Final Tips

Get a decent adapter for your HTPC - Most who build an HTPC will stick to a certain budget and not necessarily focus on high performance products.  This is actually fine in most cases.  However, if you plan on taking full advantage of network capabilities such as this, you'll want a reliable Ethernet adapter.  A tip to note is that some of the most reliable adapters are actually quite affordable but targeted at a different kind of PC user.  For example, some gaming-grade adapters such as the Dlink DGL-3420 is an excellent choice.  Unlike most adapters, this one hooks up and is managed directly via an Ethernet cable instead of USB.  It is much more reliable and performs very well.

Configure your network properly - This is very important, as it will eliminate any file access issues that are not a result of the software featured in this article.  Before attempting to synchronize your files properly, you must ensure that you have the right access to the computers in question.

Don't forget about security - Synchronizing can be a nightmare for many.  There are quite a number of things that can go terribly wrong, resulting in the loss of data.  You want to ensure that you have the right file permissions configured individually on each PC to prevent any data loss.  Also, setting security properly is also important if you will have other people accessing either of the PC's you are synchronizing.  Keep that in mind as well and make sure you don't forget user rights as well.

Avoid the use of multiple applications for synchronizing - This is highly recommend and yes, this includes WMP as well.  Using different applications to sync your files can change files so significantly, that it may require quite a bit of time to get them all the way your originally wanted them.  For example, some software applications may either have a certain important feature disabled by default or not feature it at all, resulting in overwriting files you really don't want changed.  Find the best solution for you and stick to it.

Conclusions

Go beyond just sharing...

Properly synchronizing files between your main system and your HTPC can make the whole process of file sharing and management much more convenient and enjoyable.  The honest truth is that most either do not know or bother to take full advantage of their wireless setup in the first place.  It is obvious that those with an HTPC on their home network will prefer to use their main system for mostly all file related tasks, some of which will eventually reside in their HTPC.  Why not make things easier and much more reliable by taking advantage of wireless file synchronization between both? 

Like few applications such as Powerstrip and MyMovies, ViceVersa is one of those select few must-have applications for your HTPC.  This excellent software is highly recommended and offers you a wide range of control over all your media files.  More information can be found on their product page.

Taking full advantage of this feature does have one drawback though.  This guide was mainly targeted at the PC/HTPC Enthusiast that happens to have ample storage space on both computers for media sharing and playback.  It was written simply as an example of not having to rely heavily on your network connection for media access in general.  I hope that many may find this article of interest and always feel free to post in forums if you have any questions or something to contribute to it.

Questions?  Comments?  Discuss them here...