9 apps supporting facetime to watch movies online with your friends
With the world fighting newer variants of covid and multiplexes seeing no end of the tunnel with covid restrictions and long queues; there is one thing for sure, OTT platforms are now on par with new interesting releases just like theatre. But that’s not completely new, People visited multiplexes for the low lights, high fidelity sound effects, and most of all human companion which we are sure still needs some getting used to and getting back to. Well, not all these demands can be met but the human companion can still be achieved.
Screen sharing is very common now, whether it’s your work or your personal chat, taking this one step ahead we now can “watch a movie together online” instead of “Watch an online movie together”. Here are 5 services that allow you to watch online content on services like Netflix and YouTube in sync with your friends.
- TwoSeven
- Kast
- FaceTime
- FlickCall
- Zoom
- Watch2gether
- StreamParty
- SyncPlay
- Gaze
Two seven is quietly one of the top groups of streaming apps that supports a wide range of streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, HBO, etc. For services like YouTube, you just have to copy-paste the URL of videos whereas services like Netflix open small, nested versions of their web browser interfaces within the TwoSeven window. TwoSeven supports basic text chat as well as rudimentary video chatting. Just give the browser permission to your camera and mic and you will be good to go. You can drag and resize everyone’s video windows to your liking, as well as adjust everyone’s volume levels. If your friend is too loud, just lower that volume slider and you’re good to go. Unless you are looking to stream Disney Plus or Hulu which require a 3$ payment on their pattern. Its UI isn’t as slick or polished but it can do many of the same things while offering some of its own tricks in the form of YouTube or external web streaming. If you just plan on watching Netflix or the like with your pals, it’s a totally respectable venue for that.
If you ever used Rabb.it, then Kast is something you will definitely love. The desktop version is great but the app seems decently put together as it’s not as good with certain old model phones or newer ones since the screen doesn’t go full screen (might have the same issue with older phones). Overall, it’s good for watching things for others but definitely needs a lot more improvement. However, this service is not completely free so it is not an ideal choice but it is worth considering though.
FlickCall is a google chrome extension that can be installed free of cost for experiencing live watch parties with everyone on any social media platform. FlickCall is a privacy-focused browser extension to watch movies & TV shows remotely in sync. Everyone enjoys the same scene at the same time and watches reactions via a webcam on a laptop or desktop.
Peer-to-peer technology delivers your personal chats and calls directly to your friends instead of the traditional approach of routing it via servers in the chrome extension of FlickCall.
What are the features of FlickCall?
There is not one, but many features that come along with this extension. Here are a few to be named-
- Easy to Install- The most important feature of this application is that it is absolutely easy to install. You just have to visit the website www.flickcall.com and click on the Install button on the bottom page. Thereafter you will be taken to another window and all you have to do is add it as a chrome extension. Easy!
- Video Chat while streaming online- This is an important one. You can video chat and watch the movie together with your friends using FlickCall. All you need is a webcam or an inbuilt camera on your device and you can then watch movies.
- Voice Chat to talk- This app has an inbuilt mic feature where you can pause your movies and talk and chat or comment or discuss certain plots, or cast members or characters, etc and enjoy theatre-like movie experiences.
- Group Chats for you- Most people don’t like talking between movies. So you cannot pause and talk now and then and talk right? Or else you are going to be named as the annoying friend of the group. I mean who wants that? So instead of pausing the video now and then, you can write down your thoughts or comments in the group chat. This way you don’t have to fear forgetting your thoughts during later discussions and you won’t even be disturbing anyone :)
But why is FlickCall preferred over other watch party extensions?
- The reason why FlickCall is preferred over any other extension is because FlickCall has a 5-star rating for hosting and playing watch parties compared to other watch party apps.
- The FlickCall extension is the Cutting-edge technology to keep video playback in sync.
- Also like we mentioned in the features, video call support in addition to group chat.
- FlickCall is like a Netflix party with video calls.
- Setup and join the watch party without any hassle. No need to pass instructions to friends to join the party. Just share the invite link, and FlickCall will handle the rest.
