Your Xbox 360 is amazing technology, it can play the latest games and movies in HD, play your favorite songs from your hard drive, download updates over the Internet when it’s turned on and off. The number of things you can do with it is probably infinite, well infinite, unless Microsoft legally restricts it, like they did with mod chips. With the release of new software compatible with your Xbox 360, you can now connect it to your PC and stream all your music and videos from there, instead of wasting valuable space on your 360’s hard drive. Some software even lets you stream videos from Internet sites. like YouTube and AOL. If you want to do this, you have three options for streaming to your Xbox 360: Windows Media Player 11, WinAmp Remote, or through your Windows Media Center PC.
Using Windows Media Player 11
- First make sure your Xbox 360 is connected to the network and can connect to Xbox Live.
- Open Windows Media Player 11 and click the arrow directly below the Library tab, then click Media Sharing.
- A media sharing window will appear, now check the “Share my media with:” box and click on your Xbox 360. Select Allow and click OK.
- Wait a bit. You will have to wait for the system settings to take effect and for the Xbox to appear on the network, if you have waited and nothing happens try redoing the process or opening your router ports for the 360 (a good place to do this is Port Forward ) because they might be blocking it, and also make sure there isn’t a firewall enabled somewhere that’s causing problems.
- After you’ve waited, go to your Xbox and select the Media sheet, then Music or Videos, and then press X to change your source and select your computer.
- Everything you have in your library will appear on your 360 now. Enjoy your songs and videos.
winamp
- Download and install WinAmp Remote.
- Right click on the WinAmp Remote icon in the system tray, click configure and then the media tab.
- Add the folders that contain your music and video files.
- Again, you’ll need to wait a bit for the network to come up with the 360.
- Go to your media sheet on your Xbox 360 and press X to change source and select your PC.
- Enjoy your media.
PCs with Windows Media Center
- Go to http://www.xbox.com/psetup to download any necessary software updates for your PC.
- On your Xbox 360, go to the Media side, select Windows Media Center, and follow the simple on-screen instructions to complete your setup.
Each of these options is very easy to implement and has different pros and cons. Currently, Windows Media Player is faster in streaming and buffering than WinAmp Remote, and seems to be more stable, but WinAmp Remote has the ability to stream videos online. And the Windows Media Center PC option is perfect if you have a Media Center PC.