One way to share music, video and other digital media files over a network is for each potential listener/viewer to download the files from another PC on the network and play them locally. Streaming is another way, simplifying the process by transferring a media file to the remote PC as it’s being played, rather than copying then playing. Of the media players available that support streaming, Windows Media Player (WMP) and iTunes are the most widely used and most keen digital mediaphiles will have both players on their PC. We’ll explain how to stream with both players, starting with WMP.
The version of WMP you have depends on the version of Windows you’re using. Windows 7 comes with WMP12, which is exclusive to that version of Windows and not available as a separate download. Vista comes with WMP11, which is also available for Windows XP from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/downloads/windows-media-player. If you’re using XP and still struggling along with its original WMP9, you should definitely upgrade to WMP11, particularly if you’re interested in streaming.
The guide below shows how to set up WMP11 for streaming media on your network. Once this is done on one PC (let’s call it the host), other PCs on the network can stream the host’s music, videos, pictures and playlists. To stream from another PC on the network, open WMP, browse the list pane at the left and find the host’s name. Expand it and use WMP to handle its contents like you would any media stored locally. (You can set up more than one PC on the network to allow streaming of its WMP media files.)
WMP12 has a Stream button on the toolbar. Click that and you may see the option ‘Turn on home media streaming’. If so, click that and click ‘Turn on media streaming’. Otherwise, click the Stream button and click ‘More streaming options’, select each device you want to allow access to your media, click Allow and then OK. Once this is done on one PC, other PCs on the network can stream the host’s media files. To stream from another PC on the network, open WMP, browse the pane at the left and find ‘Other Libraries’. Under that, select the host’s library, expand it and use WMP to handle the contents. You can stream on your network between PCs having a mix of WMP11 and WMP12.
You can also stream using iTunes 10. Both 32- and 64-bit versions are available from www.apple.com/au/itunes/download. You can stream media to up to five other PCs on your network and it’s easy to set up. Go to Edit —> Preferences —> Sharing tab and tick ‘Share my library on the local network’. Before clicking OK, you can opt to share all of your media files or only selected playlists. If you share your entire library, its name appears in the iTunes list pane at the left under Shared for other PCs on the network. (Early versions of iTunes need to have ‘Look for shared libraries’ ticked on the Sharing tab.)
Network streaming with Windows Media Player 11
With Windows 7's WMP12 there's an obvious 'Stream' button on the toolbar, but with WMP11 (included with Vista and available as download for XP) setting up streaming isn't too difficult either. . .
