Sharing media on a network using Windows Media Player

Applies to: Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Enterprise, Ultimate. Which edition of Windows Vista am I using?

In this article

• Advantages of sharing media
• Media sharing requirements
• Network and firewall requirements
• Turn on sharing
• Start sharing with other devices
• Files you can share
• Control what you share
• Privacy and security implications of sharing

Using Windows Media Player and a private network, you can stream your favorite music, videos, and pictures to any room in your home—even to rooms that don't have a computer.

Advantages of sharing media

Like many people, you probably have a lot of music, video, and picture files in your Player library. There might be times when you want to do one of the following:

By sharing your media, you can do all of these things on your private network. (Media sharing does not allow you to share files outside of your network, however. For example, you cannot use media sharing to download music from the Internet or to stream video on a website.)

Top of page

Media sharing requirements

To share your media, you need the following hardware and software:

Top of page

Network and firewall requirements

Media sharing is supported on wired and wireless private networks (such as those typically available in homes) but it is not supported on public networks (such as those available in coffee shops, airports, and libraries). If your computer is on a domain network (the type of network available in some workplaces), your network administrator can control whether or not you can use the media sharing feature.

Your devices must be on the same subnet as your computer. Most home networks consist of a single subnet. However, if you have multiple routers attached to your home network, you probably have multiple subnets. If you have multiple routers in your home and you have trouble sharing your media to certain devices, try connecting those devices to the same router that your computer is connected to.

To share media with other devices or to play media in other libraries, several firewall ports on your computer must be open. If you are using Windows Firewall, the required Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports are automatically opened when you turn on media sharing. If you are using a different software or hardware firewall, you might need to open these ports manually.

The following table shows the firewall ports that must be opened if you want to share media with other devices.

If port 554 is already in use (for example, by Media Center Extender), ports 8554-8558 will be used instead. If ports 5004 or 5005 are already in use, ports 50004-50013 will be used instead.

The following table shows the firewall ports that must be opened if you want to play media in other libraries.

You won't be able to use the media sharing feature if Internet Protocol security (IPsec) is enabled on your computer. Typically, IPsec is automatically started if your computer is joined to a domain-based network (the type of network typically used in large businesses or organizations).

If you want to use the media sharing feature and your computer is configured to start IPsec automatically, open the Administrative Tools folder in Control Panel (Open Administrative Tools by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Administrative Tools. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.). Next, open the Services tool, configure IPsec Policy Agent to start IPsec manually (instead of automatically), and then restart your computer.

Top of page

Turn on sharing

For instructions about how to turn on sharing, see Share your media with other people or devices.

Top of page

Start sharing with other devices

When media sharing is turned on and the Player detects a new device on your network, you will be prompted to set up sharing with that device. Click the message, and then do one of the following in the dialog box that appears:

Top of page

Files you can share

You can share nearly any digital media file in your Player library, including protected Windows Media files that you have downloaded from online stores. To share a file in your library, the original file must be stored in one of your monitored folders. (By default the Player automatically monitors the folders where most people typically store their digital media files, including the Music, Pictures, and Videos folders.) For information about monitored folders, see Add items to the library.

In addition, the file must be of one of the following types:

Depending on how your computer is configured, the Player might be able to share additional music, video, and picture file types.

Your networked digital media player might not support playback of some file types that the Player can share. For example, your device might support playback of audio files, but not video files or picture files. In addition, your device might be capable of playing songs that you purchased from an online store, but not songs that you've rented through a subscription service.

For more information about the difference between purchased and subscription content, see DRM: frequently asked questions. For more information about the capabilities of your device, check the documentation that came with your device.

If you want to share files in a monitored folder located on another computer (for example, a folder on a network share), the remote folder must have the appropriate Windows access permissions assigned to it. For more information, go to the Sharing your media FAQ article online.

Top of page

Control what you share

The Player lets you customize what you want to share. For example, you can choose not to share music with explicit lyrics or any picture rated 3 stars or less. You can even create different rules for each computer or device that you stream to. For more information, see the procedure about customizing what you share in Change settings for sharing media.

Top of page

Privacy and security implications of sharing

For information about maintaining your privacy and security when sharing your media, see Privacy and security considerations when sharing media.

Top of page

See also

• Troubleshoot problems