There are various options to control VLC from the iPhone. These broadly break down between methods that require a separate application to run alongside VLC and applications that communicate directly with VLC using the http interface. For getting such applications visit this website.

Options that communicate directly with VLC

Epsilon.videolan.org; Used to be. Mac Intel Developer Preview machine Also a nightly build machine for Mac OS X Intel. 2Ghz DC, 1GB RAM Primary Mac OS X Intel development machine. Hosts the nightly build client for the OSX Intel platform. Hosted by TheDJ. Some server pictures can be found on. VLC is a free and open source cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files as well as DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols.

• It is possible to use the http interface directly from Safari although is is somewhat cumbersome as it isn't designed for such a small screen.
• VLC Mobile Remote is a free application available on App Store to control VLC from iPhone, iPod & iPad devices. VLC Mobile Remote has an inbuilt guide to easily setup VLC and 'Auto Connection' feature in the app detects & connects to VLC without requiring to install additional helper application on Windows, Mac or Linux computers. Find more info about VLC Mobile Remote app on their website.

• Hobbyist Software have produced two native applications which allow control of VLC from within a normal iPhone app. They also provide setup helper applications for Windows and Mac OS which simplify the process of enabling the http interface in VLC.
  • VLC Remote Free allows control of basic functions like play, pause, stop, volume, etc
  • VLC Remote is a paid version which additionally allows selecting of files and playlist management as well as more advanced features like aspect ratio, subtitles, audio delays, etc

• Flvorful Games has produced a free native application called Velcro which allows control of VLC from within a normal iPhone app. They provide instructions for Windows and Mac OS which simplify the process of setting up VLC.

Options that communicate via an intermediate connection

• Intelliremote is a free iPhone client for Intelliremote's PC Server (produced by Melloware). It requires the PC client to be running on the same Windows PC as VLC.
• EventGhost is a paid iPhone client for the Event Ghost open source home automation server for Windows. (The iPhone client is also produced by Melloware). It requires the PC client to be running on the same Windows PC as VLC.
• RedTouch is a paid iPhone client for an ethernet-connected infrared transceiver produced by IRTrans

VLC is one of the most popular video apps because it will play just about any format you throw at it. Fans will be pleased to hear that VLC 4 will bring a more modern look to the app in the coming months.

The team behind it is also considering the possibility of adopting a Plex-style business model to secure the future of the app, and is planning a moonshot – literally …

Protocol has a piece looking at both the past and future of VLC, opening with the history of the app.

The student staff running the campus network of the École Centrale Paris had a problem. The university’s Token Ring network had become much too slow for students living on campus. For years, the technology had done its job, offering access to email and newsgroups. But by the mid-’90s, students wanted more. They wanted to download files, browse the web and most of all play Duke Nukem 3D, which was impossible on the ageing network architecture.

However, the university wasn’t able to provide a network update. In desperate need for an outside sponsor, the students struck a deal with a big French broadcaster, which wanted to use the campus grounds as a testbed for an early version of IP-based TV delivery. The idea: Instead of equipping each dorm room with its own satellite dish and set-top box, students would find a way to stream TV signals over their local network.

“The goal of the project was to show that you could resend the satellite feed and decode [it] on normal machines, which would cost a lot less,” said VideoLAN foundation President Jean-Baptiste Kempf. To achieve this, students developed a video server and a playback app, at the time called VideoLAN Client. The project got passed down as students graduated, and eventually, the team behind it decided to open-source it.

It was the Mac that led to the first significant uptick in use.

Weeks after VLC got released as open source in 2001, a developer in the Netherlands ported it to MacOS, causing the first real usage spike. Apple’s initial versions of OS X didn’t come with a built-in DVD player app, and early adopters of the new system flocked to VLC as a replacement.

Popular as VLC remains, it isn’t exactly noted for a pretty or modern user interface. But VideoLAN foundation president Jean-Baptiste Kempf says that is about to change.

Twenty years after its first open-source release, the app is as popular as ever, clocking between 800,000 and 1 million downloads every day. In addition to the desktop versions, there are now also official VLC apps for iOS, Android, Apple TV, Android TV and Chrome OS, among others. And in the coming months, VideoLAN will release VLC 4.0, which will feature a revamped UI. “We modified the interface to be a bit more modern,” Kempf said.

The team has always turned down offers to commercialize the app, but is now considering one possible route of securing the future of VLC.

Kempf pointed to Plex and its ad-supported video services as one model to learn from. “That is something that could work for VLC,” he said.

Oh, and that moonshot…

Videolan also has plans to celebrate its twentieth birthday this year, starting with a literal moonshot: The team wants to put a video time capsule aboard the first commercial lunar spaceflight later this year, and is currently asking VLC users to submit their own videos. “There are a lot of people in the VideoLAN community who actually love space,” Kempf said. “We have SpaceX fans, die-hard fanboys” […] “The moon thing is absolutely, completely idiotic, but it’s so much fun.”

There’s no word yet on the release date for VLC 4, but watch this space.

Photo by Redrecords from Pexels

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