Comparison

VLC Remote Pro! vs vdrLive

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

VLC Remote Pro!

Control your VLC Media Player on your Mac or PC from your mobile device. Easily manage playback, volume, subtitles, and more, all from your couch. Offers a polished and professional user experience for enhanced media enjoyment.

Highlights
  • Remote control for VLC Media Player
  • Full playback and DVD controls
  • Volume, track, and subtitle management
  • Graphical equalizer and cover art display
  • Playlist viewing and playback
  • Today widget for quick access
Features
Read full description

VLC Remote® lets you remotely control your VLC Media Player on your Mac or PC. Awarded Gizmodo's “Essential iPhone App” three years running. Awarded T3's “Best iPhone Apps”. “The new VLC Remote app is simply stunning! It works a treat and it feels professional and powerful. Love it.” - Adam, London “The update for the iPhone version is *amazing* - it looks so polished - not that I had any complaints before.” - Rich • Features • — Easily control VLC from your sofa! — Today widget for even faster access to controls — Works with VLC on your Mac, PC or Linux machine — Automatically scans your local network for VLC players — Universal app fully supported for iPhone and iPad — Stop, Play and Pause — Full DVD controls — Control volume, position, next track and previous track — Turn fullscreen on and off — Use the graphical equaliser — See your cover art — Control subtitles, aspect ratio, audio track and delays — Use the picker control for fine control of volume and position — View the playlist and play files from it — Free setup helper quickly configures VLC for use with the remote VLC is a great, free and popular media player that can handle almost any file format. VLC Remote® lets you sit back enjoy your movies and music while you control things from your easy chair. It is a joy to use - no more reaching for the mouse when you want to pause your show, select the next episode, or play some different music. • Reviews • “Needless to say, we loved this app for everything it’s got.” -AppsTouch.com “Basically, if you use VLC and have an iPhone you will soon find that this is an essential app to enhance your home movie experience.” - T3.com “5/5 Simply put if you have an iPhone or iPod touch and use VLC on your computer then you need this app.” -AppCrunch “As far as I'm concerned, this is a necessary download! ... Works great, setup was super easy and I use this every day. MUST HAVE!!!” -US Reviewer • System Requirements • - Supports VLC on Windows, Mac and Linux - Free setup helper quickly configures VLC for use with the remote - Supports VLC 2.0 and above - Supports Windows, Vista, Windows 7 and Window 8 - Supports Mac OS 10.7 and above. • Response to feedback • -If you do have any problems connecting to VLC, then please just check the help instructions in the app. Feel free to drop me an email (my personal mail is in the app) if you need help. Enjoy! • Languages • VLC Remote is currently translated to 22 languages. If you are willing to translate it to your language, or would like to improve the translations, please head over to http://translate.HobbyistSoftware.com

About

vdrLive

Watch Live TV from your VDR installation on your iOS devices. Access channel lists, current program info, and EPG data. Control your VDR with a virtual remote.

Highlights
  • Live TV streaming
  • Channel lists and program info
  • EPG information
  • Virtual remote control
  • Automatic VDR network search
Features
Read full description

vdrLive connects your iPhone and iPad to your Video Disk Recorder (VDR) on the local network. Home screen • The channel you watched last with the current program; tap to tune in • Continue watching, on TV now, tonight and new recordings at a glance Live TV and radio • Watch all channels through the streamdev-server plugin, including MPEG-2, H.264 and HEVC, stereo and AC-3 • Swipe to change channels, see the current and next program • Choose audio track and subtitles, adjust deinterlacing and buffering • Mini player (iOS 26.1 or later): playback continues while you browse the guide or your recordings • Picture in picture: the video keeps playing in a floating window, even when you leave the app • Radio keeps playing in the background, with Lock Screen controls iPad and iPhone Duo • Home screen, recordings and timers in two columns: list and details side by side • Channel list next to the playing video • iPhone Duo: partially folded, video and controls sit side by side or one above the other; playback continues as you open and close it Program guide • Guide per channel and guide grid on iPad and the unfolded iPhone Duo • Full-text search in the loaded guide • Create timers with pre- and post-recording margins directly from program details • Programs that already have a timer are marked Timers and recordings • Create, edit, deactivate and delete timers • Timer conflicts and search timers when epgsearch is installed • Recordings in folders, resume where you left off • Rename, move and delete recordings, or play them on the TV connected to the VDR More • Remote control for the VDR • Channel logos as well as images and series details for programs and recordings when restfulapi and a scraper plugin are installed • Find VDRs on the local network, multiple servers • Demo mode with fictional channels to try the app without a VDR • Settings from vdrLive 2 are imported Requirements • VDR with SVDRP access for this device (svdrphosts.conf) • For playback: streamdev-server plugin with its HTTP server enabled; it must also allow this device (streamdevhosts.conf). Recordings require streamdev-server 0.6.1 or later • Optional: restfulapi (logos, images), scraper2vdr or tvscraper (images and series details), epgsearch (search timers, conflicts) • More › Settings › VDR Requirements shows which of these are met vdrLive Pro Without a purchase, each playback ends after 3 minutes; all other features can be used without restriction. The in-app purchase vdrLive Pro removes this limit permanently. A purchase from vdrLive 2 remains valid.

Screenshots

VLC Remote Pro!4 screens
vdrLive4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: VLC Remote Pro! at 85% against vdrLive's 33%. VLC Remote Pro! also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 2 months vs every 7 months). vdrLive's advantage is price (Free vs $19.99). On ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

vdrLive is free to download; VLC Remote Pro! costs $19.99 up front. vdrLive sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. VLC Remote Pro! asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

VLC Remote Pro! ships an update every 2 months, vdrLive every 7 months. Both last shipped on November 6, 2026.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
VLC Remote Pro! versus vdrLive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterVLC Remote Pro!vdrLive
Price$19.99Free — better
Rating4.8 (777 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews84.6% of reviews — better33.3% of reviews
Number of ratings777 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 7 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree — better
Best chart rank#68 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS12.1 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size39 MB53 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperHobbyist Software LimitedR&M SimplyTechnologies GmbH

Customer experience

VLC Remote Pro!

All ratings777 ratings
Positive96.9%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.5%
Written reviews423 reviews
Positive84.6%
Neutral5.4%
Negative9.9%

vdrLive

Written reviews21 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral14.3%
Negative52.4%

Bugs and requests

VLC Remote Pro!

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Fails to detect VLC on some computers
  • Loses saved remotes after updates
  • Slow response times when browsing large media libraries

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for more media player features
  • Improve file browsing and playlist management
  • Implement wireless audio streaming
  • Add Apple Watch support

vdrLive

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

VLC Remote Pro!

No in-app purchases

1 purchases

vdrLive

One-time1
  • vdrLive Pro$4.99

Questions

Is VLC Remote Pro! free?
VLC Remote Pro! costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is vdrLive free?
vdrLive is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do VLC Remote Pro! or vdrLive have ads?
Neither VLC Remote Pro! nor vdrLive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, VLC Remote Pro! or vdrLive?
VLC Remote Pro! ships an update every 2 months, and vdrLive every 7 months. Most recently, VLC Remote Pro! was updated on November 6, 2026 and vdrLive on November 6, 2026.

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