surround sound.
P.S. The only complaint I have with using the Zune Home A/V Pack is minor. Every time you place the Zune in the dock, you have to navigate the Zune's small screen for a while to reach the menu option switching it to video output ("TV output: On"). You can do this with the remote control if you can still read the small screen from that distance. The Zune can synch wirelessly to pull from your PC any new songs you have ripped from CD or downloaded from the Internet. Therefore, you don't need to remove and re-dock the Zune much if you just use it as a large CD jukebox. If you take it with you as a portable device, docking again is more of a nuisance if you want to see the video output on your TV.