X360 Video Streaming Revised Instructions
Since my original post, some aspects have changed – namely the X360 added Xvid support negating the need for a more complex setup if you just want Xvid. So here’s what I now recommend:
If you just want to play Xvid (and WMV) – then simply install WMP 11, and in the Tools->Options, Library->Sharing, share to your 360. Then simply add your media directory to your WMP library. Pretty easy.
If you want more features (namely transcoding of unsupported media files), and are happy to do a bit more setup, then install TVersity. Use my guide, and the TVersity Quick Start Guide. For me this worked easily on XP (don’t forget your firewall settings!) but it can be a real pain on Vista. My brother finalled managed to get it to work, following the steps here (also copied below after the jump).
Streaming Xvid to the XBOX 360 using TVersity
The X360 can play movies on its HDD and also stream them from any networked computer. Catch is it doesn’t natively support Xvid. Assuming you don’t want to hack your 360 (and thereby lose XBOX Live), you can use TVersity to convert XVID on the fly and stream it in a format the XBOX can play. Best part is it uses the XBOX protocol so you can browse your folders on the 360. Unfortunate part is you can’t fast forward or rewind – though pause does work and playback is of a very high quality.
Here’s how:
1. Install Windows Media Player 11
2. Install TVersity (install the ffshow codecs when prompted, default settings should work)
3. Open port 41952 in your firewall (if Windows Firewall, unblock TVersity and also add the port using “Add Port”)
4. Visit http://localhost:41952/ to view TVersity. You may need to reboot before doing this.
5. In TVersity settings, select Xbox 360 as playback device, and under transcoder, increase resolution to 640×480 (if you have a semi-decent computer)
6. Disable all other media sharing programs and connect to your PC from your 360
TVersity also installs a new right click option in explorer which is “share this folder with TVersity” which is extremely convenient.
References:
Quick Start
Playing DivX and Xvid content on Xbox 360 – An easy guide!
WMV coming to 360, can TVersity support it and transcode? (a bit out of date, see update)
