Stream media to your Xbox from a Linux server



Version 030626

Tutorial written by: dolson

Maybe you are like me and you don't run Microsoft Windows in your home. Perhaps you want to stream your video and music files from your Linux server (or desktop) to your Xbox. Well, if so, then this is the tutorial for you.

Note that this isn't an advanced tutorial by any means, and most people can figure it out on their own. But some people need a little hand-holding, so here it is.

Firstly, I assume you've got your Xbox modded and you have XBMP installed as well. Also, I assume that you are familiar with FTPing files to your Xbox. If not, then go ahead and learn that first.

Now, the first thing you need to do is download the Linux media server. Go to the website here.

Go to the Files page and download the latest tarball of xbms. As of this writing, the current version is: xbms_0.30.6.tar.gz

Save that to somewhere on your Linux system. For purposes of this tutorial, I will assume you saved it into your home directory.

Next, run these commands, substituting in the proper version number where appropriate:

cd ~
tar zxvf xbms_0.30.6.tar.gz
cd xbms_0.30.6.tar.gz
make
su
cp xbms.conf /etc/
cp xbms /usr/local/bin/

Note that in the step `su` you will be prompted for the root password.

Next you must edit the /etc/xbms.conf file to your liking. For this, I recommend you specify your Linux server IP address as the local IP setting, and the Xbox IP address as the remote IP setting, in the interest of security. Also, unless you have a reason, leave the default port to 1400.

Next you need to specify the path that you wish to share (the one that holds all of your music and video files. Save the file and exit.

Here is an example of a working xbms.conf file:

### port to listen on ###
PORT 1400

### Linux box IP ###
LOCAL_IP 192.168.0.1
### Xbox IP ###
REMOTE_IP 192.168.0.3

### user to run xbms as ###
USER nobody
GROUP nogroup

### shared directory ###
PATH /home/xbox

### other stuff ###
LOGFILE /var/log/xbms.log
PIDFILE /var/run/xbms.pid
DEBUG 1

Now you can start the server by running the command `xbms` or you can have it start at boot up if you prefer by adding the `xbms` command to your init scripts.

Next you need to edit the file called config.xml. You will find it in your XBMP directory on your Xbox. For each section (music, pictures, video) that you wish to be able to access your new share, you must add in this block:

<share>
   <name>Linux Server</name>
   <url>/@192.168.0.1</url>
</share>

Do not forget to change the IP address to match the IP address of your Linux server. You can change the name if you wish - it is what will show up as the option in XBMP.

Save that file and upload it back to your Xbox and try out your new streaming media!