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How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC

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  How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-06-27 18:51 -0600
    Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 <jmj@energokod.gda.pl> - 2026-06-28 04:22 +0200
      Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-06-27 22:56 -0600
    Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 <jmj@energokod.gda.pl> - 2026-06-28 07:25 +0200
      Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC DOMAIN INFO <invalid@invalid.invalid> - 2026-06-28 06:37 +0100
        Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 <jmj@energokod.gda.pl> - 2026-06-28 08:01 +0200
          Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 <jmj@energokod.gda.pl> - 2026-06-28 08:25 +0200
            Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-06-30 21:31 -0400
    Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC Stack Ghost <stackghost@correct.opinions> - 2026-06-30 21:19 -0700
      Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC Your Name <YourName@YourISP.com> - 2026-07-01 16:48 +1200
        Re: How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com> - 2026-07-01 20:29 -0400

#146424 — How to transfer & play videos from a PC to an iPad using LocalSend and VLC

There were a half dozen false starts which are outlined over here:
 Newsgroups: misc.phone.mobile.iphone,comp.mobile.ipad,comp.sys.mac.advocacy
 Subject: How to make iOS work in the real world to copy over Wi-Fi & play video from desktop to iPad
 Date: Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:19:10 -0600
 Message-ID: <111pp9s$33j15$1@paganini.bofh.team>
 
But this is the sequence that worked for transferring large MP4 files and
srt files over from a desktop to an iPad over Wi-Fi to play movies in VLC.

Friends are going on a summer vacation with toddlers who normally watch
Netflix, so I am lending them a spare iPad loaded with movies for the kids.

As all are aware, Apple does not interoperate well with Windows, Linux, or
Android but LocalSend fixes that problem since it works on all platforms.

Two apps that work across platforms to copy large videos over Wi-Fi are:
  LocalSend (file transfer)  https://localsend.org/
  VLC (video player)         https://www.videolan.org/vlc/

I am transferring a directory of large MP4 files and matching SRT subtitle
files over Wi-Fi. LocalSend is used because VLC's own Wi-Fi transfer is
flaky with large files, while LocalSend is fast and robust for all files.

Why LocalSend is better than USB on Windows:
  No insecure Apple drivers
  No iTunes bloatware
  No MTP mode
  No DCIM folder restrictions
  No "trust computer" weirdness
  No Apple app-folder visibility issues
  Works with any file type
  Transfers are fast (50-150 MB/s on Wi-Fi 6)

Start with all devices on the same LAN, connected only over Wi-Fi. 
A folder named "vacation" on the desktop contains 10 MP4 & SRT files.

1. Install the required apps
   a. On the iPad, install LocalSend <https://localsend.org/download>
   b. On the desktop, install LocalSend <https://localsend.org/download>
   c. On the iPad, install VLC <https://www.videolan.org/vlc/>

2. Connect LocalSend
   a. Open LocalSend on the iPad and leave it open so it is discoverable.
   b. Open LocalSend on the PC so it can discover the iPad.

3. Send the videos from the desktop to the iPad
   a. On the desktop, click "Send" in LocalSend.
   b. Drag the entire "vacation" folder into the LocalSend window.
   c. Select the iPad from the device list.
   d. On the iPad, tap "Accept".
   e. Wait for the transfer to finish (10 videos took me ~30 minutes).

4. Locate the transferred files on the iPad
   a. Open the native iOS Files app.
   b. Navigate to: On My iPad > LocalSend.
   c. You should now see the "vacation" folder.

   Note LocalSend saves files into a location iOS treats as "external".
   This disables "Move" & hides "Save to Files" for MP4/SRT combinations.

5. Copy the MP4 & SRT files into VLC's folder 
   a. In Files, open: On My iPad > LocalSend > vacation.
   b. Tap "Select" (top right).
   c. Select one MP4 file (or select all files).
   d. Tap the folder icon (top right).
   e. In the row of destination folders, tap the folder labeled "VLC".
   f. Tap the blue "Move" button (top right).
   g. Repeat if needed until all MP4 and SRT files are in:
        On My iPad > VLC

   This bypasses the astoundingly restrictive Apple Share Sheet entirely. 
   It is the reliable way to move MP4 and SRT files into VLC's sandbox.

