#TechBytes: How to watch movies with friends during lockdown
What's the story
The spread of coronavirus may have left you in isolation, waiting desperately for the day you would go out, eat out, and spend time with friends and family.
However, to help you in these times, we have got some handy ways to let you watch movies with friends, without actually leaving the comfort of your home.
Here's all you need to know about it.
Solution
Dedicated co-watching apps to binge together
Often, people connect via Skype and start a movie at the same time to watch together, but, frankly, that solution is far from ideal.
To tackle this juggle between multiple applications, some creative developers have come up with dedicated co-watching applications and tools that let you and your friends watch a movie online while chatting about it in the same screen.
App #1
Netflix Party chrome extension
This Chrome extension (shorturl.at/beGJY) lets you generate a special viewing session link while watching a movie/show on Netflix.
Once you generate this link, send it to any friend so that they can open that session, log into their Netflix account, and start co-watching and chatting with you.
It also provides the option to keep video control to yourself or leave it for all joiners.
App #2
Kast for instant watch parties
Kast is also a link-based real-time video sharing program, and it works on several platforms, including web, Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android.
You can use it to host watch parties with 100+ friends for content available on leading streaming services like Netflix and Hulu.
It also offers a complete pack of communication features, including voice, text, and video chat, to interact with friends.
App #3
Finally, go for Watch2Gether
Finally, you can also go to Watch2Gether, a web-based portal that lets you play any video available on YouTube, Vimeo, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and SoundCloud with faraway friends.
You can use it easily by visiting the Watch2Gether site, creating a watch room, playing a movie, and sharing its URL with a friend so that they can join in.