but Telnet never connects to it.To be able to remote connect to your VLC using a TCP socket (telnet-like connexion), use --rc-host your_host:port. Then, by connecting (using telnet or netcat) to the host on the given port, you will get the command shell.
Also, for some reason, the play command doesn't work. If I use the stop command, I can't get my playlist going again.