From PC to TV, Part 2
Stream home movies to any room with Windows Media Player and an Xbox 360
By Matt Lichtenberg
In the previous column from this series, From PC to TV, Part 1, we explained how you can use Windows Media Center to stream pictures and music to Xbox 360. This is a great solution if you happen to have Windows Vista Home Premium or Windows Vista Ultimate, which are the two editions of Windows Vista that include Windows Media Center. But what if your computer is running another edition of Windows Vista? Well, the good news is that you can still do the same thing by using Windows Media Player instead.
This works well for me because I like to watch my home movies on TV, but I don’t like to spend time burning movies to DVD. So, instead, I use Windows Media Player to stream my home movies from the PC in my den to the Xbox 360 that’s connected to the TV in my living room.
Use Windows Media Player and Xbox 360 together to play home movies on TV
Step 1: Quick software check
Before getting started, I checked to make sure I had all the necessary software. (If your computer is running Windows Vista, you probably won't need to install any additional software on your computer.) Here’s what I needed:
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Windows Movie Maker. Windows Movie Maker is a feature in Windows Vista that enables you to import video onto your computer and then edit it. This is what I used to get my old home movies onto my computer and then edit them, which you can read about in Toss out those VHS tapes.
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Windows Media Player. Windows Media Player in Windows Vista enables you to share your music, pictures, and videos to Xbox 360 (as long as your computer is running one of the following editions of Windows Vista: Ultimate, Home Premium, Home Basic, Business, or Enterprise). I used the Player to stream my home movies to my Xbox 360.
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Updated Xbox 360 software. Most Xbox 360 devices already have the software updates that are needed to play videos streamed from Windows Media Player. If you purchased your Xbox 360 a while ago and you haven’t installed the recommended software updates since then, you might need to log on to Xbox Live and then install additional updates.
Step 2: Wired or wireless?
Now I needed to answer a big question—how should I connect my Xbox 360 to my home network?
For me, a wired network connection wasn’t a practical option. (Understandably so, my wife wasn’t too happy about having a really long Ethernet cable running from our router upstairs, down the stairs, and then across the family room to our Xbox 360.) So that method was ruled out pretty quickly, along with wireless (I didn’t want to spend the money to buy a wireless adapter for my Xbox 360).
So in the end, I used a power line network adapter (which I already had in the house). The one power line adapter was already plugged in and connected to my router upstairs. So I just went downstairs, plugged the other power line adapter into an outlet behind my TV, and then connected the Xbox 360 to the nearby adapter by using a short Ethernet cable.
Step 3: Saving my home movies
A few months ago, I took some old home movies from the 1970s that were stored on VHS tape and imported the footage to my computer. Afterwards, I edited the video in Windows Movie Maker, and then burned my edited home movies to a DVD for my parents. (If you want to learn about how I got the video onto my computer and edited it originally, you can read about that in Toss out those VHS tapes.)
Because I wanted to stream these movies to my Xbox 360 instead, I needed to open each Windows Movie Maker project file, and then publish it as a Windows Media Video file on my computer. In the end, I had four movie files.
The storyboard in Windows Movie Maker for my first project
If you want to learn more about working with projects in Windows Movie Maker, see Work with projects in Windows Movie Maker. And to learn about publishing a project as a movie in Windows Movie Maker, see Publish a movie in Windows Movie Maker.
Step 4: Sharing digital memories using Windows Media Player
After I saved my home movies to my computer, I was ready to share them by using Windows Media Player. Here’s how to share video, pictures, and music from Windows Media Player to Xbox 360.
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In Windows Media Player, click the Library tab, and then click Media Sharing.
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In the Media Sharing dialog box, select the Share my media check box, and then click OK.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
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With the Share my media to check box already selected, click Xbox 360, click Allow, and then click OK.
Sharing music, videos, and pictures by using Windows Media Player
If you want to learn more about sharing media by using Windows Media Player in Windows Vista, see Share your media in Windows Media Player with other people or devices.
It was now time to sit back and watch my old home movies come alive on TV.
Step 5: Playing home movies on TV
After grabbing some food from the kitchen and sitting down on the couch, I was ready to start the show. Here’s how to play shared home movies on TV by using Xbox 360.
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Using your Xbox 360 controller, scroll to My Xbox on the Xbox Dashboard, and then click Video Library.
After a few moments, your computer with the shared media name should appear.
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Select your computer and the shared media name.
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Select the Videos folder (this is the folder that I saved my movies in), and then select the video you want to play.
And that’s how I play my home movies on TV by using my Xbox 360. When I want to skip over any boring parts, I move the left stick on the Xbox 360 controller, and then select the Forward button onscreen to fast forward. It's one of my favorite features. And whenever I subject other people to watching some of my home movies on TV, I have a feeling that it's one of their favorite features, too.
About the author
Matt Lichtenberg is a writer on the Windows team at Microsoft. Before joining the company in 2000, he worked as a computer trainer and then attended Miami University (Ohio) where he received a Master of Technical and Scientific Communication degree. In 2006, he and his colleagues won the Society for Technical Communication’s International Online Communication Competition for their work on the Windows Media Workshops.
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