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Videos via Windows Media Center EXTREMELY pixelated/lagging

I have been trying for some time now to stream video files from my PC to my 360 via the Windows Media Center app. I have followed the guidelines in several stickies and other forum posts to no avail. I can stream videos from apps like HBO, Netflix, Amazon, without any issue. 

When I try streaming a video from my PC however, it begins and quite immediately becomes extremely pixelated. It usually freezes the picture on such a horribly pixelated image, where nothing can be made out, and the sound of the video file keeps playing as normal. If I let it go it may sometimes un-pixelate and run like normal for a few seconds, only to do it again. I have tried many different file types: AVI, MKV, MP4, MPG, WMV...and resolutions from SD to 1080p, all have the same results. 

I can stream via my PS3 with no such problems, so I can't imagine the issue is with my network, computer, or internet connection.

Hi Zak, welcome to our humble forums.  OK, so I'm this is the sticky you went through: forums.xbox.com/.../30862.aspx ?  Did you try the Clean Boot step in there?  That one's kind of weird but it can also resolve all kinds of weirdness.  I'm also curious: have you ever tried streaming from any different PCs to this console?

For now, please try deleting the Optional Media Update from your console, clearing the cache, then restart console and reinstal it.  Also, remove all accessories from your console that you can (including Kinect sensor and HDD if applicable.)  Any good there?

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EDIT: Sorry, signed into the wrong account. This is zakbased2, just my other email which I never really meant to make into a gamertag.

Couldn't find the delete option.

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No I did not try a Clean Boot of my PC, nor will I try that just for streaming to an Xbox.

I did find out however that the problem most likely lies in the Windows Media Center application. Whether the fault is on the 360 or the PC, I am not sure. But the WMC screen on the 360 is quite laggy, taking up to a few seconds to respond.

I found that if instead of going to WMC but went straight to the Xbox 360 Video Streaming app and finding the video file that way, it would play them just fine. However it would not play .mkv, only .avi and for some of them it said a Codec was missing or something. But still, for some .avi files it would play them 100% smooth whereas in WMC it would hardly play them at all.

Also I have not tried deleting the Optional Media Updating and clearing the cache, I am not sure how to do so.

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Hey Zak,
 

To delete the Optional Media Update, navigate to System Settings>Storage>All Devices>System Items, and delete it.
 

Also, here is the guide on How to clear your Xbox 360 system cache.

Let us know if that works for ya! 

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Ok. Deleting the optional media update, clearing the cache, restarting, installing the optional media update - did not help. No real change.

I ran the network tuner from the Media Center app on the 360 and it showed the bandwidth as acceptable for HD streaming.

Still I can go to My Video Apps > System Video Player, and select the video from there and it streams just fine. The problem must be with Media Center somehow.

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Last updated August 18, 2021 Views 267 Applies to: