The Complete Disclosure - Zune HD and AV Dock Review

Zune AV Dock

After pulling the dock out we find that it is a nicely heavy item that should be able to keep your Zune HD steady when inserted. The front is sloped and has the Zune Logo on it, this lights up when a Zune is plugged into it.

The back of the dock is the more exciting area though. Here you will find all of your outputs. MS has included an HDMI port, a Toslink Optical out port and an 1/8-inch mini A/V jack for use with the Component cable.  The thin wire that extends from the back is an FM antenna that improves the Zune’s reception in-doors quite a bit. The other attached cable is a USB connector that can be used to connect to a PC or to the power pack. Here I have to say that the USB cable and antenna cable should be removable. By making them pre-attached it limited the portability of the AV Dock. These connected cables also make the AV Dock a little ungainly to use in some cases.

Click to Enlarge

The remote that is included give you the same control over the Zune that you would have if you were using the device directly. This is a nice feature but I was sort of hoping for something a little more. It would have been nice to see one or two “Dock Only” controls or features to make the dock just a little more attractive.

Click to Enlarge

The power pack provided is a bonus in more than one way; it allows you to plug your Zune AV dock directly into wall power as well as allowing you to plug your Zune HD into wall power.

Click to Enlarge

In reality the Zune AV Dock, while nice, is not as clean and well-done of a product as the Zune HD is. Microsoft may want to put a little more thought into this and release and updated version to attract more buyers.