Widows Media Player 11/XP not acting as server

[ParishPete]

I have 2 Vista and 2 XP machines networked, all run WMP11. I have just got a Sony W5500 TV with limited network capability allowing it to view shared media files.

As a rule I'm pretty savvy with networks but this takes the biscuit!

On both vista machines, WMP11 detects the TV and the other Vista machine and shares media to them.

Both XP machines detect the Vista machines and the TV but not the other XP machine and neither (despite declaring otherwise) shares anything.

I've read the threads, tried the fixes (including disabling Windows firewall) to no avail.

I downloaded Twonky Media onto one XP machine and hey presto the TV and the Vista PC's found it.

Does anyone have a clue why Microsoft's own built in software simply refuses to work? (both XP's are SP3)

I don't particularly want to buy yet more software but I suspect that even if WMP can be forced to work it won't pass MPEG2 video files to the TV since neither vista PC seems to.

Anyone have a definitive fix?

Pete

On Mon, 11 May 2009 15:35:12 +0530, ParishPete
<ParishPete.3s0ofc@DoNotSpam.com> wrote:

>
>I have 2 Vista and 2 XP machines networked, all run WMP11. I have just
>got a Sony W5500 TV with limited network capability allowing it to view
>shared media files.
>
>As a rule I'm pretty savvy with networks but this takes the biscuit!
>
>On both vista machines, WMP11 detects the TV and the other Vista
>machine and shares media to them.
>
>Both XP machines detect the Vista machines and the TV but not the other
>XP machine and neither (despite declaring otherwise) shares anything.


WMP11 for XP has no capability for browsing shared libraries on other
XP machines :

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/win...ing.mspx#q20:1

Principally, WMP11 was intended only for the much-delayed Vista, but
was backported to XP due to demand. Some vista-only capabilities were
left out, such as the library share view.

HTH
Cheers - Neil
------------------------------------------------
Digital Media MVP : 2004-2009
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/mvpfaqs

[ParishPete]

Neil,

Thanks, you have confirmed my XP to XP suspicion.

The principle problem is that neither XP laptop (connected wirelessly) nor XP desktop PC will share with either my TV or either Vista PC using WMP11.

I really only need The XP desktop to share with the TV, which it does using Twonkey media manager. The point I was making, was that equally, it should share via WMP11 to both Vista and the TV (Sony KDL40W5500 DLNA enabled) without effort.

WMP11 on the XP identifies the TV and both Vistas and shows both as valid shares. Neither finds the XP PC as a server unless Twonkey is installed on it.

Ironcally, whilst neither hold any media I want shared, having set up WMP sharing on the vistas both were found by each other and the TV immediately.

Regards

Pete