How to set up a Vista computer as a media server

                  Is there any way for us to share music indoors without having to copy and copy the files? Media sharing and media streaming meet our requirements. As a solution for processing digital media content, this approach is gradually becoming acceptable to users. The implementation of this method must have UPnP hardware devices and a home wireless router with built-in data streaming capabilities.
Media sharing and media streaming meet our requirements. As a solution for processing digital media content, this approach is gradually becoming acceptable to users. The implementation of this method must have UPnP hardware devices and a home wireless router with built-in data streaming capabilities.
If the user has a computer with a Vista system, the computer can be set as a media server with a simple operation. Vista itself has a network that supports UPnP peer-to-peer. This function, combined with the sub-directory function of Media Player 11, makes it easy to share music, pictures and videos on the LAN.
However, not all devices can connect to the Vista server. Users can log in to the PlaysForSure website for a detailed list of connectable devices.
Media sharing supports music files (WMA, MP3 and WAV formats), video files (WMV, AVI, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2 formats), pictures (JPEG, JPG and PNG) and playlist sharing. According to the media sharing instructions, this feature also supports files in other formats, however, "this depends on the settings of the user's computer." In other words, if the media content is readable and Media Player can create a directory for them, then that type of file can be shared.
Obviously, Microsoft does not intend to support formats other than its statements. For content like pX and XviD formats, streaming support depends on the client. These types of files work fine if the client is a vista system computer and the decoder is properly installed. However, for clients like Xbox360 that do not support pX, there may be restrictions.
Building media sharing is extremely easy. Open a network connection, share center (right click on the network connection icon on the system menu), expand media sharing under Sharing and Search, and click Modify when the settings are complete. Select "Share my media" and click "OK".

The Media Sharing page provides users with the option to support sharing. The default setting is "All other users of this computer", but this is not fixed. Once the media sharing feature is enabled and other devices are connected, the computer will automatically detect the device and alert the user to the sharing settings. By clicking the Settings button, the user can choose exactly how to share.

Other default devices can see all shared directories under the user name - but the user can also set which type of file can be shared (but not the format of the file itself). Users can also filter the directory based on the popularity level of the media. These settings can be applied to all devices as long as the device is authorized to share media. Highlight the directory and click Apply. These settings will automatically override the default settings.
Once set up and running media sharing, the computer will appear twice on the network—one as the actual Windows host and one as the Windows Media Networking device. This is what other computers and devices will see on the network.

On an authorized Vista client, right click and select "Open Media Player". The Media Player on the local machine starts up, and the content directory from the network device is clear at a glance. It's that simple.

One disadvantage of media sharing is that it relies entirely on Media Player 11. In other words, the user must first add the media to the media library of Media Player 11. This affects the browsing of media content on the web—the media library uses metadata to organize media information. Therefore, if the user organizes music according to logical folders and file names, ignoring the metadata, the media library will stop detecting during the search process. This will show up all the clients on the network, so it's a shortcoming.
Despite this, media sharing is a very simple and useful feature on the Vista system