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How to Play Videos From Your Computer to Your Xbox 360 Without Windows Media Center

Many Xbox 360 users enjoy streaming their computer's videos to their console via Windows Media Center. However, a lot of PCs don't come equipped with this expensive program, including Windows XP computers. Fortunately, PC users without Windows Media Center can still stream their videos to their Xbox 360 using another program called Windows Media Player, which is available for download off Microsoft's website. After downloading the program, you can configure the software to stream directly to the console, which allows you to watch your computer's videos on your television.

Things You'll Need

Windows Media Player 11
Ethernet cable

Instructions

- 1
  Download and install Windows Media Player 11 off Microsoft's website.
- 2
  Create a network between your Xbox 360 and computer by connecting the two devices with an Ethernet cable.
- 3
  Launch Windows Media Player 11. Turn on the Xbox 360, if necessary. Click the arrow below the "Library" tab on Windows Media Player.
- 4
  Choose "Media Sharing." This function will allow you to view and modify the media streaming properties of the program.
- 5
  Click "Share my media." This function enables media sharing. Notice that an area appears beneath the "Share my media" check box where you can customize which devices with which you would like to share media.
- 6
  Select the console's icon. Choose "Allow" to allow your computer to stream media, including videos, to the console. Click "OK" to save these settings.
- 7
  Go to the media selection area of the Xbox 360's dashboard, located in "My Xbox."
- 8
  Choose "My videos" and "Computer" when the console asks you to choose a video source device. Notice that you can now browse your Windows Media Player 11 library from your Xbox 360.

Xbox 360