via lxer.com/module/newswire/view/117828/index.html

1. Install the tools needed for compilation
As root, type:

apt-get install build-essential

build-essential is a meta package which includes tools like gcc or make, needed to compile source code.

2. Install the dependencies
The following command will install the development libraries which are needed for the compilation:

apt-get install libqt4-dev libpostproc-dev libavformat-dev libavcodec-dev libavutil-dev libmad0-dev libfribidi-dev

3. Fetch the source tarball
Download the VLC 0.9.8a source tarball from here, then uncompress it:

tar -xjf vlc-0.9.8a.tar.bz2

4. Compile and install VLC
To compile VLC, just change the working directory to vlc-0.9.8a and issue the following commands:

./configure --disable-swscale --disable-nls --disable-mozilla

make

( forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=43735 )