MPC – Remote is an app for Android to remote control your Media Player Classic (HomeCinema) player. Or even turn it into a media center with the help of HomeMedia!

Features:

• Basic controls like play, pause etc.
• Video controls like changing aspect ratio, subtitles
• Seek bar
• Volume bar
• Playing title
• Filemanager
• Widget
• Full list of features

Installation

System requirements on Android device:

• At least Android 2.3 (since MPC – Remote version 4.0)
• WiFi

System requirements on computer:

• Latest Media Player Classic version
• Network access (through e.g. WiFi, LAN)

Web Interface

Activate the web interface of Media Player Classic:

1. Open MPC
2. Open the settings of MPC (Select from the menu: View » Options…)
3. Find Player on the left and select Web Interface
4. Tick the Listen on Port checkbox to enable the web interface
5. Make sure Allow access from localhost only is not checked, otherwise, you cannot control your MPC from another device
6. Click OK

Test web interface

Optional tests (MPC must be running):

1. Test the connection locally: Enter http://localhost:13579 (be sure to replace 13579 with MPC’s port) in a browser on your computer
   • It is working: MPC’s web interface is up and running
   • It is not working: Check if MPC’s web interface is correctly enabled
2. Test the connection locally with IP: Enter http://[IP-ADDRESS]:13579 (replace 13579 with MPC’s port and [IP-ADDRESS] with the IP address of the PC where MPC is running) in a browser on your computer
   • It is working: MPC’s web interface can be accessed via the IP address of the computer
   • It is not working: Check if Allow access from localhost only is not checked
3. Test the connection remotely: Enter http://[IP-ADDRESS]:13579 (replace 13579 with MPC’s port and [IP-ADDRESS] with the IP address of the PC where MPC is running) in a browser on a different device
   • It is working: MPC’s web interface can be accessed remotely
   • It is not working: MPC or its port is blocked by a security program or router/modem

Adjust web interface

To display the current playing title and to update the seekbar (necessary for older versions of MPC or MPC – Remote):

1. Open MPC
2. Open the settings of MPC (Select from the menu: View » Options…)
3. Find Player on the left and select it
4. In the group Title bar select File Name only
5. Click OK

To change the port of MPC’s web interface:

1. Open MPC
2. Open the settings of MPC (Select from the menu: View » Options…)
3. Find Player on the left and select Web Interface
4. Find the text box next to the Listen on Port checkbox
5. Change the value of the text box
6. Click OK

MPC – Remote

Download and install the MPC – Remote app. There are two versions available: a free lite version and an ad-free pro version. The free version is available on Google Play, AndroidPIT and Amazon Appstore for Android.

Connection

Media Player Classic and the app communicate over the local network. Communications over 3G or 4G should also be possible.

Local network (WiFi)

Make sure no firewall is blocking Media Player Classic nor the port and no other program is already listening on that port.

If any port changes were made, you have to tell the app. Inside settings choose Media Player settings and you’re able to change the port.

For selecting a server are two ways available:

• Manually: Enter the IP address or PC name of your computer inside the field IP-Address
• Automatically: Click on Server Management. This triggers a search for running MPCs (with an enabled web interface) in the network. If your computer cannot be found, try again.

After selecting your pc you are ready to interact with MPC from your app.

3G or 4G

Connection over 3G or 4G should also work, but it hasn’t been tested.

Notice: You have to do port forwarding of the Media Player Classic port (by default: 13579 (TCP)). Furthermore, you need to set your external IP address inside the app since the automatic scan won’t work.

MPC – Remote PRO

The pro version of MPC – Remote includes the same features as the lite version. The only difference is that it is ad-free.

Usage

Notice: The blue finger tells you that you can swipe that area away to access more features. Just move your finger over this area from left to right or the other way around.

MPC – Remote automatically detects the version of your MPC media player and, thus, you don’t have to tell the app!

See a demonstration video on YouTube (version 0.8).

Remote control interface

The remote control interface is the first interface you see, when you enter MPC – Remote. The most used control operations are displayed right away: the play/pause, previous and next buttons and the seek bar to position the playback of MPC. The main area shows the DVD control and the time information of the currently playing file. You can also swap the DVD control with the preview to show the snapshot provided by MPC.

On the remote control interface designed for mobile phones, you can access the playlist by swiping away the main remote control interface.

To access more control operations, just slide out the list from the top of the screen (indicated by an arrow slider). By default, the list displays four buttons at most. You can change this appearance in the layout settings. Swipe inside this area to access more buttons.

The following table shows a list of controls which are available for MPC – Remote:

Playlist interface

On tablet screens, the playlist interface is displayed on the remote control interface as well. On mobile screens, you can access the playlist interface by swiping away the remote control interface.

The playlist is not received via the web interface of MPC, since it is not provided. Instead, an internal playlist is being used. You can fill up the playlist using the file manager or using the external app HomeMedia.

