Microsoft Adds Internet Media Streaming to Windows 7 RC

Something that Microsoft loves to do with their latest Windows releases is to include a lot of new functionality (some people call this bloated), and sometimes, a new application or feature they bundle actually gets rid of the need to download another similar application, saving time. In the case of a new media streaming feature, the company seems to be going after Slingbox owners. But as it appears so far, Sling Media has little to worry about right now.

The goal of the feature is to simply allow you to stream content from your home PC, whether it be music, video or photos. As it stands with the current RC, this is all tied to Windows Media Player, and requires you to have a Windows Live account, which would be associated with both PCs. With everything set up properly, you should be able to stream the aforementioned content from wherever you are located… at work or in a hotel somewhere.

Your success depends on a few factors, namely the speed of your Internet connection on both sides, and also the processing power of the host. In the ideal situation, you should be able to stream any content without audible skips or video lag, but ideally, your host should have a fast connection… I’d imagine at least 1Mbit/s upstream. In Ina’s case, a firewalled network caused some problems, so the technology certainly isn’t foolproof at this point in time. But hey, this is a rather nice feature to have bundled, and handy if you find yourself wanting it, without paying for a Slingbox.

Set-up is not overly complex, but nor is it elegant by any means. To get the PC ready, you have to turn on Internet streaming in Windows Media Player. The other piece is associating both machines with the same Windows Live ID. (The feature may eventually support other ID providers, but for now it’s only Windows Live.) Getting up and running required downloading a Windows Live ID Assistant from the Internet, which sends you to a browser.