In this tutorial, we will explain how to make it easy streaming music
and video from a PC or laptop to an Android device (smartphones,
tablets, etc.) over a wireless network. We have previously done a
tutorial for streaming videos from PC to iOS devices, you can check it
here.
We will use under Ubuntu or Linux Mint (13.04/12.10/12.04, Mint 14/13 or older) the
VLC Media Player, and in the Android device we will use
VLC Direct Pro
which allows to stream media contents from your computer to Android, it
can be also used to control your VLC media player remotely.
Getting Started
1. Installing VLC Media Player & Configuration (Ubuntu/Linux Mint)
Let's first install the
non-free-codecs package under
Ubuntu/Linux Mint to be able to play media files on your Android device.
To do this, open the terminal and issue these commands:
sudo -E wget --output-document=/etc/apt/sources.list.d/medibuntu.list
http://www.medibuntu.org/sources.list.d/$(lsb_release -cs).list
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get -y --allow-unauthenticated install medibuntu-keyring
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install non-free-codecs
Install now VLC Media Player with these commands:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:videolan/stable-daily
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vlc
Start VLC and enable the web interface by opening
View >>
Add interface >>
Web:
Minimize the VLC window, then check your IP address of your wireless
(wifi) internet connection in the network manager, or run simply this
command from the terminal:
ifconfig wlan | grep inet
Your wireless IP address will be listed after "
inet addr":
This IP address will be used later with VLC Direct Pro on your Android-based device.
2. Installing VLC Direct Pro Free & Configuration (Android)
Search 'VLC Direct Pro Free' in Play Store and install it:
Launch the app now and in the setup wizard, don't tap "Next", just tap the "
menu" button on your Android device and select
Settings:
Tap now "
Manual Configuration":
Tap "
VLC Host":
Enter now the IP address of the wireless internet connection of your computer/laptop as explained above:
Leave VLC web interface port as is (8080).
Move back to the 'Preferences' menu and tap "
Automatic Connection Wizard":
Tap "
Start":
The app will now scan your computer or laptop to see if VLC Media Player is running. Once detected, tap the
Target icon (top left corner) and change it to Android, then tap the
Computer icon and browse your computer/laptop hard drive to locate the folder containing your media files to play them:
Your audio/video file will be now streamed to your Android device:
Enjoy!