By pressing long on an element inside the playlist, you open up a context menu to perform additional actions:

You can switch the current playlist, by clicking the Load button, displayed at the top of the playlist. Make sure to save your playlists, so that you may access it in the next session. The internal playlist is saved across servers, which means that the playlist remains the same during switching servers. No playlists of MPC are being used!

The action bar holds buttons to search or to refresh the current playlist.

Pan & Scan control interface

The pan & scan control interface is being used to resize or move the currently playing video display.

To open the pan & scan interface control, select PnS from the expandable button list at the top.

A view with eight arrow buttons and a reset button (symbolized by the dot in the center) appears. Use the arrow buttons to move or resize the currently playing video display.

By pressing long on the reset button, you open up a context menu to switch the functionality:

Just try it out to see the effect!

Tip: In the center, you may find the Reset button (symbolized by the dot) to set all pan & scan values back to their default value.

Leave the pan & scan interface by pressing the back button of your Android device.

ALSO READ: 9 Google Hangout Easter Eggs and Tricks Every Hangout User Should Know.

Filemanager

Use the file manager to browse your computer’s files on your Android device, like using Windows Explorer. To browse a folder or open a file in MPC, just click on it.

Tip: Turn on the Back button browsing, in the settings, to move up a folder by pressing the back button of Android.

To switch to the file manager’s favorites, select Favorites from the drop down-menu in the action bar. To enable multiple selections of files and folders, hit the edit button (pen symbol) and select your desired files or folders. Choose Done to quit the multiple selection interface without doing anything or select your desired action.

Use the Style button in the action bar to switch between list style or symbolic view. To easily access the root of the file manager, choose the Root button from the action bar (down-arrow).

When you click on a file, MPC – Remote will play the file and add it to the current internal playlist.

By pressing long on a file or folder, you open up a context menu to perform additional actions:

Settings

Use the settings to adapt MPC – Remote to your needs and likes.

Click on First Steps to display the first steps to get help setting up the app.

At the bottom of the list of settings, you may find Help & Contact, which will open a list of help and information elements, such as the link to this user guide or the startup information displaying the changelog and version of the app.

Use the media player settings to change the settings for the current server (= computer running MPC) connection. Make sure to set up everything correctly, otherwise, the app can’t communicate with MPC’s web interface.

Click on Server Management to open a list of stored and available servers.

It’s easier to add a server within server management than to change every field inside this media player settings. Just make sure that the port is correctly set up, otherwise, the automatic scan (inside server management) won’t work!

The field (IP) address requires the IP address or computer name of the computer running MPC. The field port is the port for the MPC web interface.

You may enter a username and password, inside the media player settings or inside the advanced settings of the currently selected server. Make sure to enter the same username and password as you have set up in the web interface of MPC.

MPC – Remote also comes with a WOL – Wake On LAN – feature, since your computer might not be awake all the time. All you need to do is to make sure the MAC address displayed in the MAC address field is the correct MAC address of your computer. Otherwise MPC – Remote tries to wake up the wrong device. During an automatic scan, MPC – Remote acquires the MAC address, but you may also enter the MAC address manually. This should of course be done before you try to wake up the pc (unless you know the MAC address).

WOL, as its name indicates, tries to wake your computer over the network, which means you must enable this feature in BIOS to get it to work. There are a lot of tutorials on how to enable WOL.

If you check the WOL automatically checkbox, MPC – Remote will try to wake up the server every time you open up the main remote control interface of MPC – Remote. But you may also try to wake up your computer by clicking the Wake Up! button while it is sleeping.

Advanced Settings

Inside the advanced settings, you can set the update frequency, which means, how often the playback status of MPC is being updated. For example, by default, MPC – Remote requests the status (which file is playing, time/volume etc.) of MPC every five seconds.

You can change this delay inside the update status setting:

• Realtime: Update every second
• Every 5 seconds
• Every 10 seconds
• Every 30 seconds
• Every minute
• Only if needed (e.g. when the next file is playing or the playback is being paused)

Notice: The more often the status is updated, the more your battery will decrease.

With the display setting drop-down you may define what MPC – Remote should do, when the Android device enters an idle state (due to inactivity): perform the default behavior, just dim the screen, brighten the screen or leave the device and screen on.

The back button browsing will change the behavior of the filemanager: While pressing the back key of your Android device, MPC – Remote will browse the parent instead of going back to the remote control interface.

To start MPC remotely, the external app HomeMedia is required to be installed and set up correctly on your Android device.

If you check the start player automatically checkbox, MPC – Remote will try to start MPC every time you open up the main remote control interface of MPC – Remote. But you may also try to start MPC on your computer by clicking the Start Player button while it is not yet open.

Alternative Input Method

MPC – Remote provides, in addition to the default control buttons, alternative input methods.

