Add an Xbox 360 to your existing home network and share digital media– Part III of V

A device that displays Media Center over a network is called a Media Center Extender. An Xbox 360 can act as a Media Center Extender. You’ll want to make sure that you have a high-performance network capable of transferring data quick enough to display your media without delay (sometimes referred to as latency), so if you have yet to read Part II of this series, skip back there and review it.

To begin, connect your Xbox 360 to your home network. If you are connecting to a wired network, it should be as easy as just plugging in the Ethernet cable. Follow the instructions included with the Xbox 360 or available on http://www.xbox.com if you aren’t sure, or if the Xbox is new. If you are connecting to a wireless network, you may need to configure wireless security and other settings on the Xbox 360 first.

After the Xbox 360 has been connected to the home network, turn it on. Then, follow the directions here at the Xbox 360:

1. From the Media tab, select Media Center on the menu.
2. When prompted to connect the Xbox 360 to a Media Center PC on your network, press A (Select) to continue (see Image 1).

Warning: If the Xbox 360 is connected via an 802.11b or 802.11g wireless network, you may be warned that poor performance may result. You should switch to a higher performance wireless network (such as 802.11a) if your wireless router supports it. Be careful though, as other devices on your network may not support 802.11a. Select Continue and press A (Select) to continue.

1. If the Xbox 360 can locate your Windows PC on the connected network a Media Center Setup Key is displayed on the screen (see Image 2). This code is used to ensure that the Xbox 360 connects only with your Windows PC, and not any other on the network. Write this code down on a piece of paper, and go to your Windows PC. (If the Xbox can’t find the PC, you’ll need to troubleshoot your network!)

Now it’s time to work with the Windows PC. On your Windows PC:

1. Click Start then click Media Center.
2. Scroll down to Tasks, then scroll right to Add Extender. You may also be notified that a Media Center Extender has been found on the network. If you are notified, select Yes; otherwise, select "add extender" from the tasks list (see Image 3).
3. Click Next to continue.
4. Enter the eight-digit setup key displayed by the Xbox 360 (see Image 4).
5. Click Next to continue.

Now, Media Center will configure set up so that the Xbox 360 only communicates with your WindowsPC and no other hardware. When this process is complete, you’ll have a chance to configure options for your Windows PC and Xbox 360.

To complete the setup process, you’ll need to configure some options for how you want Media Center to work with your Xbox 360. There are two options to consider.

First, you can turn Away mode on or off. Away mode is a special power mode for your computer. When the computer becomes inactive all audio is muted, video is turned off, and input devices such as the mouse and keyboard are turned off. (This is so that your computer isn’t woken up just by children or pets walking across the keyboard.) At the same time, the computer still listens on the network for Media Center requests. If a Media Center Extender attempts to connect, the computer wakes up to accept the connection. This saves energy while making sure your computer is still available for the Xbox 360 to connect to it, in case you decide to use Media Center on the Xbox 360 while your Windows PC is idle.

Second, you need decide whether or not the Xbox 360 can access the same media you see on your computer (see Image 5). This is recommended if you have video and pictures in your own personal folders that you may want to display from the Xbox 360. When you click Next, Media Center finalizes your settings and configures the Xbox 360 to connect to Media Center on your Windows PC (see Image 6). Next, you’ll see the Xbox 360 change to a Connecting screen while Media Center finalizes your settings.

If the Xbox 360 is connected through a wireless connection, the configuration process is not over yet. Next you’ll have a chance to tune your network connection so that you get the best possible video out of your Windows PC over your home network. This is a very important step, and you should not skip it.

Media Center Extenders need a high-performance network in order to provide the best experience for viewing high-definition movies, music, photos, and more. Windows Vista includes a tool for testing your network and optimizing the signal of wireless Media Center extenders. You need to test your network to see how it stacks up.

To test your network:

1. Open Media Center, click Tasks, Settings, and then Extender.
2. Select the Media Center Extender, and then select Tune network. If you just added the Extender, you may also be asked to tune the network (see Image 7).
3. Click Next to begin the network performance test. If you are using an 802.11b or 802.11g network you may receive a notification about Marginal Network Performance (see Image 8). In this case, you may not be able to watch high definition TV or video without additional adjustments to the position of your wireless router’s antenna or the Media Center Extender’s antenna or location.
4. Select how you’d like to view the current quality of signal between your Windows Vista PC and Media Center Extender. The bar view shows the quality of the signal as it changes, while the graph view shows a plot of the signal over time. Both views indicate what the current quality signal can be used for -- standard television, or high definition television.
5. Adjust the antennas and position of your Windows Vista PC and Media Center Extender until the signal is as good as it can get. See the Tip next.

Tip: Imagine a straight line between the two antennas. The more obstacles there are between the two points, the more your signal may decrease in quality. You may not be able to obtain a high-quality connection over an 802.11b or 802.11g network. 802.11a networks are currently the best in speed and quality for Media Center Extenders. If all else fails and you are unable to achieve a good connection, use a wired connection. The speed is much better than wireless, and so is the quality!

1. Share your media across the network.
2. Access your Windows Media Player library from an Xbox 360 or another Windows Vista PC.

This article was excerpted from How To Do Everything with Windows Media Center, written by Joli Ballew and Justin Harrison for McGraw-Hill Companies and a copyright exists at McGraw-Hill. Permission must be granted by McGraw Hill to reuse or republish this material.

Add an Xbox 360 to your existing home network and share digital media– Part I of V

Add an Xbox 360 to your existing home network and share digital media– Part II of V

Add an Xbox 360 to your existing home network and share digital media– Part III of V

Add an Xbox 360 to your existing home network and share digital media– Part IV of V

Add an Xbox 360 to your existing home network and share digital media– Part V of V