I use a Windows XP Professional machine with WMP11 as a home server - my media folders on this machines are shared both using file sharing and WMP11 media library sharing.

To ease maintenance of librar (fixing album art, songs names, dates, etc...) I'll rather prefer to generalise use of the media library sharing (and maintain this single library) rather than sharing the files themselves and let several instances of libraries spread over the home computers.

However, my Media Center machine is running Vista Premium and everything is fine using
the Windows Media Player 11: it finds the WMP11 shared library from the XP server. I have not been able to identify any such configurationfrom Media Center under Vista and I revert to "old days" file sharing level -

Can I connect to a WMP11 shared media library from Media Center or is this a feature only available from WMP11?

thanks for any help - regards

I can't see why what you seem to want (MCE using shared WMP library) isn't working - the MCE frontend (at least, in MCE2k5; Vista, AFAIK, operates the same here) uses the WMP library, not one of its own.  Once you've built (or got) a Library in WMP, you automatically have one in MCE.

What, exactly, happened when you launched MCE and went into, say, Music,  after you set up your library in WMP?

Well, on the Vista machine (SAGBP-KITCHEN), when I open WMP11 - Library, I have the possibility to open my remotely shared WMP11 library (SAGBP-00).

When in Media Center, I am never proposed any remotely shared library - I only have access to local or connected disks folders no shared WMP libraries

regards

Any further information on this capability? It boggles my mind that the product designed to be your access point to all of your media (Windows Media Center) is incapable of accessing media through Microsoft's (and Windows Media Player's) own mechanism for sharing media between machines.

bump...

I too would like to know how this can be achieved

bump...I was wondering the same dang thing....

One possible fix:  share out the folder containing the WMP library files on the network.  On each (let's start with one) of the client machines, map that folder as a network drive.  See, then, if you can access the network library from MCE.

JackLuminous:

bump...I was wondering the same dang thing....

As someone pointed out above.. Media Center is just a shell - don't use it to manage your media library.  Instead use WMP11 - Vista/XP MCE will automatically pick up the library from WMP11 - works every time.

So, if you can use WMP11 to access shared media from other computers.. I don't see where there is a problem.

I think, from the recent replies, that I didn't express myself well. I'm not trying to use Media Center as a hub, so much as an access point throughout my home. Windows offers this great feature now that lets you share media from one computer to another. I have a central point where I store and catalog my music files. Windows Media Connect (or whatever it's called now) lets Windows Media Player on any computer throughout my home see and play this content. My point is that Windows Media Player leverages this ability, while Windows Media Center does not. Windows Media Center cannot use the shared media as a source when setting up the media library in Media Center.

Sure, I could set the folder that hosts this content as shared [and I do, to get around this limitation], but why should each Media Center on my network have to monitor and catalog my entire collection? If Media Center would leverage my shared media on my network, it could simply incorporate the media and associated metadata already defined at the source.

To clarify;

Open up WMP11, click on the [down arrow] below [library] tab, select 'Media Sharing...'

It's this feature we wish to utilise -  it works fine with other remote WMP11 clients, just want to know how to have our remote Media Centre application utilise this 'shared media library' as well.

p;)

rgunther:

Media Center cannot use the shared media as a source when setting up the media library in Media Center.

That's my point - don't use Media Center to manage your library - just use WMP11.  Are you able to build up your library in WMP11 from remote Media Connect sources?  If yes, your problem is solved.  Media Center inherits the WMP11 library for Photos/Music/Videos. 

Your mixxing technologies.

Media Center and Media Connect dont work together :)

hitekalex:

That's my point - don't use Media Center to manage your library - just use WMP11.  Are you able to build up your library in WMP11 from remote Media Connect sources?  If yes, your problem is solved.  Media Center inherits the WMP11 library for Photos/Music/Videos. 

Why am I having such a hard time getting my point across? Nobody's saying they want to manage their libraries in Media Center--we just want to play shared media through Media Center. We're saying that if we can play tunes and videos from a remote library through Media Player (specifically via Windows Media Connect/Media Sharing), then why can't we also play that same shared media from within Windows Media Center? That option would be very desirable. I don't want to just monitor a shared folder, because then Windows will actually rebuild the media library information on the local machine. Does anyone get what I'm trying to explain?

I completely get what your'e saying. Basically the Media Center just doesn't acknowlege any DLNA/UPNP/WMP sharing libraries.  Media Center was designed as the one doing the sharing out of media so it doesn't care about anyone else sharing out media.

I understand.  Sounds like Media Connect content learned in WMP11 doesn't get picked up by MC library.  I don't use Media Connect in any fashion, so never actually tried that.

I think what you really want is MC extender running on your PC (Softsled).  Then you can setup your main PC as full MC server, and use other computers as media clients.  Unfortunately nothing like that is available right now, so your only other option is Xbox360.