How can I connect my Denon AVR-1913 Audio Video Receiver to Windows 8.1 XBox Music App?

Question

I have a Denon Audio Video Receiver hooked up to my WiFi network.

I can "see" it from my Windows Phone, and from Windows Media Player. If I use the Denon controls, I can see my music collection on my laptop and can play files via DLNA.

Since the XBox Music App for Windows 8.1 is so kick-*ss, I'd love to be able to play files from it directly to the Denon, but the Denon does not appear in the Devices charm when accessed from XBox Music.

I do have the Denon AVR-1913 visible in the main Devices charm, it is recognized by Windows 8.1 however it is listed as "Not Windows Certified" - I believe this may be the cause of the issue.

Answer 1

Thanks to Root Access I was able to find the answer.

By default, Windows won't "Play To" any device that is not "Windows Certified".

Having said that, there is a pretty simply workaround that in my case worked flawlessly. I wanted to post the answer here to make it easy to find for future visitors.

Microsoft has posted the workaround on Microsoft Answers.

Essentially, you need to open the Registry Editor, either by using Windows Start Menu and searching for "registry editor", or by clicking WindowsKey+R and entering regedit.

Go to the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft key and add a key named PlayTo. Under this new key, add a 32-bit DWORD value named ShowNonCertifiedDevices and set the value to 0x01 (hexadecimal). Restart your computer, and voila, the device is now visible from the XBox Music App.

I'd like to give props to @allquixotic for helping me find the workaround document in the chat here.