Xbox One is Microsoft’s 3rd game console. With this console, Microsoft focused heavily on not just gaming but media too. It can do just about any streaming service you can think of. It can even take in your cable box and allow you to watch television while playing video games.
All of this is cool, but what about local media? Microsoft has you covered. The Xbox One can support DLNA with its Media Player app. Here’s how to get a DLNA server for your Xbox One up and running on Linux.
Note: though this guide focuses on Xbox One, the exact same process with Minidlna can be applied for any DLNA-enabled device.
Installing Minidlna
Before you can set up your server, you’ll need to install the application responsible for handling such things on your network. Open a terminal, and enter the following command:
sudo apt-get install minidlna
It should be noted that minidlna is only officially available for Ubuntu as of version 15.10. If you’re using a later version you’ll need to track down a .DEB package file. Not using Ubuntu? Chances are it’s probably in your distribution’s official repository. If not, just check out pkgs.org to find the package file that’s right for your distribution.
Setting up directories
Now that the program needed has been installed, it’s time to set up directories. When setting up a DLNA server, most just point it at the traditional “Music,” “Pictures” and “Videos” folders already in the home directory. This approach is fine; however, separating computer media and dlna media is a better idea.
In the terminal (Note that the following steps can be done with a file manager as well. Simply create a “dlna” folder followed by Music, Videos and Pictures folders inside the “dlna” folder), enter:
mkdir dlna
After creating the dlna folder in your home directory, enter it with the cd command.
cd dlna
Inside the dlna folder, make three other folders called Music, Videos and Pictures.
mkdir Music mkdir Videos mkdir Pictures
Once the directories have been created, move desired media files you wish to access over your network into the correct folders.
Configuring Minidlna
Configuring Minidlna is fairly straightforward. Just open a terminal and enter the following:
sudo nano /etc/minidlna.conf
This will open the configuration file in the Nano text editor. The first thing that needs to be added in “minidlna.conf” are the locations of the directories.
In Nano, make your way down to the part of the configuration file that has “# set this to the directory you want scanned” in it. Directly underneath all of the # lines, enter the following text into the configuration file.
media_dir=A,/home/username/dlna/Music media_dir=V,/home/username/dlna/Videos media_dir=P,/home/username/dlna/Pictures
After setting the directories in the configuration file, it’s time to name your server. Find the “# set this if you want to customize the name” part of the configuration file. Directly underneath it you’ll see “#friendly_name=” commented out. Remove the # sign from in front of it, and enter the desired name for your Minidlna server after the = sign.
With all the editing finished, save Nano (by pressing “Ctrl + O” on your keyboard). After that, just run
sudo minidlnad -R
to update the server database, followed by
sudo minidlnad
to start it.
Note: each time you want to use Minidlna on your network, you’ll need to launch it first. It is also possible to autostart the daemon via systemd by entering sudo systemctl enable minidlna.service into the terminal.
Accessing your media on Xbox One
Accessing your newly created media server on Xbox is fairly easy. Head down to the bottom of the dashboard and open “My games & apps.” Once you’re there, select “Apps” from the column on the left side.
Inside the Apps section, scroll all the way to the right. You should see something that says “Find more in the Xbox Store.” Click on it. This will bring up a search box.
Inside the search box, type “Media Player.” This will bring up a search results screen. In the results, click Media Player.
Clicking on Media Player will bring you to its installation screen. Just tap on the red install button, and soon the app will be installed to your Xbox One.
With the App installed, the red install button will turn into a launch button. Click on it to launch the Media player.
When the app opens, you should see your DLNA server straight away, and it should look something like the following image.
Just click on your server which is listed in the Media Player app, and you’ll be able to access everything you’ve shared with the Minidlna app. Everything is separated out by the Music, Video and Picture sections respectively in the app.
Conclusion
It’s no secret that video game consoles have started focusing on other things besides gaming. With the latest Xbox One, it’s nice to see that the console has support for homespun media servers. Let’s hope that the fourth Xbox will have support for more complex media servers instead of just DLNA.
Do you use your video game console for consuming media as well? Let us know below!
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Derrik Diener
Derrik Diener is a freelance technology blogger.
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