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Stream multimedia to Xbox 360 with TVersity

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Stream Multimedia to Xbox 360 with TVersity

The Xbox 360 console supports a wide variety of video and audio. TVersity can stream this video and audio over a network from any Windows machine it is installed on. It can even download content from the Internet and stream it to the console. Even if the Xbox 360 doesn't support your multimedia files or Internet feeds, TVersity will convert them to a supported format and stream them to the console at the exact same time. In short, this allows you to use your Xbox 360 as a much more powerful media center, bridging the gap between computer files on your Hard Drive, straight to your television through your Xbox 360 console.

Introduction & Requirements

	Software you must download and install
	TVersity Media Server
	Required: Obviously you will need to download and install TVersity for this guide. Download!
	FFDShow DirectShow Filters
	Required: FFDShow is used with TVersity during media transcoding processes (if needed).. Download!
	Windows Media Player 11
	Required: You may need to update Windows Media Player. Download!

You obviously need an Xbox 360 console that is on the same network as the computer you will install TVersity on. This network can be wired or wireless. Your computer should be relatively modern. For video types supported directly by Xbox 360 including DivX and XviD in an AVI container (see full list here) your computer won't need to be too powerful, but for a computer to encode and stream at the same time if its unsupported, you will need a relatively modern setup.

Installing TVersity on Windows

The first thing we will do is look at installing TVersity on Windows. Windows 2000, Windows XP or Windows Vista will do. The first thing you will see is the Welcome message above. Please remember that version updates will come out after this guide has been published and some of the setup pages may be ordered differently. If you find it is too different then you can download the exact version used in this guide (1.0.0.5 RC3) to download on AfterDawn at this link.

TVersity Installation Steps
1. On the Welcome Screen, click Next.
2. On the License Agreement, tick the box to accept and click Next.
3. On the Toolbar Screen, you will be asked if you want to install the Ask.com Toolbar and/or change your homepage, choose and click Next.
4. On the Destination Folder Screen, either leave it at default (C:\Program Files\TVersity\Media Server) or choose your own and click Next.
5. File copying commences. Wait until this is complete.
6. Make sure the box is ticked to "Run the TVersity Configuration Wizard" and click Next.

TVersity Configuration Wizard

The TVersity Configuration Wizard was introduced when the program moved to v1.0. It makes things a lot easier for new users as it will configure the Windows firewall and let you choose other important Options. When it pops up, you will first see the Welcome message (as above). Click Next to move along.

Configuration Choices

You will now see the Configuration Choices offered by the TVersity Configuration Wizard. I have numbered the options with red text, here is an explanation of each.

1. "Start TVersity automatically after a reboot". This means the Media Server will run every time Windows start's up.
2. "Disable Windows SSDP Discovery Service". If you have Windows Vista you should select this, but if you do, other Media Center devices won't work anymore.
3. "Windows Firewall should allow TVersity to serve media to devices on my home network." Always select this option.
4. "Media Sharing". By default TVersity can share whatever you have in your My Music, My Pictures or My Videos folder (slightly different naming under Vista). This is totally your decision.

When you have selected your settings. click the Configure button.

Additional Support

Additional information is now offered. If you click any of these options you will be taken to the official TVersity FAQ. However, everything you will need is already covered in this article with pictures. Click the Next button now and you will reach the final page of the Configuration Wizard. At this point, just click the Finish button to complete the Configuration Wizard. You will now be back at the Setup where you will be asked to install codecs.

TVersity Codec Pack

Codecs are needed in order to decode video and audio data on a computer. For this reason, you should have at least ffdshow installed. However, in this guide you will have already downloaded ffdshow from AfterDawn and I recommend that you unselect "Install the TVersity Codec Pack V1.2 and ffdshow". My logic is simple; ffdshow updates all the time and the version you download from AfterDawn will probably be newer than the version distributed with TVersity. Click Next.

Installation Complete

The installation is now complete and there are only two things you have left to choose..

1. "Start the TVersity sharing service now". The sharing service is vital and runs in the background, you should select this.
2. "Start the TVersity user interface now ". This will open up the TVersity client program where you can choose files and links etc. to share with the Xbox 360 console. You can keep this option selected if you wish and TVersity will open when you click Finish, or you can just unselect it and open it from the Desktop or Start Menu later.
Click Finish

TVersity will now open up a link (http://tversity.com/about/donate/?afterinstall) asking you to donate. This is voluntary, but if you can donate, then please give some money to this project.

Install ffdshow and Windows Media Player

If you already have Windows Media Player 10 then you do not need to install a newer version (but it is strongly recommended). You must install ffdshow to act as a decompressor if your video needs to be encoded while it is being streamed (which happens if the Xbox 360 doesn't support the video.)

Both the installations are pretty straightforward. Be aware the the Windows Media Player installation (may require a reboot) will perform a check to make sure your copy of Windows is genuine. If it is not genuine, it will not install. If you did not know your copy of Windows is not genuine (or have gotten a false positive) then check Google for instructions on installing Windows Media Player 11 on a pirated operating system.

What Next?

We have completed the installation part of this guide. You now have to choose what you want / need to do next. You can take a look at TVersity's settings (recommended) or go straight to adding content to TVersity that you would like to watch on the Xbox 360. If you require it, you can go to Appendix A to read about getting your Xbox 360 onto a wireless network.

Page 2: Configure TVersity Settings --> I highly recommend you take a run through TVersity's settings to personalize it, but it is possible to skip this part.

Page 3.: Add multimedia to the TVersity Library --> This page covers adding your files, folders and links to TVersity's library, making it possible to share with the Xbox 360.

Page 4: Play Shared Multimedia on Xbox 360 --> When you add content to the TVersity Library, then play it on the Xbox 360 with these instructions.

Appendix A: Connect Xbox 360 to a Wireless Network --> This is an optional part of the guide for those that need to setup their Xbox 360 on their wireless network.