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what is the easiest way to stream video to a 360?

4K views 16 replies 11 participants last post by  James 
#1 · (Edited)
I am trying to watch Divx (avi) files from my xp machine and stream to my 360

I tried VME (formerly known as MCE Video Encoder) - with this easy intructions

http://www.jakeludington.com/xbox/20060321_easy_divx_to_xbox_360_streaming.html

but when I installed VME I was unable to figure out how to install media center add-ins.

"After downloading and installing the desktop portion of MCE Video Encoder, you need to
enable the MCE plug-in functionality by selecting Tools > Install Media Center Add-ins. This runs a batch file to add Media Center Video Encoder functionality to your Media Center."

Note: I believe this is done automatically since I went to my 360 and VME program is available, however, the Video starts to encode then immediately stops when I try to play it on my 360. (I am able to play the video in its native form fine on my xp computer).

Anyone have a solution to this or a easier way to stream video to a 360?
 
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#2 ·
TVersity seems to get a lot of good press. I haven't tried it myself though.

Your other options would be (1) burning the AVI to a CD/DVD and playing it directly on the 360, or (2) accessing your PC directly from the 360 by using the "Videos" option on the "Media" blade (you'll get instructions on what you need to do after that). With the latter, you basically setup Media Player on the PC to share certain folders, and access the content directly from the 360. It's more convenient (and probably easier to setup) than streaming, but the supported file types and video encodings is far more limited.
 
#3 ·
I use TVersity all the time and it works great for streaming music or non-HD video. HD video is far too big to pass across the network and you will find that it has to re-buffer constantly. I ended up buying an external hard drive to throw my HD videos on and just hook that up directly to the 360 via USB.
 
#4 ·
James, make sure you are using the proper media center encoder. I updated mine at one point and selected the wrong one for my PC/operating system and it caused nothing but problems. I used to use transcode 360 for streaming, but with the last xbox update have no need for it anymore. I didn't realize there were still issues with streaming files as I haven't found one that doesn't work.
 
#10 ·
i have been streaming hd movies for a while now, all because of the help i got from here. what i do now is i use a program called xenonmkv if the file is in mkv format, it takes about 30 minutes to do and so far all the files i have done look perfect with no video loss. iam using a wired connection to my 360 and running xp with wmp 11. the only thing is, if the file is bigger than 4 gig then you have to split the file, hope this helps
 
#11 ·
The 360 supports divx now, so you just need connector software. WMP 11 I believe has this or you can use the older Microsoft tool called Windows Media Connect (found on a few websites). That's what I used. You still play the gambit with whether the xbox can decode it properly but I was getting about 90% compatibility.

I just started using TVersity, and I give it a thumbs up. My Nokia N800 internet tablet also can view everything which is pretty slick for me. TVersity is a transcoder so it can cover most content and convert it to an mpeg upnp compatible stream. It also can attach to RSS, podcasts, and URL links such as Youtube.
 
#12 ·
Tx for the help. This streaming video is definately not my forte.

I have a wired 360 connected to a PC with XP and WMP 11. I assumed the file I downloaded was HD but based on its size (its only 350 MB) I ended up burning it to DVD and will play it on a divx compatible dvd player. (it would not play direct on my 360)

heybirder windows media connect is built directly into WMP 11, originally I was hoping it would stream rather then burn.

I may give xenonmkv or tversity ago if I am able to procure this show in HD.
 
#14 ·
afternoonnap - I am pretty sure but I need to ask - did you download this codec direct from your 360 (unlikely) or via your PC. I am pretty sure this is all I am missing because I can play this Divx file on my PC WMP11 and windows media center fine.
 
#15 ·
The codec download should have happened automatically the first time you tried to play a Divx file after the fall(?) update a few months ago. You asked for the easiest way, and just connecting to your pc with WMP 11 is dead simple. I use Tversity as well, but mostly because I like to have two different folders of files to play.
 
#16 ·
If you are streaming to the 360 -- using Media Center, TVersity, etc etc -- then your PC is doing all the work and you must have the appropriate codecs installed on the PC.

If you are accessing files through the "Video" option on the Media blade, then the 360 is doing all the processing and you'll need whatever codecs/updates MS has released for the 360. As faston said, this should happen the first time you play a file that needs an updated codec, although you may be able to find them in the Marketplace (I know I found some sort of Apple/iPod audio update there, but that may be treated differently).

So far I've stayed away from streaming. I tried Orb quite a long time ago with disastrous results, so I've settled with just (re-encoding when necessary and) sharing the files via WMP11. I've heard really good things about TVersity lately though so I may give that a try.
 
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