HomePage 2 of 3: Setting Up Media Sharing in Windows Media Player
Setting Up Media Sharing in Windows Media Player
Install Windows Media Player 11.
Start up your Xbox 360.
If you are using Windows Firewall, you can skip this step. Otherwise, you will need to open up a few ports on your firewall to allow media sharing to occur on your home network. If you are using Windows Firewall, the ports will open automatically for you. If you need to find a list of ports that need to be opened, please refer to the "What are the firewall requirements?" question on this page: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/faq/sharing.mspx. If you are using Windows XP Professional, there are several services that need to be enabled in order for media sharing to occur (and you might have disabled them previously). These services are "SSDP Discovery Service", "Universal Plug and Play Device Host" and "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Device".
Start Windows Media Player 11. Click on the "Library" button at the top and the library menu should show up, select "Media Sharing". A window should now open with the option to enable media sharing, click the checkbox to enable it. Press "OK" to continue.
A new window should show up, with a list of compatible sharing devices. Your Xbox 360 should be one of them. Select the 360 icon and press the "Allow" button to allow sharing to this device. You can also click on the "Customize" button to customize what can be shared. Press "OK" to close all the open windows to return to WMP when you are finished.
Adding media to the Library
Now we will add your DivX and XviD files to the library. It's probably a good idea to first organize your DivX and XviD files into folders on your hard-drive. Click on the "Library" button at the top of WMP again and this time, select "Add to Library".
In the window that opens, you can specify which folders on your hard-drive the media sharing program will monitor for new files to automatically add to the library (whether they are audio, video or picture files). Add in the folder that contains your DivX and XviD files. In the screenshot above, I have chosen to add my "C:\Media Files\Movie Files\" folder to the list of monitored folders. You can also choose to skip files that are smaller than a certain size if you wish. Press "OK" and WMP will now scan these folders to find files to add to the library.
Once all the files are added, you can browse which video files are in your library by clicking on the category select button near the top left and selecting "Video".
Connecting to your media library from the Xbox 360
Go to the "Media" blade and select "Video". Press the blue "X" button to go to the select source screen. Here, the name of your computer/Windows User Account should be listed. Select the computer that you wish to connect to and after a while, the shared folders on the computer will show up. Now all you have to do is to browse through the folders/files to select a video, and then play it. Couldn't be any simpler.
We're done 
The next few pages are for an alternative method of doing the above using TVersity, so if you've already followed the instructions on this page, you do not need to continue on.
If things didn't go well, then try these troubleshooting tips:
- If you are unable to connect to the computer running WMP, double check your firewall settings again.
- Make sure that the Xbox 360 is not already connected to another media server or media center. Disconnect from any connected devices.
- Disable any other media sharing software, such as TVersity, that may already be running on the same computer. Technically, you are able to run multiple media servers on the same computer as long as they use different ports.
- Make sure the "SSDP Discovery Service", "Universal Plug and Play Device Host" and "Windows Media Player Network Sharing Device" services are started. If you are running Windows XP Professional, you can adjust services by going to: Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Services
Need additional help? Why not post your questions in our Xbox 360 Forum!
