Free YouTube remote app found in a hidden place!

If you like gadgets like I do you are probably connecting a computer of some sort to your television in order to watch YouTube videos, movies and music.  The thing is that in order to have some kind of remote control while you are sitting on your couch you traditionally need a wireless keyboard and mouse which you probably have as well.

However we are starting to see apps that can control specific applications using you iPhone or iPad.  Today we are going to talk about a remote for YouTube.  As the description would suggest a YouTube remote app will allow you to browse YouTube videos on your iDevice and then when you want to play a specific video you choose to display it on your television screen.  Perfect for the couch potato in me.

So I am using this YouTube remote free app called Clik.  It is an awesome app developed by a Canadian company no less.  So I demo it to a friend and tell him to go download it.  Where did it go?  The app is no longer available in the U.S. nor Canadian app store, but the website is still functional at http://www.clikthis.com/.  You just cannot download the app that goes along with it.  But triumph came through this disappointment.

So I did a thorough search to see what apps are available and there are a few of them out there, but you need to pay for them.  Feeling a bit frustrated I went back to using my regular apps for remote controlling my audio and visual experiences when I stumbled upon a hidden gem when I least expected it within the app called VLC remote.

VLC Video Player

The VLC remote is an iPhone (also Android) remote control application for the VLC player.  VLC Player is an awesome video player that I use all the time to play videos and dvd's on my computer.  It plays pretty much any video format you can think of, so if you do not have it for your computer you should download it now for free here for you computer.

Dowload the VLC player here: http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html

Now that you have the VLC Player we can get the iPhone remote app to control it.  There is one more thing you need to do to your computer first though.  Unlike the Clik app you need to install a server app to make the connection between the iPhone app and the computer video player on the network.  You can download it here and install it.

Download and install the free VLC helper here: http://hobbyistsoftware.com/vlc

VLC Remote app

Now that you have the proper computer application go ahead and download the iPhone app free as well here.

Download the VLC remote app: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/vlc-remote-free/id299344206?mt=8

Once you have the VLC player downloaded install it onto your computer.  After that go ahead and install the VLC helper application.  This is what you should see when you launch the helper computer application.

Find Your Computer Here

Once they have both been installed open up the VLC player on your computer.  You do not have to have a video playing just open the application.  Then open up the VLC remote app on your iDevice.  It will find your computer as long as it is on the same internal WiFi network as shown here.

Tap your computer description from within the app, as the example is circled in red, and the remote will display functions allowing you to play, fast forward rewind and adjust the volume of the movie or video you are watching using the VLC player.

The free version is a lite version and there are other functions available such as searching files from your computer to play and adjusting sound using an equalizer should you choose to pay for the full version.

YouTube icon

Two Play Buttons Displayed

If that was not awesome enough there is a little icon called YouTube shown on the screen.  So tap the YouTube icon and voila you can start searching video on you tube from within the app.  

There are two play buttons available as shown here.

In the center of the screen when the actual video is displayed you press play and the video will play on our iDevice screen.  Then there is a small grey play button found below the main screen.  Press that button and the video starts to play on your monitor or TV screen.

At the end of the day I think that the VLC remote app is superior to the Clik app since it is also a remote for the VLC player as well.  I must admit that I am disappointed though that Clik is not available anymore since it was so easy to make the connection between your device and the computer without the need to install a helper application.  Oh well maybe they will bring it back one day.

Have you found any other free YouTube remote apps I do not know about?