6. Find the files inside VLC
   a. Open VLC on the iPad.
   b. Oddly, the video/subtitle files will appear in three places:
        Videos       = VLC's media library (indexed MP4 files)
        Local Files  = VLC's internal file browser
        Browse       = actual iOS filesystem (On My iPad > VLC)
   c. VLC will automatically pair videos with matching subtitle files.

In summary, this is one way to transfer large MP4 and associated SRT files
from the desktop to an iPad over Wi-Fi without iTunes, without USB, without
too many Apple restrictions & without relying on VLC's flaky Wi-Fi upload.

As always, if you find where I err or omit, please add value where needed.
The goal is perfect interoperability between platforms, for free, w/o ads.
-- 
Usenet is where kind people daily gather to voluntarily help others.

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#146425

W dniu 28.06.2026 o 02:51, Maria Sophia pisze:
> Why LocalSend is better than USB on Windows:
>    No insecure Apple drivers

Why is that less secure than this:

> 1. Install the required apps
>    a. On the iPad, install LocalSend <https://localsend.org/download>
>    b. On the desktop, install LocalSend <https://localsend.org/download>
>    c. On the iPad, install VLC <https://www.videolan.org/vlc/>

To my mind use <https://localsend.org> make "secret debt" to end user. 
The same is true for VLC: Personally I use VLC on PC and on mobile, but 
my mind and my conscience involve to make donation. So it will be wise 
to recode the videos to iPod native format in order to use build in 
video player.

So: In order to avoid framing your readers, you should advice they:
<https://localsend.org/pl/donate>
<https://www.videolan.org/contribute.html>

-- 
Z totaliztycznym salutem!
Jacek Marcin Jaworski,  Pruszcz Gd., woj. Pomorskie, Polska 🇵🇱, UE 🇪🇺;
tel.: +48-609-170-742,   najlepiej w godz.: 5:00-5:55 lub 16:00-17:25;
<jmj@energokod.gda.pl>, gpg: 4A541AA7A6E872318B85D7F6A651CC39244B0BFA;
Domowa s. WWW:                             <https://energokod.gda.pl>;
Mini Netykieta:         <https://energokod.gda.pl/MiniNetykieta.html>;
Mailowa Samoobrona:             <https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/pl>.
UWAGA:
NIE ZACIĄGAJ "UKRYTEGO DŁUGU"! PŁAĆ ZA PROG. FOSS I INFO. INTERNETOWE!
CZYTAJ DARMOWY: "17. Raport Totaliztyczny - Patroni Kontra Bankierzy":
<https://energokod.gda.pl/raporty-totaliztyczne/17.%20Patroni%20Kontra%20Bankierzy.pdf>

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#146426

Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇱 wrote:
> W dniu 28.06.2026 o 02:51, Maria Sophia pisze:
>> Why LocalSend is better than USB on Windows:
>>    No insecure Apple drivers
> 
> Why is that less secure than this:
> 
>> 1. Install the required apps
>>    a. On the iPad, install LocalSend <https://localsend.org/download>
>>    b. On the desktop, install LocalSend <https://localsend.org/download>
>>    c. On the iPad, install VLC <https://www.videolan.org/vlc/>
> 
> To my mind use <https://localsend.org> make "secret debt" to end user. 
> The same is true for VLC: Personally I use VLC on PC and on mobile, but 
> my mind and my conscience involve to make donation. So it will be wise 
> to recode the videos to iPod native format in order to use build in 
> video player.
> 
> So: In order to avoid framing your readers, you should advice they:
> <https://localsend.org/pl/donate>
> <https://www.videolan.org/contribute.html>


Thanks for the thoughts. 
A few clarifications so readers don't get the wrong impression:

1. "Insecure Apple drivers" vs. LocalSend  
The point wasn't that he open source LocalSend is perfectly secure and
[proprietary Apple drivers are perfectly insecure.

The point was practical, which is that on Windows, Apple's USB stack is
notoriously brittle, requires iTunes components, and often breaks MTP
access. There is a long sordid history of vulnerabilities in all the Apple
software on Windows, likely because it's not a core Apple competency.

Given Apple doesn't test their own Windows software, LocalSend avoids that
entire class of problems by using standard LAN transfer with no drivers.

It's not a security comparison so much as a reliability and usability
comparison.