The Phone Call Control comes into effect when your Android phone is behaving like a normal phone: By default, MPC – Remote pauses the playback when your phone is ringing and resumes the playback once your phone call ends. These settings can be changed, by selecting the state of the phone call (Ringing – Phone call accepted – Phone call ended) and choosing an action from the drop-down menu (change volume or change playback state).

Use the Touch Control to activate a gesture control feature of MPC – Remote. These touch gestures work only on the main area (which is holding the preview image) of the remote control interface. Otherwise, you won’t be able to scroll through the playlist!

Depending on your finger movement, you trigger different actions (assuming they are turned on in the settings):

• Move your finger up or down on the main area to increase or decrease the volume.
• Tap the main area to play or pause the playback of MPC.
• Swipe inside the main area to open the next or previous file in the playlist.

Notice: The next/previous gesture is only working on tablets! Mobile screens need this gesture to access the playlist.

The Shake Control is triggered, as the name intends when you shake your Android device. You may choose between playing a random file or the next file in the playlist or to just toggle between playing and pausing.

A cool feature is the Voice Control, which is also adaptive. Leave single command enabled to improve your battery life. If the single command is enabled, you’ll have to press the voice command button (inside the action bar) before saying a voice command. Is single command disabled, you just have to press voice command button only one time to activate the voice control. The recording and parsing of the audio for voice commands will be done in the background, but only as long as MPC – Remote is open.

Inside the command management, you may test the commands or set-up new commands: For example, you want to say Google to pause the playback. Use the test button to test voice commands. The tab commands lists all voice commands which are available and your alternative commands are added as well (e.g. the Google command will be listed below pause). You can even add alternative commands as numbers! Numbers are required to jump to a specific position in the playback (position [number] [number] [number] by default), jump a specific value forward/backwards in the playback (jump [number] [number] [number] by default) or to change the volume (volume [number] by default).

Since the voice commands are deleted on an update of MPC – Remote, you can export the list of commands to an external XML file. Later, you may import the previously stored XML file to MPC – Remote.

Just activate it in the settings and try it out!

Wave Control requires the external app Wave Control for parsing the input commands. This app uses the photosensor/light sensor of your Android device to detect movements without touching the phone. Basically, there are two different commands:

• Waving your hand one time over the sensor to play the next file
• Waving your hand two times (back and forth) over the sensor to play the previous file

You can find further information about this app by reading its description in Google play.

Layout Settings

Use the layout settings to change the layout of MPC – Remote.

Enable the fullscreen checkbox to force the application into fullscreen mode and thus, hide the notification bar of Android.

The swipe notification is the blue finger, which appears above swipeable areas. You can turn this notification off.

You may also force the orientation of MPC – Remote to display the app always in portrait, or landscape or to auto-rotate when you tilt your Android device.

By default, the expandable button list shows only four buttons at most. However, you can change this appearance by changing the value of the max buttons setting.

You may disable the preview image (snapshot of MPC) completely or change the frequency of reloading this image by adapting the preview refresh rate setting. The image scale type defines how the snapshot is displayed:

• Center: Center without scaling the image
• Center Crop (default): Center by scaling the image
• Center Inside: Center by scaling the image to fit completely inside the area
• Fit Center: Scale the image centered to fit in the area
• Fit End: Scale the image to fit in the area without centering
• Fit XY: Fill the image to fit in the area without aspect ratio

READ ALSO: 10 Must-have Photoviewer Alternatives for Windows 11.

Server Management

Use the server management to easily switch between stored and available servers and to add new ones. A server is a computer which is running MPC.

When you enter server management, MPC – Remote searches the local network for running MPCs by trying to access the web interface of MPC on the computer. Hit the refresh button to re-start the search for MPC in the local network. If you are using MPC – Remote via 3g/4g, you won’t find any servers by an automatic scan – you’ll have to add your server manually.

Notice: The Port (which you can find inside media player settings) is also the port used to find running MPCs by an automatic scan (done by MPC – Remote). You need to make sure that MPC – Remote has set up the same port as MPC’s web interface to find your computer during the automatic scan.

To add a server, click on the Add Server button and the Add Server dialog will pop up. Enter the IP address or pc name of your computer inside the address field and change the port, if applicable (click on Advanced Settings to show the field for the port). Click OK to save the server. You may also enter a username and password, inside the server’s advanced settings. Make sure to enter the same username and password as you have set-up in the web interface of MPC.

Tip: To store an automatically added server press long on the server, choose Edit from the context menu and then click the OK button.

When you click on a server, MPC – Remote will switch the server to your selected one.

By pressing long on a server, you open up a context menu to perform additional actions:

Notice: In the tablet design of MPC – Remote, you may test the connection to your server: Just click the test button on the right. If the line is green and goes all the way from the smart phone icon to the server icon, a connection was successful. Otherwise the line will be red and stop half way between the smart phone icon and the server icon.

Widget

MPC – Remote provides one widget, which displays the title of the currently playing file, a play-pause button to change the playback state and a next button to open the next file.