VLC Super Duper Remote
 | |
| Genres | media player remote control, VLC |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Android |
| Permissions | Record audio Prevent sleeping Network access Change Wi-Fi Wi-Fi state Network state Phone status Storage Protected storage |
| EULA | EULA |
| Privacy policy | Privacy policy |
| Available in | English German Finnish |
| Available at | Google Play AndroidPIT Amazon Appstore for Android |
| State | Published |
| Price | Free or fee-based |
VLC Super Duper Remote is an app for Android to remote control your VideoLAN Client player. Or even turn it inot a media center with the help of HomeMedia!
Features:
- Basic controls like play, pause etc.
- Video controls like change aspect ratio, subtitles
- Seek bar
- Volume bar
- Playing title
- Filemanager
- Widgets
- Full list of features
Contents |
Installation
System requirements on Android device:
- At least Android 2.3 (since VLC Super Duper Remote version 4.0)
- WiFi
System requirements on computer:
- Latest VideoLAN Client version
- Network access (through e.g. WiFi, LAN)
Web Interface
Activate the web interface of VideoLAN Client (as described in the documentation of VLC):
- Open VLC
- Click on Tools » Preferences
- Select Show settings » All in the bottom left corner
- Click on Interface » Main interfaces in the menu on the left
- Check the Lua interpreter and Web checkboxes (as seen in the screenshot on the right)
- Make sure the main interface (interface module) is still Default, otherwise you won't have a GUI for VLC any more
- Click on Lua interpreter in the menu on the left
- Enter http in the textbox labeled Lua interface
- Click Save
To control VLC from a different device and to have full control:
- Go to the installation directory of VLC (referred to as <DIRECTORY_of_VLC>)
- Either download our provided vlc.zip file [easy]:
- Open the zip file
- Copy the folder lua from the zip file into the directory of VLC
- Make sure that the file is replaced:
- The file may be hidden
- Replace .hosts inside of <DIRECTORY_of_VLC>/lua/http directory
- Or perform the changes manually [advanced]:
- Open the folder lua/http
- Open the file .hosts for editing (may be hidden)
- Find the section private addresses
- Uncomment (remove #-sign) the following lines (lines 14-19) (as seen in the screenshot on the right)
- Save the file
- Restart VLC to make sure that the changed configuration is loaded
For the web interface installation of VLC versions below 2.0, please see → Main article: Deprecated web interface installation
Test web interface
Optional tests (VLC must be running):
- Test the connection locally: Enter http://localhost:8080 (be sure to replace 8080 with VLC's port) in a browser on your computer
- It is working: VLC's web interface is up and running
- It is not working: Check if VLC's web interface is correctly enabled
- Test the connection locally with IP: Enter http://[IP-ADDRESS]:8080 (replace 8080 with VLC's port and [IP-ADDRESS] with the IP address of the PC where the service is running) in a browser on your computer
- It is working: VLC's web interface can be accessed via the IP address of the computer
- It is not working: Check if .hosts file has been changed correctly
- Test the connection remotely: Enter http://[IP-ADDRESS]:8080 (replace 8080 with VLC's port and [IP-ADDRESS] with the IP-address of the PC where the service is running) in a browser on a different device
- It is working: VLC's web interface can be accessed remotely
- It is not working: VLC or its port is blocked by a security program or router/modem
Adjust web interface
To connect to VLC via 3G or 4G, you have to make additional changes to the .hosts file:
- Go to the installation directory of VLC (referred to as <DIRECTORY_of_VLC>)
- Open the file .hosts, inside of <DIRECTORY_of_VLC>/lua/http directory, for edit (the file may be hidden)
- Either add your Android device's external IP address (while using 3G/4G) [easy]:
- Open a browser on your Android device
- Go to What Is My IP Address to detect the external IP address of the Android device
- Inside the .hosts file of VLC, enter that IP address of your Android device (e.g. 123.123.123.123)
- Or add your ISP's entire network (while using 3G/4G) [advanced]:
- Open a browser on your Android device
- Go to Hurricane Electric BGP Toolkit to detect the class of your Android device's external IP address (most likely it's class B)
- Inside the .hosts file of VLC, enter this network subnet (e.g. 123.123.0.0/16)
- Save the file (you may need administrator privileges to perform that operation)
- Restart VLC to make sure that the changed configuration is loaded
VLC Super Duper Remote
Download and install the VLC Super Duper 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.
