You can use Windows Media Player to stream media from a home computer that stores digital media files to another computer connected to the Internet so you can access your media anywhere. Internet access to home media, or remote media streaming, frees you from having to transport large media files on your laptop or digital media player if you want to play them on the go. Remote media streaming also allows you to use a laptop with limited storage capacity to access a potentially large media collection on a desktop computer or home server.

Internet Home Media Access dialog box

To do this, you need:

• At least two computers that have remote streaming enabled. (One has a media library connected to a home network and streams the media, and the other one receives the stream.)

• A supported online ID linked to your Windows user account on at least two computers.

• An Internet connection.

The procedures below explain how to set up and use remote media streaming if you don’t already have a linked online ID or if you have an existing linked ID. During setup, your home network router will usually configure itself automatically for remote streaming, but you might need to manually configure your router by using port forwarding.