Zune Thoughts: Windows Media Center Support Still Limited

"Zune HD, and the forthcoming Zune 4.0 PC software, will support and transcode Windows Media Center recorded TV file formats from Windows Vista or Windows 7 that contain MPEG-2 video, in either the DVR-MS or WTV formats. Support is limited to unencrypted SD and HD recordings. HD Files with AC3 audio are not supported by Zune."

As Engadget points out (and I was entirely unaware of), this effectively makes HD recordings incompatible with the Zune as the broadcasts all use Dolby Digital AC-3 audio. This is really a shame because it shows that despite all of the promise of interoperability between Microsoft's many excellent platforms, it still hasn't really come close to happening yet. The Zune, XBox and WMC are all, in and of themselves, fine products.

What would really give them an edge over the competition is if they all worked together seamlessly and its still something that they really don't do except in the most rudimentary ways. I know the guys up in Redmond are all very good at what they do so I don't understand what is keeping them from really giving us a truly broad ecosystem for personal entertainment from top to bottom.