HOW TO: Setup iTunes Home Sharing to Stream Music and Videos to iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch

Apple iOS 4.3 added iTunes Home Sharing to allows you to play your entire iTunes library on iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch over WiFi network, without having to download or sync. Here you will learn how to enable the Home Sharing feature on computer and iDevice to stream your multimedia content in the same network.

iTunes Home Sharing Requirements

You need the following in order to setup Home Sharing:

• Computer and iDevice need to be on the same network (wired or wireless)
• Installed iTunes 10.2 or later.
• iOS device updated to iOS 4.3 or later.
• iTunes or App Store account.

Setting up Home Sharing in iTunes on your computer

To stream your iTunes library to your iOS device, you will first need to enable Home Sharing on your computer.

1. Open iTunes on your computer
2. Choose Advanced > Turn On Home Sharing
3. Enter your Apple ID and password that you use for the iTunes Store, then click “Create Home Share”.
4. Done. Repeat the same on each computer you want to use for Home Sharing.

Tip: Be sure to use the same Apple ID and password on your computer(s) and iOS devices.

Setting up Home Sharing on iOS devices

Now, you have setup Home Sharing on your computer. Next, follow the following instructions to setup and use Home Sharing on your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

1. Goto Settings > iPod
2. Under “Home Sharing” section, enter the same Apple ID and password you entered on your computer(s) and tap the return button.
3. Done.

Playing Home Sharing Library on iOS devices

iPhone: tap on iPod > More… > Shared and select your shared library. (You can play your shared music and videos from within the iPod app.)

iPad: To watch shared videos on your iPad, tap on Videos > Shared and select a shared library. To listen to shared music on your iPad, tap on iPod > Library and select a shared library.

iPod touch: To watch shared videos on your iPod touch, tap Videos > Shared and select a shared library.
To listen to shared music on your iPod touch, tap Music > More… > Shared and select a shared library.

Enjoy!

My two cents

iTunes Home Sharing is a very convenient feature that you can stream your multimedia content in the same network. Example: you can lie on bed and play videos which stream from your computer in the study room.

Before this update, users need to sync files to their mobile devices, which take up a lot of storage space.

My only complaint is the limited file formats supported by iTunes. You need to convert your files to the format that’s accepted by iTunes in order to import it in to iTunes Library.

Tip: If you want to save the trouble to convert different video formats for iTunes, I recommend the iOS app named “Air Video“. It can stream video in almost any formatto your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Nice! (not free app, though)

[Source: Apple Support]