Xbox 360 Media Server Setup

July 27, 2009 By Nick Mokey

MAC OS

1) Download and install Nullriver Connect360 ($20 USD, www.nullriver.com). The download is a limited demo; you can only access up 100 songs, 5 photos, and 5 videos. It’s well worth the money to purchase the full license for $20 USD. For a more versatile, full-featured UPnP server app, check out Twonky Media ($39.95 USD, twonkymedia.com).

2) After installation, open System Preferences from the Apple menu, and click on the Connect360 icon.

Screenshot 6

3) In the Connect360 window, click on the Start button; once sharing is started, the button will say “Stop” and your Xbox should show up in the bottom pane.

Screenshot 7

Screenshot 8

4) You can share more than just what’s in your iTunes and iPhoto libraries. Click on the Settings button and then go to the Movies tab. Check the box labeled “Enable Movie sharing from:” and select a folder to monitor for video files. You can do the same for the Photo and iTunes tabs. Hit Close when you’re done.

Screenshot 9

5) On the Xbox 360, go to the Media tab and select Music, Pictures, or Videos. Then press the X button on the controller to change the source. Choose your computer from the list on the left — chances are it’ll be the only other option besides “Console” that’s not grayed out.

Screenshot 10

6) Once the Xbox 360 connects to your Mac via Connect360, you can browse and play all the media in your iTunes library or other folders (listed as “Unsorted” on your Mac.

Screenshot 11

You may run into the occasional file that doesn’t play, but Connect360 supports streaming of most common media types to the Xbox 360, including:

Audio
* AAC, Apple Lossless, WMA, MP3, WAV, AIFF

Video
* H.264, DIVX, XVID, MOV, AVI, WMV, ASF

Photo
* JPEG, PNG, GIF, TIFF, BMP, RAW

Unlike with the Sony Playstation 3, you can’t copy files over your network to the Xbox 360′s hard drive, though you can rip CDs directly to the Xbox as 192Kbps WMA files. Just insert the disc, select Rip CD, and… let ‘er rip!

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Showing 19 comments

How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | Gadget and Gadgets Reviews. at 6:46am 1st January 2012 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | Xbox 360 News | Game Central | Game, New and updates at 11:19am 30th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | ediscountelectronics.com at 7:00am 30th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | 360 Games at 4:59am 30th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | at 3:30am 30th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | Softmodding.com at 4:53pm 29th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 | Wholesale Directory at 4:18pm 29th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 at 4:16pm 29th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 (Digital Trends) | Breaking News Today at 3:57pm 29th December 2011 [...] For tips on how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide. [...]
How to get the most out of your new Xbox 360 - Your daily infusion of technology, smartphone, gadgets and gaming news! - I Bleed Bits at 3:46pm 29th December 2011 [...] how to set up the Xbox as a media center check out our set-up guide.KinectTo add some motion gaming fun to your system you [...]
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matt at 2:23am 22nd July 2010 most of the comments are right the ps3 media server program is FREE much easier to use/find.
Rick at 4:09pm 10th April 2010 I know this is old but maybe someone will answer. When you stream a video that is on the computer to your tv through xbox 360 where is the video processing done (xbox or computer)? Can you play HD content when you have an older computer in this setup? (p4 2.0 onboard video)

Thanks
Rick at 4:08pm 10th April 2010 I know this is old but maybe someone will answer. When you stream a video that is on the computer to your tv through xbox 360 where is the video processing done (xbox or computer)? Can you play HD content when you have an older computer in this setup? (p4 2.0 onboard video)

Thanks
rickermortis at 8:44pm 27th December 2009 wmp 11 cause a BSOD when i try to enable media sharing. so does nero mediahome. I'm using xp and the error message says BAD_POOL_HEADER. Anyone know what may be causing this?
Steve at 11:25pm 30th September 2009 I'm with Ian and Andrew, after reading the PS3 article, i would much rather have a PS3 for media streaming. Another benefit is that games developed for the PS3 are much smoother and in my opinion of a higher quality quality.
Greg Mombert at 8:09am 18th September 2009 The one plus on the side of the 360 is the ability to stream Netflix, which for some people is pretty big.
andrew at 9:07pm 17th September 2009 I'm definitely sold on using the PS3 as a media server too!
Ian Bell at 5:36pm 17th September 2009 I have found the Xbox 360 more difficult to use as a media server over the PS3. The PS3 will play DivX and Xvid movies by default and stream them from the PC. The Xbox 360 won't as far as I can tell (at least I cannot get it to work). A good software program to download, and which is free which will let you stream music, movies, Hulu/YouTube etc is Tversity.