Wouldn’t it be nice if you could share your media collection with your friends across the internet just by giving them access by their (for example) Windows Live ID? Today I ran into an article which talks about Internet access to home media. In this how-to I will explain how you can configure this!

Step 1 : Start Media Player

Step 2 : Select the Stream button on the top left

Step 3 : Select Allow internet access to home media

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Step 4 : Select Link an online ID

Step 5 : Select Add an online ID provider (an browser session is started)

Step 6 : Click Windows Live (right now the only one available)

Step 7 : Download and install the Windows Live ID Sign-in Assistant 6.5 (Beta)

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When the installation is finished you’re back at the Link Online IDs page in Windows where you should see something like the screenshot below (the WindowsLiveID Online ID Provider is available!)

Step 8 : Click the Link online ID link in the highlighted area, enter your credentials and click Sign in.

After a few seconds you’re back at the Link Online IDs page, but now you can see that your Windows Live ID is now connected to your Windows Username. Click Ok to close this screen.

Step 9 : Now go back to the Internet Home Media Access window and click Allow Internet access to home media. When finished you should see a message like the screenshot below.

So now you can use this computer abroad to access media at computers still at your home! You can also let authorized users access media on the computer on which you configured internet access!

Step 10 : Access shared media through Media Player.

When you open Media Player you can see the media which is available just below the Other Libraries in the right pane (see the screenshot below). I’m not sure how you can invite other users to access your shared media by using their Windows Live ID, but when I know how to do that…I’ll update this post . The Media Player below is the one running on my laptop and I’m accessing music on my pc…