How to Put Music and Videos on an Xbox 360

Although the Xbox 360 is primarily used as a video game entertainment system, it can also be used to play back some of your favorite music and videos on demand. The process for putting media on your Xbox 360 is relatively simple, and once you are finished it will be much easier for you to enjoy your Xbox 360 as a total media center.

Things You'll Need

• Xbox Live account
• CDs or Zune

Instructions

1. Burn CDs. The easiest way to put music on your Xbox 360 is to rip CDs from your own collection. Simply insert your favorite CD in you Xbox 360 and then pull up the secondary menu with the Xbox logo button. Then select "Rip CD" from the menu to transfer the tracks from the CD to your Xbox hard drive.

2. Download videos. The Xbox Live Marketplace has plenty of TV shows, music videos and game video clips that you can purchase and download to your hard drive. Know that you will have to pay for these with Microsoft points from your Xbox 360 account.

3. Transfer music from a Zune. If you have a Zune personal music device, you can transfer your songs from the device to the music player by plugging the sync cable into your Xbox 360 and then pressing the "Transfer" button on the sub-menu. Keep in mind that you cannot transfer videos on your Zune this way.

4. Sync your computer with your Xbox 360. If you have Windows XP Media Edition or Windows Vista (any edition) and a wireless connection your computer will be able to detect your Xbox 360 and can share media with it. Simply find the "Windows Media Extension" tool on your PC and follow the prompts to stream video to your Xbox 360.

Tips & Warnings

• You cannot download movies from Xbox Marketplace the same way that you can download TV shows and other clips. Movies can be "rented" for seven days, and then they will be automatically deleted.

Resources

• Official Xbox website