2. "Secret debt" and donations  

LocalSend and VLC are open-source projects under permissive licenses.
They don't impose obligations, hidden or otherwise.

People are of course welcome to donate - and I agree it's good to support
open-source,  but that's a separate ethical choice, not a technical
requirement for using the tools.

3. Re-encoding to iPad-native format  
Re-encoding is fine if someone wants to, but it's unnecessary here.

VLC handles MP4 + SRT natively, and the whole point of the guide is to
avoid extra steps, extra time, and extra quality loss.

My goal was simply to document a workflow that reliably moves large MP4/SRT
files to an iPad without iTunes, without USB and without fighting Apple's
restrictions. If you or others have improvements to the workflow itself,
I'm always happy to incorporate them.	 

Thanks for the concerns. I hope I have addressed them to your satisfaction.

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#146427

NOTE: Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com>, quote:

> The domain name
> comprehension.com
> is for sale!

, source: 
<https://www.afternic.com/forsale/comprehension.com?traffic_type=TDFS_DASLNC&traffic_id=daslnc&>

, so: Did you miss renew your domain subscription?

-- 
Z totaliztycznym salutem!
Jacek Marcin Jaworski,  Pruszcz Gd., woj. Pomorskie, Polska 🇵🇱, UE 🇪🇺;
tel.: +48-609-170-742,   najlepiej w godz.: 5:00-5:55 lub 16:00-17:25;
<jmj@energokod.gda.pl>, gpg: 4A541AA7A6E872318B85D7F6A651CC39244B0BFA;
Domowa s. WWW:                             <https://energokod.gda.pl>;
Mini Netykieta:         <https://energokod.gda.pl/MiniNetykieta.html>;
Mailowa Samoobrona:             <https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/pl>.
UWAGA:
NIE ZACIĄGAJ "UKRYTEGO DŁUGU"! PŁAĆ ZA PROG. FOSS I INFO. INTERNETOWE!
CZYTAJ DARMOWY: "17. Raport Totaliztyczny - Patroni Kontra Bankierzy":
<https://energokod.gda.pl/raporty-totaliztyczne/17.%20Patroni%20Kontra%20Bankierzy.pdf>

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#146428

On 28/06/2026 06:25, 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 wrote:
> NOTE: Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com>, quote:
> 
>> The domain name
>> comprehension.com
>> is for sale!
> 
> , source: 
> <https://www.afternic.com/forsale/comprehension.com?traffic_type=TDFS_DASLNC&traffic_id=daslnc&>
> 
> , so: Did you miss renew your domain subscription?
> 


IT EXPIRES IN 2030.

Domain Name: COMPREHENSION.COM
    Registry Domain ID: 84863020_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
    Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
    Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
    Updated Date: 2026-06-03T09:55:58Z
    Creation Date: 2002-03-26T01:04:56Z
    Registry Expiry Date: 2030-03-26T00:04:56Z
    Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
    Registrar IANA ID: 146
    Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@godaddy.com
    Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: 480-624-2505
    Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited 
https://icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
    Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited 
https://icann.org/epp#clientRenewProhibited
    Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited 
https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
    Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited 
https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
    Name Server: NS1.AFTERNIC.COM
    Name Server: NS2.AFTERNIC.COM
    DNSSEC: unsigned
    URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form: 
https://www.icann.org/wicf/

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#146429

W dniu 28.06.2026 o 07:37, DOMAIN INFO pisze:
> On 28/06/2026 06:25, 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 wrote:
>> NOTE: Maria Sophia <mariasophia@comprehension.com>, quote:
>>
>>> The domain name
>>> comprehension.com
>>> is for sale!
>>
>> , source:
>> <https://www.afternic.com/forsale/comprehension.com?traffic_type=TDFS_DASLNC&traffic_id=daslnc&>
>>
>> , so: Did you miss renew your domain subscription?
>>
> 
> 
> IT EXPIRES IN 2030.
> 
> Domain Name: COMPREHENSION.COM
>      Registry Domain ID: 84863020_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
>      Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
>      Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
>      Updated Date: 2026-06-03T09:55:58Z
>      Creation Date: 2002-03-26T01:04:56Z
>      Registry Expiry Date: 2030-03-26T00:04:56Z
>      Registrar: GoDaddy.com, LLC
>      Registrar IANA ID: 146
>      Registrar Abuse Contact Email: abuse@godaddy.com
>      Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: 480-624-2505
>      Domain Status: clientDeleteProhibited
> https://icann.org/epp#clientDeleteProhibited
>      Domain Status: clientRenewProhibited
> https://icann.org/epp#clientRenewProhibited
>      Domain Status: clientTransferProhibited
> https://icann.org/epp#clientTransferProhibited
>      Domain Status: clientUpdateProhibited
> https://icann.org/epp#clientUpdateProhibited
>      Name Server: NS1.AFTERNIC.COM
>      Name Server: NS2.AFTERNIC.COM
>      DNSSEC: unsigned
>      URL of the ICANN Whois Inaccuracy Complaint Form:
> https://www.icann.org/wicf/