Permissions
→ Main article: Permissions of VLC Super Duper Remote
Connection
VideoLAN Client media player 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 VideoLAN Client 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 VLCs (with enabled web interface) in the network. If your computer could not be found, try again.
After selecting your pc you are ready to interact with VLC from your app.
3G or 4G
Connection over 3G or 4G should also work, but didn't have been tested.
Notice: You have to do port forwarding of the VideoLAN Client port (by default: 8080 (TCP)). Furthermore you need to set your external IP address inside the app, since the automatic scan won't work.
Important: Please see Adjust web interface above, for the changes to the .hosts file necessary for a successful connection.
VLC Super Duper Remote PRO
The pro version of VLC Super Duper Remote include the same features as the lite version. The only difference is that it is ad-free.
VLC Super Duper Remote PRO is available for download on Google Play, AndroidPIT and Amazon Appstore for Android.
→ Main article: Feature comparison
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 round.
Remote control interface
The remote control interface is the first interface you see, when you enter VLC Super Duper 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 VLC. 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 image to show the album art provided by VLC. Discogs API is used to receive the album art of the currently playing title online, if not provided by VLC.
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 VLC Super Duper Remote:
| Label | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Play/Pause | Play or pause the playback. |
| Next | Open the next file. |
| Previous | Open the previous file. |
| Position | A seek bar is located above the main playback control buttons (play/pause, next and previous) and may be used to select the position of the current playback. |
| Volume | The volume button is located in the action bar. Press it to show the volume bar inside the action bar. Volume can also be changed using the hardware volume buttons of your Android device. To mute the volume, just click the speaker icon while the volume bar is showing. |
| Refresh | The refresh button is located in the action bar for tablet screens. Refresh the currently displayed playlist. |
| Search | The search button is located in the action bar for tablet screens. Search inside the currently displayed playlist. |
| Filemanager | The filemanager button is located in the action bar. Open the filemanager to browse your files. |
| Jump Back | Jump backwards in the current playback. |
| Jump | Jump forwards in the current playback. |
| Fullscreen | Toggle between showing VLC in fullscreen or normal size. |
| Ratio | Switch through the available aspect ratios of VLC. |
| Stop | Stop the current playback. |
| Shuffle | Randomly select a song from the playlist and play it. |
| Audio | Switch through the available audio tracks of the currently playing file. |
| Subtitle | Switch through the available subtitles of the currently playing file. |
| Image | Display the album art provided by VLC instead of the DVD control. |
| DVD | Display the DVD control for VLC instead of the album art provided by VLC. |
→ Main article: Explanation of buttons
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 received via the web interface of VLC. You can fill up the playlist using the filemanager 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:
| Label | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Open | Open the selected file in VLC. |
| Remove | Remove the selected file from the playlist. |
| Empty | Clear the playlist. |
You may save playlists on your Android device by pressing the Save button, displayed at the top of the playlist. Enter a name for the playlist and click OK.
Notice: If you enter the name of an existing playlist, you'll overwrite it.
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 playlists are saved across servers, which means that the playlist remains the same during switching servers.
The action bar holds buttons to search or to refresh the current playlist.
Filemanager
Use the filemanager to browse your computer's files on your Android device, like using Windows Explorer. To browse a folder or open a file in VLC, just click on it.
Tip: Turn on Back button browsing, in the settings, to move up a folder by pressing the back button of Android.
To switch to the filemanager's favorites, select Favorites from the drop down-menu in the action bar. To enable multiple selection 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 filemanager, choose the Root button from the action bar (down-arrow).
When you click on a file, VLC Super Duper Remote will play the file and add it to the current playlist.
By pressing long on a file or folder, you open up a context menu to perform additional actions:
| Label | Explanation | Folder | File |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open | Same performance as by clicking on the file/folder itself. | yes | yes |
| New playlist | Create a new internal playlist with this folder's files. | yes | no |
| Add to playlist | Add the file/folder's files to the current internal playlist. | yes | yes |
| Toggle Favorites | Mark a folder as favorite. The folder will be listed inside the filemanager's list of favorites. | yes | no |
HomeMedia
You can access your HomeMedia music collection via the external app HomeMedia.