- Keep video players in sync to support seek, skip credits, skip the intro, or even ads playing in one of the participants. It just works!
- Flickcall remote watch parties work flawlessly even with TV series to binge multiple episodes together making it the best extension to watch Netflix with friends.
- The most important and unique feature is about YouTube. YouTube party support watching multiple videos at the same watch party. The YouTube party will continue even when you search for other videos. And Flickcall is the only extension to support YouTube party with video.
Install the FlickCall extension and experience flawless Watch Parties with anyone and everyone.
Apples in June announced a very big update into their entire ecosystem of the app, FaceTime can now be used on android and also introduced a feature of SharePlay. Right now, functionality is limited and you can only use the feature if both you and your date have the iOS 15 beta installed on your device, but soon SharePlay will be available for all compatible iPhones. With SharePlay, you can stream the same movie or TV show as your date, just like you can with Tele-party (formerly known as Netflix Party), but with the added benefit of picture-in-picture video chat courtesy of FaceTime. When you stream movies or TV shows with your date, the content will sync across devices and allow both parties access to controls. And you’ll still see and hear each other in picture-in-picture as you watch. Streaming services that have already partnered with Apple for SharePlay include Hulu, HBO Max, TikTok, and ESPN Plus.
Yeah, that’s right. Zoom too can be used for your long-distance date nights, It’s more like a hack using a feature. How to enable screen share on Zoom?
* Click the Share Screen button located in your meeting controls.
* Select the screen you want to share. You can also choose an individual application that is already open on your computer, the desktop, a whiteboard, or an iPhone/iPad.
* Enable these features (Optional):
1. Check Share Computer Sound: If you check this option, any sound played by your computer will be shared in the meeting.
2. Check Optimize for full-screen video clip: Check this if you will be sharing a video clip in full-screen mode.
3. Do not check this otherwise, as it may cause the shared screen to be blurry.
* Click Share:
1. Zoom will automatically switch to full screen to optimize the shared screen view.
2. To exit full-screen, click Exit Full Screen in the top-right corner or press the Esc key.
3. To disable automatic full screen when viewing a shared screen, disable this option in your desktop client settings: Enter full screen automatically when a participant shares the screen.
You can simply click on a button on WATCH2GETHER to create a room and send friends a link to collectively view videos or listen to audio files. People can enter a direct link to a video or search for content from numerous places, including YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, and Soundcloud, and add items to a playlist. They can discuss what they’re viewing in a chat window on the screen and also enable video chatting. All participants can search for and play videos unless you enable moderator options. You will also see viewing suggestions, and it’s easy to find videos to play on the site. They’re often shorter clips from sources like Vimeo and YouTube. If users want to watch something that isn’t available from any of the platforms listed on the site, a feature that syncs unsupported external sources using a browser extension may allow them to, for example, access items using their Netflix account
StreamParty is an extension that works on all browsers based on Chromium (Chrome, Opera, Brave) and Firefox. The extension lets you watch YouTube, Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon prime shows together remotely with your friends. It syncs the current episode on the browser of all the members of the party. The extension allows you to create a streaming party, which is a browser link. With the link, your friends can join the TV show you all are watching together. It never fails to make our life easier. StreamParty is one of them.
Syncplay allows people to enjoy a shared viewing experience even if they are thousands of miles apart, so friends can watch anime, movies, TV shows, and other media together. The Syncplay Client launches a media player on your computer, connects to a Syncplay server, and joins a virtual room on that server. Pauses unpauses and seeks made within that media player instance are relayed to fellow viewers via the server to allow for these actions to be replicated by the media players of everyone else in the same virtual room. The server keeps track of where everyone is in the video so if someone joins they can be brought to the right place, and so if someone is too far ahead they can be brought back in sync.
Gaze Scroll automatically scrolls your browser when you look down or up the screen. It uses an ordinary Webcam to sense when you are looking at your screen, and it scrolls through content such as lists, webpages, and messages based on the gaze position. To experience more interpersonal experience, use Gaze.