Indeed! I have the same
$ whois comprehension.com
result! Apparently I clicked some fake URL!

-- 
Z totaliztycznym salutem!
Jacek Marcin Jaworski,  Pruszcz Gd., woj. Pomorskie, Polska 🇵🇱, UE 🇪🇺;
tel.: +48-609-170-742,   najlepiej w godz.: 5:00-5:55 lub 16:00-17:25;
<jmj@energokod.gda.pl>, gpg: 4A541AA7A6E872318B85D7F6A651CC39244B0BFA;
Domowa s. WWW:                             <https://energokod.gda.pl>;
Mini Netykieta:         <https://energokod.gda.pl/MiniNetykieta.html>;
Mailowa Samoobrona:             <https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/pl>.
UWAGA:
NIE ZACIĄGAJ "UKRYTEGO DŁUGU"! PŁAĆ ZA PROG. FOSS I INFO. INTERNETOWE!
CZYTAJ DARMOWY: "17. Raport Totaliztyczny - Patroni Kontra Bankierzy":
<https://energokod.gda.pl/raporty-totaliztyczne/17.%20Patroni%20Kontra%20Bankierzy.pdf>

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#146430

W dniu 28.06.2026 o 08:01, 🇵🇱Jacek Marcin Jaworski🇵🇱 pisze:
> 
> Indeed! I have the same
> $ whois comprehension.com
> result! Apparently I clicked some fake URL!

Now I think it is occupied, but in order to make "easy money".

-- 
Z totaliztycznym salutem!
Jacek Marcin Jaworski,  Pruszcz Gd., woj. Pomorskie, Polska 🇵🇱, UE 🇪🇺;
tel.: +48-609-170-742,   najlepiej w godz.: 5:00-5:55 lub 16:00-17:25;
<jmj@energokod.gda.pl>, gpg: 4A541AA7A6E872318B85D7F6A651CC39244B0BFA;
Domowa s. WWW:                             <https://energokod.gda.pl>;
Mini Netykieta:         <https://energokod.gda.pl/MiniNetykieta.html>;
Mailowa Samoobrona:             <https://emailselfdefense.fsf.org/pl>.
UWAGA:
NIE ZACIĄGAJ "UKRYTEGO DŁUGU"! PŁAĆ ZA PROG. FOSS I INFO. INTERNETOWE!
CZYTAJ DARMOWY: "17. Raport Totaliztyczny - Patroni Kontra Bankierzy":
<https://energokod.gda.pl/raporty-totaliztyczne/17.%20Patroni%20Kontra%20Bankierzy.pdf>

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#146432

After moving the movies from Windows to the first iPad, we then tried to
transfer them to a second exact same iPad, but under different ownership.

You have to try to move files between iOS devices of different ownership
in order to realize how much fun it is to do it for real with real movies.

First off, AirDrop apparently doesn't see the files in VLC.
So we moved them to Photos.

Secondly, apparently, you get 10 minutes on AirDrop. That's it. 
10 minutes. Then it drops. So you turn that on over and over again.

Thirdly, for whatever strange reason, the owner of the second iPad has to
be in the first iPad's contacts. 

WTF?
What are contacts even doing on an iPad?

Anyway, once we moved the movies into Photos and then after we added the
second owner's contact to the first iPad, then (and only then) AirDrop
worked. But not for long. It kept failing. And there's that 10 minutes.

When I looked up why this was such a clusterfuck, I found out that iOS
operates on privacy rules written by engineers who assume AirDrop is mostly
used by strangers in public spaces. 

