The VLC Media Player has been one of the most well-known software for watching videos on PC and Mac. It supports a massive range of audio and video file formats, which has made it an absolute necessity have on each PC and Mac. You also get a lot of stunning multimedia features and functions by paying nothing, which makes it a steal. Out of the many cool features, VLC gives the capability to remotely control it from an Android or iOS gadget. So, if you have an iPhone or an Android smartphone, you can utilize it as a remote control for VLC on your PC or Mac. This ought to come in handy when you are viewing a movie with a group of people and you would prefer not to get up to lower the volume or skip ahead. So, let’s check out how you can utilize your Android or iOS to remote control VLC running on PC or Mac:

Note:  We tested out the process utilizing a Windows PC and an Android smartphone but the process should be the same if you are utilizing a Mac or an iOS device. 

Requirements

• A Windows or macOS system with the latest version of VLC installed.
• An Android or iOS device
• Acommon WiFi network to which both your computer and your Android/iOS device are connected.
• VLC Mobile Remote app (Android) (iOS)

Getting VLC Media Player ready on PC or Mac

• Before starting the process, you have to ensure that you are running the latest version of VLC installed. You can check that by clicking on “Help“from the menu bar of VLC and selecting the“About”option.

• The next step is to configure VLC, so that you can control it from Android or iOS. For this, you have to go to the “Tools“menu and click on the “Preferences“option. You can also use the Ctrl+P shortcutto do the same.

• In the “Preferences” window, simply click on the “All” button from the “show settings” group in the lower left corner of the window.

• Now, in the scrollable list on the left side, click on the “Main interfaces” option under the “Interface” group. Here, you will have to enable the checkbox beside the “Web”option.

• Now, you have to expand the “Main interfaces” option under the “Interface” group and click on the “Lua“option. Here, you have toset a passwordfor your portal between the computer and the phone. Once you are done with that, click on the “Save” button and close VLC.

• Now, open the player again and it will ask you permissions to allow access to Windows Firewall. You have to click on the “Allow Access” button and you are done configuring VLC on your computer.

Controlling VLC from Android

• As mentioned in the requirements, we will be using the VLC Mobile Remote app(Free with in-app purchases).

• When you open the app, you will have to configure it by putting in theIP Addressof your PC and the password that you set as VLC’s Lua password before. Make sure that you put the Lua Telnet port number in the Port number box here. If the IP Address and the password match with that of your PC, it will notify you with a push notification.

• Once you are done with the configuration, you have to tap on the name of your computer. It will show you a page, where all the drives of your computer are listed alphabetically. Here,tap on the desired drive and select a video file of your choice. You will see the video playing automatically on VLC on your PC.

• Then, you will be able tocontrol various functions of VLCfrom your phone’s screen like playback, video subtitles, toggle fullscreen, screen ratio settings and so on.

Controlling VLC from iPhone or iPad

• The VLC Mobile Remote app is also available for free on the App Store. You can download it on any iOS device (Free in-app purchases).
• Just like the Android counterpart, you have to fill in the IP Addressand the passwordthat you set as VLC’s Lua password in the app. Ensure that you put the Lua Telnet port number in the Port number box here. If the IP Address and the password match with that of your computer, you will be notified with a push notification.

• Once you are done with that, you have totap on the name of your computer. It will show you a page, where all the drives of your computer are listed alphabetically. Simplytap on the desired drive and select a video file of your choice. You will see the video playing automatically on your computer.

• Now, you can control VLC from your iPhone or iPad. You getoptions likecontrolling the playback, choosing subtitle languages, toggling to fullscreen, selecting your desired screen ratio settings and so on.

Note: The app on both the platforms has in-app purchases for unlocking certain premium features like quit VLC Media player directly from the app, set a folder as ‘Home location’, use it as a YouTube remote and many more.

Bonus: Stream content from Android to VLC on PC or Mac

You can’t only control VLC on your Mac or PC from an Android gadget however you can even stream content from your cell phone to VLC. Well, you can do that with the VLC Direct application (Free with in-app purchases).

Firstly, you should connect the VLC Direct app with the VLC Media Player running on Windows or macOS. The process is the same as above. When you have done that, you can stream your phone’s content effortlessly. For this, you need to ensure that your target is set to VLC, as appeared in the screenshot below. Then, you just need to tap on the desired media file on your phone to see it running on your PC screen.

The VLC Direct application also lets you utilize your smartphone as a remote to control VLC. You can control the VLC Player on your computer or Mac with its DVD Control choice. The remote has a very basic interface but the application is littered with advertisements in the free version.

Try the VLC Direct application if you are ready to deal with an astounding application that has a messed up interface. There’s a choice to get rid of the advertisements by purchasing the full version via its complicated star based purchase system.

Control VLC on Mac/PC from an Android or iOS device

Well, those were the ways through which you can use your Android or iOS device to control VLC on your Windows PC or Mac. There are many other apps that bring similar functionality but they are complicated and feature dated UIs.