Control-VLC-player-from-an-iOS-or-Android-Device

VLC Media Player is capable of playing multiple media file formats. It is one of the most widely used media players because of it’s versatility. If you’re using VLC player to play music or video on a remote computer in your network, it’s easy to use your iOS or Android device to control the playback.

Sybu Remote Control for VLC is an app that pairs with a VLC player installation to remotely control playback. For example, you can load up a file either from the PC or directly from the iOS or Android device, then control the volume from the app. Stop the video or music at any time or skip to another media file with just a tap.

Setup first requires changing some basic VLC player settings before pairing Sybu with VLC player. Lets look at how its done.

Configuring VLC Media Player for Remote Access

VLC player first needs to be set up correctly to allow incoming connections to control it’s interface.

Download VLC player if you haven’t already.

Open VLC player and go to “Tools > Preferences” from the toolbar.

Open-VLC-player-preferences

Under the “Playlist and Instances” section, place a check in the box for the “Allow only one instance” setting.

Allow-only-one-instance-of-VLC-player

Choose to show “All” settings near the bottom left of the preferences page. Select “Interface > Main Interface” from the sidebar.

Show-main-interface-settings-for-VLC-player

Enable the “Web” interface module from the right pane.

Enable-the-web-interface-module-for-VLC-player

Now select “Interface > Main Interface > Lua” from the left sidebar and enter a password next to the password field under the “Lua HTTP” section.

Enable-a-password-for-VLC-player-lua-interface

Exit VLC player and reopen to apply the changes.

Note: You may be confronted with a Windows or some other Firewall prompt. Allow VLC player through the firewall.

Connect to VLC Player With Sybu Remote Control

The app that uses the web configuration we’ve changed above is called Sybu Remote Control for VLC. If you’re using Android, a similar app called Remote for VLC can be found here.

Download the Sybu Remote Control for VLC app for iOS from iTunes. The app works for both iPhone and iPad.

Choose the small icon to the top right to open the settings page. Then select “Add Host” to add the PC that VLC player is running on.

This page is also available for adding unique skins for the remote.

Add-a-new-host-for-Sybu-Remote-Control-for-VLC-in-iOS

Enter the hostname or IP address of the PC. Once the app finds VLC player, it will ask for the password you set up earlier.

Connect-to-VLC-player-remotely-with-Sybu-Remote-Control-VLC-for-iOS

Now that the app is connected to VLC player, volume can be controlled with the center knob. Scroll the wheel in a left to right motion to increase or decrease the volume. The small volume controls to the bottom right and left fine tine the volume by one degree up or down.

The option just opposite of the arrow is for full screen mode. Select this when a file is playing to toggle VLC player in and out of full screen mode.

The option that’s pointed on in the arrow below is how you select media files using the device itself to be played in VLC player. Choose “Add Source” to find a local folder to be used as a source folder for media files.

Add-media-sources-to-VLC-player-under-Sybu-Remote-Control-for-VLC-in-iOS

Tap the blue arrow next to any media folder to add it to a favorites list. These folders will appear in the “Sources” tab for easy access later.

Add-media-sources-to-VLC-player-under-Sybu-Remote-Control-for-VLC-in-iOS

Conclusion

If you plug a laptop into a TV for displaying VLC player to an entire room, a remote is a must. Although you can’t control the PC mouse with this app, having direct access to media files and volume control is wonderful when you’re using VLC player at a distance.

Download Sybu Remote Control for VLC for iOS