This is classic iOS: We protect you by making everything harder.

And don't think AirDrop was the 1st method we tried. It's only what worked.

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#146433

On 2026-06-27 5:51 p.m., Maria Sophia wrote:
> [...]
> In summary, this is one way to transfer large MP4 and associated SRT files
> from the desktop to an iPad over Wi-Fi without iTunes, without USB, without
> too many Apple restrictions & without relying on VLC's flaky Wi-Fi upload.
I rely on magic-wormhole for this use case.  It has command-line and 
graphical clients for almost every platform and has never failed me.  It 
is one of the few pieces of software that "Just Works(tm)".

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#146434

On 2026-07-01 04:19:15 +0000, Stack Ghost said:
> On 2026-06-27 5:51 p.m., Maria Sophia wrote:
>> [...]
>> In summary, this is one way to transfer large MP4 and associated SRT files
>> from the desktop to an iPad over Wi-Fi without iTunes, without USB, without
>> too many Apple restrictions & without relying on VLC's flaky Wi-Fi upload.
> 
> I rely on magic-wormhole for this use case.  It has command-line and 
> graphical clients for almost every platform and has never failed me.  
> It is one of the few pieces of software that "Just Works(tm)".

On the very rare couple of occasions I've needed to trasnfer files 
(mainly photos) between any two of MacOS, iPadOS, Andriod, I've used 
InstaShare. It can be a bit flakey initially getting the two devices to 
see each to connect, but otherwise works fine.

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#146436

Your Name wrote:
> On 2026-07-01 04:19:15 +0000, Stack Ghost said:
>> On 2026-06-27 5:51 p.m., Maria Sophia wrote:
>>> [...]
>>> In summary, this is one way to transfer large MP4 and associated SRT files
>>> from the desktop to an iPad over Wi-Fi without iTunes, without USB, without
>>> too many Apple restrictions & without relying on VLC's flaky Wi-Fi upload.
>> 
>> I rely on magic-wormhole for this use case.  It has command-line and 
>> graphical clients for almost every platform and has never failed me.  
>> It is one of the few pieces of software that "Just Works(tm)".
> 
> On the very rare couple of occasions I've needed to trasnfer files 
> (mainly photos) between any two of MacOS, iPadOS, Andriod, I've used 
> InstaShare. It can be a bit flakey initially getting the two devices to 
> see each to connect, but otherwise works fine.

Thanks for the suggestions as all of us need to deal with iOS from time
to time in the real world (which isn't only all Apple ecosystem devices).

I appreciate hearing what's worked for other people, as we learn from that.

I've tried a handful of cross-device transfer tools at this point.
The main issue I keep running into is iPadOS itself. 

Anything that relies on local discovery (mDNS, broadcast, etc.) tends to 
behave unpredictably on iPads, so tools like LocalSend or InstaShare often 
fail to see each other even when everything should work. 

That's exactly what happened to me.

Magic-wormhole is interesting though as I hadn't considered using it for 
iPad-to-iPad transfers. I'm curious how reliable it is on iPadOS specifically, 
since the OS is pretty aggressive about suspending background network activity. 

If it really "just works," that would be a nice change of pace for iOS.

InstaShare sounds similar to what I've already tried, which is that it 
works great once the devices see each other, but getting them to see each 
other is the part that keeps failing for me.

At this point I'm mostly looking for something that doesn't depend on
AirDrop's 10-minute window, doesn't require adding contacts and doesn't 
rely on iPadOS's flaky peer-to-peer discovery. 

If magic-wormhole can bypass all that, I might give it a shot.*

Just to show that we tried multiple things before trying AirDrop, we first 
tried Wi-Fi file sharing using VLC Wi-Fi and we then tried LocalSend on 
both iPads, but the two iPads would not discover each other even though 
they both were on the same LAN.

It's not surprising that VLC didn't work reliably on large files because 
iOS throttles background network activity for sandboxed apps.

But LocalSend not working was surprising since LocalSend worked perfectly 
between Windows and the iPad, but apparently iOS blocks the discovery 
mechanism LocalSend uses.	 

LocalSend uses multicast DNS (mDNS), which, on the surface, is the same 
discovery protocol AirDrop uses, but without Apple's special privileges.

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