Windows Media Connect
At A Glance
- How to stream pictures and music from your computer to your Xbox 360 console using Windows Media Connect.
One of the nifty new features of Xbox 360™ is the ability to stream media files—pictures, movies, and music—from your computer to your Xbox 360 console. There are, in fact, two ways to connect Xbox 360 to your computer: Windows Media Connect and Windows Media Center. Although they sound an awful lot alike, each works in different ways. In this article, I'll talk about Windows Media Connect. Part two will cover Windows Media Center.
What Is Windows Media Connect?
Microsoft® Windows Media Connect is software that lets you connect your Xbox 360 console (and other remote devices) to a computer running Windows XP. Want to view your pictures and listen to your music in the Xbox® Dashboard? How about listening to your own music collection while playing games? As for me, I like to play my own trance soundtracks in Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved or some chill-out mixes with Bejeweled 2. It's all good.
How Do I Set It Up?
First, your computer and your Xbox 360 console need to be connected. The most convenient setup is a network with a router, although you can also connect your console directly to your computer. For information about setting up a network, try this Introduction to Home Networking article. Second, your computer must be running Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2). The following operating systems will run Windows Media Connect:
- Windows XP Home SP2.
- Windows XP Professional SP2.
- Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.
If you don't have SP2, you can get it through Windows Update, but if you want more info, see Windows XP Service Pack 2.
If you've got all that, you're ready to install Windows Media Connect—the special Xbox version—on your computer; go to www.xbox.com/pcsetup and follow the instructions. The setup program installs Windows Media Connect, sets up shared folders, and authorizes your console to connect to your PC. (If you have Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, it also sets up your Windows Media Center connection at the same time.)
Select Music or Pictures for Windows Media Connect.
When setup is finished, hop over to your console and point it at your computer. From the Media area, select either Music or Pictures, select Computer, and then select your PC. From that point on, you can access your music or pictures through that same Computer button, or you can select your computer as a music source in the Xbox Guide. (Note that Windows Media Connect only streams music and pictures, not video, to your console.)
How Do I Tweak My Settings?
If you're like me, you may store your media files in different places on your computer's hard drive. The setup program will pick the most likely folders, like My Pictures and My Music, but you're free to go back and add more. You can use the Windows Media Connect program to share more folders (on your computer, click Start, All Programs, Windows Media Connect).
Add the locations where you've stored your music.
Windows Media Connect
One thing to note—Xbox 360 can only connect to one computer at a time. So, if you've got Mission Control in your bedroom, you'll have to pick one of the computers in your arsenal to serve as your media computer. If you're lucky enough to have multiple Xbox 360 consoles, though, you can connect all of them to the same computer and authorize them through Windows Media Connect.
The Xbox setup program identifies consoles by serial number. To see that number, go to the System area and select Console Settings, System Info. Windows Media Connect uses MAC address to identify your console. For that address, go to System and select Network Settings, Edit Settings, Additional Settings, Advanced Settings.
You can switch the computer your Xbox 360 console is connected to as well. From the System area, select Computers, Windows-based PC. After disconnecting from one computer, connect to a different one using the Pictures or Music button in the Media area.
What If It Doesn't Work?
For most people, setting up and using Windows Media Connect should be fairly straightforward. However, with different computers and networks in the mix, sometimes things go wrong. If this happens to you, here are some ideas.
- The Xbox version of the Windows Media Connect installer for Windows XP SP2 requires Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1. If setup doesn't start, try installing Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 and Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 SP1, and then rerun setup at www.xbox.com/pcsetup.
- Firewalls may prevent your console from communicating with your computer. If you are using Windows Firewall, setup should open the right ports for you. But if you're using another firewall, or need to troubleshoot, you can open the ports manually. Ports are listed in this Knowledge Base article. (Note: You want to open ports on the firewall that runs on your computer, not your router firewall.)
- If your computer is on a domain, make sure the computer as been added to the Windows Authorization Access group in Active Directory. Most home setups are not on a domain. If you are on a domain, someone set it up, and that person should check this.
- Make sure both your computer and your console are on the same subnet. You'd probably only run into this if you have multiple routers on your network (more likely at work than at home). If you keep both your computer and console on the same router, they should be on the same subnet.
- If you can't get Windows Media Connect installed through Xbox.com, you can try running the regular Windows Media Connect 2.0 installer. (If that doesn't work, try a manual install. This is unsupported, but may help when all else fails.)
There are more potential issues than I have room to cover here, but there are many resources out there to help. Here are a few:
In my next installment, I'll be discussing Windows Media Center. Stay tuned!
Article by Elle
