Everyone downloads movies, and music. And they all come in many different format.
In my books, VLC media player is the One Ring to rule them all. Its a highly portable media player for the many different audio and video formats out there that also works as a streaming server. You can get a copy for free via VideoLAN’s site (link).
VLC Remote by Hobbyist Software puts the control of VLC media player right into your iPhone or iPod touch. It’s time to sit back and enjoy watching those downloaded media right from the comfort of your lazy chair.
You will need VLC media player version 0.9.6 or later for it to work with VLC Remote. Don’t worry about the version number, it’s still not mature enough for version 1.0, but the software is as stable as concrete.
When launched, VLC Remote will detect your local network and show a cone icon next to the one with VLC media player running. You’ll see a cross next to the cone if VLC media player is running, but not configured properly. This is where the bulk of the configuration task begins.
There are two ways to configure VLC media player on the computer to work. The simplest method involves downloading a ‘setup helper’ and running it. When prompted by the installer, choose local network unless you have a good reason to open up your network to the world. The other not-so-simple-method is reserved for geeks only and involves changing some configuration files. All these instructions (for Mac, Linux and Windows) are properly documented at Hobbyist Software’s web site.
Once you have VLC media player configured correctly, VLC Remote should now display a cone minus the cross. From the list that appears, choose the computer with VLC media player that you want to control. If you run firewall software on your machines, VLC Remote would not be able to detect them. In my case, VLC Remote detected my router, Airport Express and itself but not the Mac or PC where VLC remote is running. I have to manually add in both Mac and PC by providing VLC Remote with each machine’s IP address.
VLC Remote comes in two flavours, full and free. The full version which I reviewed lets you browse and select files from your computer as well as managing playlists. You may also Favorite a particular folder so that VLC Remote always looks there for media files. If you fancy skinning up the interface of programs, then you’ll be happy to find that the full version supports skinning. Currently, there’s only one additional skin available for download and can be done so conveniently from within VLC Remote itself. For those gifted with graphical skills, you’ll be able to find some information on creating skins for VLC Remote.
If you took the free version, then you will only be able to do basic controls like stop, play, pause, next and volume. The free version is ad supported and does not support skinning.
VLC Remote works with VLC media player on the computer thru your wireless connection and constantly polls the latter for details to update its user interface. It’s okay to let the device go to sleep – VLC Remote immediately reconnects to VLC media player when you wake up the device. Cool!
During my review, I found the interface to be a little sluggish on some occassions – I can’t smoothly slide the volume controls as I wish. I installed the free version and found it to be as sluggish as well. Aside to that, choosing, playing and creating a playlist on my iPod touch is a breeze. The user interface (default skin) has been upgraded and is quite easy to the eyes.
For $0.99 VLC Remote does what its meant to be – while you are seated in the comfort of your lazy chair. I wished VLC media player could be have been configured more easily, instead of having to run a ‘setup helper’ or modifying files – let’s hope the later versions of VLC media player allows for easier configuration within the player itself.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 Taps
App Data
App Name: VLC Remote v2.0 | Developer: Hobbyist Software | Purchase via: iTunes App Store @ $0.99 | Released: November 17, 2008 | Reviewed on: iPod touch
App Name: VLC Remote Free v2.0 | Developer: Hobbyist Software | Download via: iTunes App Store for FREE | Released: December 05, 2008 | Reviewed on: iPod touch
