The XBox 360 now is a full member of the DLNA Home Media Network
Article
Play To | Play to on Xbox | Streaming media on Xbox – Xbox.com
My Comments
Now you can have your XBox 360 games console working as a DLNA-controlled media player, responding to TwonkyMedia Manager, Windows 7 or 8’s “Play To”, AllShare or other DLNA media control points. Previously, this console, like the PlayStation 3 was able just to “pull up” content from DLNA Media Server like a Windows PC running Windows Media Player 10 or newer; or most network-attached storage devices, then have this content coming on your TV screen.
But how do I get this games console set up for DLNA? You would firstly need to update the XBox 360 to the latest software. This is something you may have to do when you purchase a new XBox 360 or are dealing with a console that hasn’t been regularly updated.
Enabling Play To
Then you would have to enable the “Play To” functionality in the XBox 360 so it can be managed by software like TwonkyMedia Manager; or the Windows Play To function. Here, you go to the XBox Home menu on the Dashboard, then select “Settings”, then select “System”. In that menu, you select “Console Settings”, then highlight “Connected Devices”. When you select this option, select “Play To” and make sure it shows “On”.
Changing your console’s name
If you have two or more XBox 360s existing on the same home network, you may have to change your console’s name so it is easier to select a particular console from your UPnP AV / DLNA control point software.
While you are in the abovementioned “Console Settings” menu, highlight and select the “Console Name” option to name your console.
You have a choice of preset names that you can use or I would prefer you to use the “Custom” option to make a unique name for your machine. This may be particular to who owns it or which room it is in for example.
Here, you enter the name using whatever method you use to enter text on your console such as “picking and choosing” the characters with the buttons on your controller or using the Text Input Device keyboard. Select “Done” when you have finished to save your settings.
What can I play
Hiere, you can play most of the popular music, video and image file types through your XBox 360. This is similar to what the console has been able to do if you used it to find the content on a UPnP AV / DLNA media server or viewed the material from an optical disc.
Conclusion
This is another example of what these games consoles can do beyond playing video games; and who knows when Sony would update the PS3 to bring this same DLNA “push-to” media playback to that console.
