Update: We have tested Media Streaming capabilities with Windows 7. Streaming just got a lot easier!
As you know, both the XBOX 360 and Playstation 3 support h.264 encoded media natively. They can play this type of media in the form of MP4 and M4V container formats, which are very common containers for online video.
Furthermore, both consoles support DLNA media streaming. For Windows users, that means they can stream video from Windows Media Player 11. You can read a bit more Windows streaming to Playstation 3 on one of our previous blogs.
Unfortunately, Windows Media Player 11 does not natively support these file containers, at least for streaming. You can have all the right DirectShow Filters (I prefer CoreAVC for h.264) and Splitters (I like Haali Media Splitter), but getting WMP11 to stream these files requires some quick tweaks in Vista.
One thing people might be doing is using a transcoder program to stream these files to their consoles. This is not desireable as it has to re-compress video that has already been compressed, and needlessly uses up CPU cycles (and energy) to do this. Some commercial software is available that supports DLNA and will be able to stream these files to your console. However, if you follow the advice I am giving here, you will be able to use the software that you already paid for, saving you money, time, effort, energy, and quality.
And here’s how you get MP4 and M4V files to stream from Windows Media Player 11 on Vista. Since we all “run at different speeds” I’ll put together this as a
Step-By-Step Guide on Streaming MP4 and M4V Video Files to Playstation 3 and XBOX 360 from Windows
- You probably already have a splitter and codec installed – uninstall them now. You will be installing codecs again right away following this guide.
- Download a good h.264 codec and splitter; there are several to choose from. One of the best free codec packs is ffdshow tryouts. It can be installed to support pretty much every type of video and audio out there. A great alternative is CoreAVC, which is a commercial product that costs $15 for the full version supporting SMP processors and (upcoming) GPU acceleration. This will give you the best image quality and lowest CPU usage. Of course, you can use any DirectShow filter codec you prefer, there are many to choose from.
- For your splitter, you can use Haali Media Splitter. I recommend installing it as shown below:
I would recommend installing it this way; the AVI splitting is problematic in my experience, and your MPEG-2 decoder probably already has a good splitter.
- Next, download and one one of these reg files: Windows Vista 32 bit and Windows Vista 64 bit. Credit goes to Red for making these.
- Once you run the reg file, reboot!
- You will need to make sure that Windows Media Player 11 is keeping track of your video files. Open WMP11 and click Tools > Options… and go to the “Library” tab. Now click “Monitor Folders”
- I like to manually set which folders are being accessed by WMP11, so I select the second option and make sure that all folders containing the music and videos I want it to see are added.
Make sure that WMP11 is accessing the folders where your videos are stored, or they will not show up on your video game console
- Once you click “OK” it will rescan your folders, and add everything to the Library. You should now be able to see all your videos in the library, including AVI files, and now MP4 and M4V files! You will also see MP4 audio files as well, in the Audio section of the Library.
- These files will also show up when you browse to your PC from your Playstation 3 and XBOX 360! Congrats, you can now stream MP4 audio and video files to your console, without having to re-encode them to AVI, or copy them to a USB drive first!
- Note: Windows 7/Windows Media Player 12 already supports these formats natively, so you will not need to follow this guide to enable streaming. Don’t install these reg files on Windows 7!
[...] Go here for instructions on how to stream MP4 and M4V video files to the Playstation 3 from Windows Vista and [...]
Anyone else other than the writer got this to work? Followed this guide over and over and tried a few things a few different ways incase i’ve misunderstood certain parts but this still won’t work under Vista. PS3 still just shows my MP4’s as Unsupported Data unless I port them via a USB Drive.
What codec and splitter did you use?
I have tried it several times and I still can not get it to work…I am followed this guide step by step. The thing is I can now play these files in WMP11 but they are not showing up in my 360???
Why use this when you can use SUPERIOR media servers to WMP like PMS, TVersity, Twonky…..
Well are those services free?
PS3 Media Server (PMS) is free and by far the best there is today.
[...] their systems to stream media, this also introduces a huge advantage. No longer will you have to install special REG files to ‘trick’ Windows into streaming video to your PS3 or XBOX 36…. And no longer will you have to use UPnP media servers like TVersity that transcode video, severely [...]
i have tryed this and it works just fine for me if you need help leave a reply
i’m lost with the reg editing on vista 64….do i create when it’s not there?
At the top it says that this works for Windows Vista/XP but the reg files are for windows vista 32 bit and 64 bit. Will the 32 bit file work for XP? If not, where can I find a reg file for xp to accomplish this?
Really? No offense, but you probably shouldn’t be trying this until you know what ‘32 bit’ & ‘64 bit’ mean.
Worked for me.
Vista Home Basic(32bit) –> .mp4 –> WMP11 –> XBOX360
I’m getting a “cannot play video error.” It states: “The file type is not recognized and cannot be played. Either the correct codec is not installed or the file is corrupt. The file’s not corrupt and I installed the codec provided in this guide, so does anyone know what may be the problem? I can view the video in Windows Media Player, but it says “0 seconds.”
I’m having a problem doing this. I’ve followed the instructions to the letter but I’m still getting “No Videos Found” on my Xbox 360. HELP!
yeah, same question as joel above asks, what about XP with regards to the reg files??
Thanks, this worked great!
Freakin’ sweet! I have had a few issues with Vista Home * :(
Always got it to work, but never permanently.
Now all my files play as soon as I drop them in the sharing folder.
Hi, I just got done following all the steps. My xbox 360 now recognizes the files but I am still unable to play them. It says unsupported content. Anyone have any ideas on how to fix this or where I went wrong? I am running windows vista 32-bit.
Thanks for the help. :)
i followed all the steps and tried to watch an m4v video file on my xbox 360 and it tells me “Cannot play video: The file type is not recognized and cannot be played. Either the correct codec is not installed or the file is corrupt.” i know the file isn’t corrupt and since i followed the directions up above precisely, i would think i have the correct codec, but if anyone could help me out with this problem it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Okay, so the new Azureus (now Vuze) has XBOX transcode/stream capability,
If you don’t have it yet, it is a free download: http://www.vuze.com
It is a little slow on transcoding, but makes it really easy for everyone with these issues.
HELP…
Loaded the Reg file and now my Windows Medial Player 11 crashes!!!
Please email me with help!
urbanj@gmail.com