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I'm considering getting a Zune HD imported from the US to the UK but before I do I want to find out if I will still be able to deploy XNA games to it from my PC. I'm able to do this with an old 1st generation Zune I have at home but would like to know if anything has changed that might prevent this.

I'm aware that I won't be able to use any of the Zune services however I am purchasing the device purely for XNA development.

studiohack
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jmitch18
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4 Answers4

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i have a zune hd, in the UK. it works the same way as earlier versions of the hardware, with a couple of caveats.

  • For some features in the software, e.g. the marketplace, you will need to set the locale of the user in windows to USA.
  • for the zune card, you'll need a USA Live ID, for me i had to create a new one
  • you can't use any of the marketplace paid for content, inlcuding a zune pass, unless you have a USA based credit card and address. which sucks, unless you have family there.
jrb
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The new Windows Phone 7 looks like it may be a replacement for the Zune HD worldwide.

However we will have to wait until lunch to see if the music services are limited to the USA.

Ian Ringrose
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Ever heard of OpenZDK?

"That’s about to change. Through the work of myself as well as Netrix, Nurta, and the rest of the ZuneBoards Development Front, all Zune models, including the Zune HD, have been hacked. The first true hack available for the Zune, this makes it possible to, for the first time, run applications directly on top of the Zune firmware, with full access to everything XNA withheld before. The limitations of XNA are now no limitations at all." (from Zune Boards: http://www.zuneboards.com/?p=vB50442)

The OpenZDK wiki: http://zunedevwiki.org/wiki/

Personal experience: I have used XNA games on the Zune HD along with the Zune 30...works great!

studiohack
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To use the Zune 4.0 software fully in the UK or elsewhere outside the US have a look at this article http://www.withinwindows.com/2009/09/17/restore-zune-4-0s-missing-features/ you would still need a US Windows Live ID for the Marketplace, but this enables all features for the software. Syncing Music, Pictures etc works with the current Zune in the UK still, the Zune HD should be the same.
I am getting a Zune HD and will confirm this on receipt (this may be a while though). Since development just needs the XNA 3.1 with Zune HD extensions (search online for XNA Studio 3.1 Zune Extensions (sorry cannot link to this too as new member), you should be Ok, however it may be worth waiting for someone else in the UK who has one to try this, but for XNA at least you may be fine.
No 3D support, still the old SpriteBatch methods with new API for Multitouch and Accelerometer support mainly added to the old Zune APIs.

RoguePlanetoid
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