Like every modern family, a lot of television (read: anime) is consumed in my household.
I have my computer connected directly to the TV in the lounge, which is used as a secondary monitor. This makes it easy to watch any shows I have, using VLC media player.
I’m lazy, and don’t want to get out of my seat to click the Play Next button. So, I built a companion application.
Web VLC is a website that controls VLC on the host machine.
This means you can browse to the website on your phone and control VLC through a sexy interface.
It also has a bunch of features like:
Play Next button for binge watchingCheck the README.md of the project in case things have changed.
Have your computer hooked up to the screen you would like to watch your movie on. Connect your computer and your mobile devices to the same network. Looks something like this:
VLC must be configured to expose it’s web API.
To do this, check the following setting.
Tools > PreferencesShow settings, check AllInterface > Main interfacesweb checkboxInterface > Main interfaces > LuaLua HTTP > Password. (This password goes into the app configuration below)Savehttp://localhost:8080 to see if it workedEdit server/config.yaml with your defaults.
Ensure the vlc.command works in your console.
Copy the paths to your videos into files.locations.
Files must be organised like so:
Show Name
> Season x
> video_episode_xx.ext
Season folder may be omitted. The video name can be anything.
Install dependencies.
npm i
Edit server/config.yaml with your defaults.
Build everything and run in a single command, because you are lazy.
npm run complete
Navigate to the application at http://localhost:3000. Note your path may be different if you changed the config.
Get your computer’s IP address and navigate to that from your mobile.
Like all my projects, this is open source and bug reports / pull requests are greatly appreciated.
Enjoy!
If you enjoyed the content please consider leaving a comment, sharing or hiring me.
Cheers,
Michael