Microsoft Zune HD 4.5 Update Coming Sooner Than Later, Updates Smart DJ And Adds Codecs

Remember that promise from Microsoft at CES this year? They told us that they, for one, weren't going to forget the Zune HD (in as many words), and told us that a general update would be coming to address the company's Smart DJ feature, and add Xvid and AVI containers. Well, the update is finally coming in the next few weeks, and they are also including a special new feature that those of you with the Zune HD dock are going to enjoy.

That extra feature is the ability to browse the Zune Marketplace from your TV, while your Zune HD is plugged into the dock. Sure, it may not be on the top of everyone's lists of absolutely needed features, but we're excited about it. Microsoft is also updating the Smart DJ feature, which is like Apple's Genius, and basically making it smarter. Now when you activate the Smart DJ, the Zune HD will pull information from the Zune Marketplace to find you related music, but will also pull information from other users as well. This means that the expansion to find new music will be fast and sweeping.

At the moment, Microsoft doesn't have concrete information to give us about the exact release date of the update. For now, we'll have to live with "the coming weeks." That's not bad, and we're sure we can live. You'll be able to download the update right from your PC, so you'll probably know before we do (but probably not) that the update is up and running. As soon as we hear something, we'll pass it along to you. Does anyone out there use the Smart DJ feature? Let us know what you think might need to be updated to make it better.