It often happens to have the entire multimedia collection (videos, images and music) on a single PC and to be too busy to copy everything on every PC or device in our possession, since the operation may take some time (especially if we have a very large collection of videos and music, it is well over 100 GB sometimes). If we want to avoid having to move such a large amount of files but we still want to make these resources accessible on the LAN, in this guide we will show you how to share music, video and image folders between PCs on the network using both Windows folder sharing both integrate a DLNA server, so as to stream content without having to move files.
Both methods are valid, it's up to us to choose the most effective one for our needs.
READ ALSO: How to Share files and folders on a computer network on Windows PC
1) Pool folders on Windows
The easiest way to view your media library on the network is to take advantage of the file sharing included with Windows.
We choose the folder we want to share, then we right click on it and go to the Properties menu.
Now let's go to the Sharing tab and click Share ; in the empty field at the top, type Everyone and click the Add button, then set the reading permissions for all users on the network at the bottom (they can only read but not modify or delete the files).
Now we click on Share at the bottom to confirm the creation of the network share.
From the other PC in our possession, click on Windows Explorer -> Network and check for the presence of the original PC, on which you just have to click to view and open the multimedia folder just shared.
Now let's repeat the steps for all the multimedia folders that we want to share on the network: Music, Videos and Images or for any other folder we decide to make available.
Files shared via network share can be opened on other PCs only after having been copied; if we try to open them directly from the network resource, they will be downloaded as temporary files in memory and read at the end of the process (no live streaming, as we will see later).
If we have password or access problems, it can be a good solution to disable password-protected sharing by going to the Control Panel menu -> Network and Internet -> Network and Sharing Center -> Advanced sharing settings, where you just need to expand the menus until we find the items Disable password protected sharing, Enable network discovery and Enable file and printer sharing, to be activated as described.
2) Sharing via DLNA
An even more effective method of sharing multimedia files and folders on the network is to take advantage of a DLNA server on the original PC, so as to provide streaming content to all devices on the network (including Smart TV).
One of the most effective and complete servers that we can install for free on Windows is Universal Media Server, available for download from here -> Universal Media Server .
We install everything you need (the installer provides everything you need to run this server correctly, including the Java environment) and, at the end, open the program and insert the multimedia folders in the Folder sharing section.
We add all the folders that we want to be visible on the network through the DLNA protocol and reduce the program to an icon, which will automatically index the content and make it available in streaming.
To access it from another Windows PC, just click on the media server that we will see appear in the Computer or This PC -> Network section in Windows Explorer .
The same sharing is also available in the This PC menu, just click on it to access all the contents.
The server will be viewable among the sources also available on modern Smart TVs, just click on it to access the multimedia content and play it in streaming.
Universal Media Player also features transcoding, so you can convert files with codecs not supported by multimedia devices (such as old TVs or Chromecasts), by transcoding in real time, so as to always view the content in a compatible format.
3) Sharing via Plex
A free alternative to Universal Media Server without the need to install the Java environment is Plex, which we can download from here -> Plex Media Server .
By installing this powerful server on our Windows PC we will be able to index any multimedia folder on the PC and make it available in a modern and complete interface with all the information (authors, actors, plot, date, ratings, trailers etc.) for the contents coming from the cinema and TV, or simply index the videos in our possession (films of events, weddings, birthdays).
Once indexed we can view them on Smart TV with the Plex app (if available), otherwise we can take advantage of the DLNA server that the program offers inside to maintain compatibility with other Windows PCs and with non-Smart TVs (on which can also transcode, so you can always view the content).
We can deepen the discussion on Plex by reading our dedicated guide available below.
READ ALSO -> Complete guide to Plex, the media player with active transcoding .
4) Conclusions
Choosing the right method to quickly share music, videos and images between PCs on the network is quite simple and we can do it according to our needs.
If we only want to have access to the files from other PCs, so that we can copy them if necessary, simply sharing folders on Windows should be sufficient for our purposes.
If, on the other hand, we want advanced sharing of multimedia contents, so as to make them available in streaming on any device present on our LAN, using programs such as Universal Media Server and Plex will solve most of our problems, since they are very simple to configure and very effective. in providing support for the DLNA protocol, which has always been the pillar of audio and video sharing on the local network.
READ ALSO -> Best Programs to watch movies and videos on the PC