→ Main article: HomeMedia
Settings
Use the settings to adapt VLC Super Duper 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.
Media Player Settings
Use the media player settings to change the settings for the current server (= computer running VLC) connection. Make sure to set up everything correctly, otherwise the app can't communicate with VLC'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 VLC. The field port is the port for the VLC web interface.
You may enter a user name and password, inside the media player settings or inside the advanced settings of the currently selected server. Make sure to enter the same user name and password as you have set-up in the web interface of VLC.
VLC Super Duper 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 VLC Super Duper Remote tries to wake up the wrong device. During an automatic scan, VLC Super Duper 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 work. There are a lots of tutorials on how to enable WOL.
→ Main article: Instructions for getting the MAC address on Windows
If you check the WOL automatically checkbox, VLC Super Duper Remote will try to wake up the server every time you open up the main remote control interface of VLC Super Duper 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 VLC is being updated. For example, by default, VLC Super Duper Remote requests the status (which file is playing, time/volume etc.) of VLC 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 VLC Super Duper 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, VLC Super Duper Remote will browse the parent instead of going back to the remote control interface.
To start VLC 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, VLC Super Duper Remote will try to start VLC every time you open up the main remote control interface of VLC Super Duper Remote. But you may also try to start VLC on your computer by clicking the Start Player button while it is not yet open.
Alternative Input Method
VLC Super Duper 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, VLC Super Duper Remote pauses the playback when your phone is ringing and resumes the playback once your phone call ended. 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 VLC Super Duper Remote. These touch gestures work only on the main area (which is holding the album art) 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 VLC.
- 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 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 VLC Super Duper 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 VLC Super Duper Remote, you can export the list of commands to an external XML file. Later, you may import the previously stored XML file to VLC Super Duper 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 VLC Super Duper 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 swipable areas. You can turn this notification off.
You may also force the orientation of VLC Super Duper Remote to display the app always in portrait, 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 album art completely. The image scale type defines how the album art 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
Change the appearance of the playlist in VLC Super Duper Remote by displaying or hiding the time of a file.
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 VLC.
When you enter server management, VLC Super Duper Remote searches the local network for running VLCs by trying to access the web interface of VLC on the computer. Hit the refresh button to re-start the search for VLC in the local network. If you are using VLC Super Duper 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 VLCs by an automatic scan (done by VLC Super Duper Remote). You need to make sure that VLC Super Duper Remote has set up the same port as VLC'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 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 user name and password, inside the server's advanced settings. Make sure to enter the same user name and password as you have set-up in the web interface of VLC.
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, VLC Super Duper 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:
| Label | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Select | Same performance as by clicking on the server itself. |
| Edit | Open the edit server-dialog to change the server's details (e.g. port or address). The edit server-dialog is similar to the add server-dialog, mentioned above. |
| Wake up! | Wake up the selected computer. Make sure that VLC Super Duper Remote stored the MAC-address of the computer to get waking up to work. |
| Wake all! | Wake up all displayed servers. Make sure that VLC Super Duper Remote stored the MAC-address of the computers to get waking up to work. |
| Delete | Remove the selected server from the list of servers. |
| Delete all | Remove all servers from the list of servers. |
Notice: In the tablet design of VLC Super Duper 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.
Widgets
VLC Super Duper Remote provides four widgets, which differ in size and display. Each widget displays either the current album art or the title being played and a play-pause button to change the playback state.
External Links
- VLC Super Duper Remote LITE on Google Play
- VLC Super Duper Remote LITE on AndroidPIT
- VLC Super Duper Remote LITE on Amazon Appstore for Android
- VLC Super Duper Remote PRO on Google Play
- VLC Super Duper Remote PRO on AndroidPIT
- VLC Super Duper Remote PRO on Amazon Appstore for Android
- Wave Control to use as alternative input method
- ActionBarSherlock to display an action bar on pre-ICS devices
- Discogs API to display album art, if not provided by VLC
