TechnologyCrowd

In my last post I installed Ubuntu Server and set up file sharing using Webmin and Samba so that my Windows computers could see the folders.  In this post I will discuss how to install Ushare to the server so that the files will be shared with the xbox 360.

It took me a few days and some trial and error to find a program that I was happy with.  The first thing that I tried was TwonkyMedia.  The install was fairly easy and I liked the program, but it is only a 30 day trial, then I would have to pay $39.95.  One of the reasons I am using Linux is to be able to use free open source software so I needed to find a better long term solution.

I was putting off looking when I got a twitter update about an article for “How to turn a spare Linux machine into a media server.” This solution used MediaTomb and was easier to install than TwonkyMedia, just a quick apt-get install MediaTomb and I was able to use the web browser to add files.  The problem with this is that my Xbox 360 would not see it.  After a few google searches I discovered that MediaTomb works for PS3 but not for Xbox 360.

A few more google searches and I came across uShare which ended up meeting my needs.  The first thing I did was open up Putty from my Vista machine to log into my server and get the command prompt.

First we need to install Ushare

sudo apt-get install ushare

Next you need to edit the configure file and set it to work with the xbox 360.

sudo pico /etc/ushare.conf

The file is pretty self explanatory, the main thing you need to do is enable xbox sharing.  You can also enable web sharing which will allow you to add share files later, since all of my shares are in the /media folder I added that here.

Here is an example of my config file:

# uShare UPnP Friendly Name (default is ‘uShare’).
USHARE_NAME=uShare

# Interface to listen to (default is eth0).
# Ex : USHARE_IFACE=eth1
USHARE_IFACE=eth0

# Port to listen to (default is random from IANA Dynamic Ports range)
# Ex : USHARE_PORT=49200
USHARE_PORT=49200

# Port to listen for Telnet connections
# Ex : USHARE_TELNET_PORT=1337
USHARE_TELNET_PORT=1337

# Directories to be shared (space or CSV list).
# Ex: USHARE_DIR=/dir1,/dir2
USHARE_DIR=/media

# Use to override what happens when iconv fails to parse a file name.
# The default uShare behaviour is to not add the entry in the media list
# This option overrides that behaviour and adds the non-iconv’ed string into
# the media list, with the assumption that the renderer will be able to
# handle it. Devices like Noxon 2 have no problem with strings being passed
# as is. (Umlauts for all!)
#
# Options are TRUE/YES/1 for override and anything else for default behaviour
USHARE_OVERRIDE_ICONV_ERR=yes

# Enable Web interface (yes/no)
ENABLE_WEB=yes

# Enable Telnet control interface (yes/no)
ENABLE_TELNET=no

# Use XboX 360 compatibility mode (yes/no)
ENABLE_XBOX=yes

# Use DLNA profile (yes/no)
# This is needed for PlayStation3 to work (among other devices)
ENABLE_DLNA=yes

One you’ve made the changes, you can use Ctrl –X and say yes to save the file.

Now you need to start uShare:

sudo /etc/init.d/ushare start

You should see an output similar to this:

* Starting uShare UPnP A/V & DLNA Media Server: ushare

You need to edit one more file for the xbox to see uShare.

sudo pico /etc/init.d/ushare

Find the following lines:

start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --background --oknodo \
--make-pidfile --pidfile $PIDFILE \
--exec $DAEMON -- $USHARE_OPTIONS

And add the -–xbox as seen below:

start-stop-daemon --start --quiet --background --oknodo \
--make-pidfile --pidfile $PIDFILE \
--exec $DAEMON -- $USHARE_OPTIONS –xbox

Now restart uShare:

sudo /etc/init.d/ushare stop
sudo /etc/init.d/ushare start

Now you can go to the web interface to add additional share folders and refresh the shares, go to:

http://yourserveripaddress:49153/web/ushare.html

Add any shares that you want to add and click the “Refresh Shares” button.

Now you can start up the xbox and go to the Video, Music, or Photos section and you should see uShare or whatever you named you USHARE_Name

I just moved a few files into the folders from my Vista machine to make sure that it works.  I am planning on cleaning up my music files on multiple computers and folders and will then drag and drop them into the share folders on the network so they will all be in one place.