• Set Up Your System

View Video with Xbox 360

There are several ways to view video content with the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system. You can:

• View DVD movies.
• View streaming video from a Microsoft Windows Media Center–based PC.

View DVD Movies

The Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system is a full-featured DVD player for your DVD movies. If you're connected to Xbox Live, you can receive notifications during a movie whenever members of your friends list come online, or you can block such messages to focus exclusively on your movie.

To play DVD movies:

1. Press the eject button on the Xbox 360 console (or select Open Tray from any area of the Xbox Dashboard) to open the disc tray.
2. Place a DVD movie on the disc tray with the label facing up (to the right if the console is vertical).
3. Press the eject button (or select Close Tray from any area of the Xbox Dashboard) to close the disc tray. The DVD movie will begin playing.

To view on-screen DVD controls—including menu, chapter skip, five-step image zoom, A-B repeat (segment looping), audio and language options, and other buttons—press any button on the controller. Use the left stick (LS) to move to a feature, press A to select it, and B to clear the on-screen menu when you're done.

Other DVD features include:

• Progressive-scan output (480p): You can view your DVD movies in enhanced-definition 480p when your console is connected to a high-definition or HD-ready television or monitor. For more information, see Connect to TV or HDTV.
• Quiet-mode operation: DVD movie playback with Xbox 360 is mechanically quieter than both Xbox 360 gameplay and DVD playback with the original Xbox video game system.
• Screensaver: When DVD playback is paused, a screensaver will engage to prevent image burn-in (of special concern to owners of plasma televisions). Hitting "play" restarts the movie. Hitting any other key returns you to the movie in its paused state.
• Play: You can view DVDs at 1/2x, 2x, 4x, 8X, 16x, and 32x normal speed (forward or reverse).

To block on-screen notifications:

1. Press the Xbox Guide button.
2. Select Person Settings, then:
   • To temporarily block notifications, select Online Status, Busy.
   • To block notifications ongoingly, select Notifications.
     
     The console's default setting is to accept both visual and aural notifications. To turn off visual notifications, select Show Notifications. To turn off aural notifications, select Play Sound.
     
     
3. Press the Xbox Guide button again to return to your previous activity.

View Video from a Windows Media Center–Based PC

When you connect your Xbox 360 console to a Windows Media Center–based PC, you'll see all available video content listed on the Video screen in the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard.

To view video content from a Windows Media Center–based PC:

1. Visit www.xbox.com/pcsetup to download and install the appropriate software for your Windows Media Center–based PC.
2. After you've installed the software, make sure your Xbox 360 console is connected to your PC using one of the following:
   • A standard Ethernet cable (sold separately for the Xbox 360 Core System).
   • The Xbox 360 Wireless Networking Adapter.
   
   
   If your console already shares a router with your PC for Xbox Live access, your PC is effectively already connected your console. Please be aware, however, that wireless streaming between your PC and your console requires an 802.11a network connection, which is faster than the 802.11b and 802.11g standards.
   
   To learn about home networking, see Home Networking Basics.
3. Turn on your Xbox 360 console and go to the Media area of the Xbox Dashboard.
4. Select Media Center, then browse your PC to select the file you want to view.

For More Info

You can simplify DVD movie viewing using the Xbox 360 Universal Remote.