Just because you're isolated in your room due to the ever-important social distancing protocols happening right now doesn't mean you have to watch Netflix all on your own. There are plenty of ways to recreate the experience of watching a show or movie with a friend or loved one on Netflix without worrying about getting each other sick.
Trying to all hit play at the same moment — as well as juggling between Netflix and Skype, a Facebook chat, Slack, Discord, or any other online chat program — isn't exactly the most convenient thing in the world. Luckily, there is another way.
SEE ALSO: Get rid of Netflix's annoying 'Continue Watching' button with this extension
'The Circle', for instance, was an instant hit among binge-watchers who couldn't stop rooting for eight strangers, of which some were even catfishes, quarantining in their apartments and chatting via a computer application. After the successful maiden run, Netflix is now hopeful that the sophomore season will live up to the hype. A new way to watch TV together Teleparty (formerly Netflix Party) is a new way to watch TV with your friends online. Teleparty synchronizes video playback and adds group chat to Netflix, Disney, Hulu and HBO. Join over 10 million people and use Teleparty to link up with friends and host long distance movie nights and TV watch parties today!
There are several great apps, extensions and websites with the goal of syncing up Netflix streams across the Internet, but they all have their ups and downs. Some are exclusive to Chrome, some have top-notch chat features and some don’t go full screen.
Here are the pros and cons of the best ways to watch Netflix with your friends online.
1. Netflix Party
Netflix Party is a Google Chrome-exclusive extension that only requires one person to install it, making it the easiest of the three to set up.
Once you install it, choose a movie or show, pause it, and then click the red “NP” button at the top right of your browser to get a link to a shared session. The extension allows you to chat with everyone in the viewing session, but doesn’t allow you to put in a name, so you’ll have to remember your friends’ random symbols.
Netflix Party allows for full-screen viewing and anybody in the session can hit pause, play or scrub through the timeline. The stream adjusts seamlessly.
The biggest downside to Netflix Party is that if you want to watch a few episodes of something or another movie, you’ll have to create a new session every time. Even if Netflix autoplays to the next episode, it will kick everyone out of the session and you’ll have to send out a new link to everyone.
SEE ALSO: Netflix has tons of hidden categories — here's how to see them
2. Rabbit
Rabbit is one of the most well-rounded stream-sharing services available, partially because it can be used with any browser and partially because you can share all your favorite streaming services including Netflix, Hulu, Crackle and more.
Rabbit requires you to have an account and add the people you want to share a stream with as your friends. It works by having one person in control of the stream, which is shared via a proxy browser right on the Rabbit website. This means you're essentially sharing the view of a full browser with everyone in your party, and you can go anywhere on the web that you like.
While this is a great feature, it doesn't give the best stream quality. Even when watching something in a Rabbit room alone, the Netflix stream is pretty pixelated. It also cannot be put in full-screen mode or resized, relegating your viewing area to a small portion of your actual screen. If you're watching on a laptop or tablet that's 13 inches or less, good luck seeing much of what's happening.
The chat options on Rabbit are great, though. The chat window on the right shows everyone's username and picture, and you can even do voice and video chat.
These services have their upsides and downsides but they are the best Netflix-sharing services available, at least for now. Happy viewing with your friends.
The longer people spend in quarantine, the more creative they become when it comes to thinking of safe and fun ways to keep interacting with their friends. Video conferencing apps like Zoom have played a big part in this. And while you may have already taken advantage of the app in regard to video chatting with friends, Zoom users have come up with another fun and innovative way to use the app: PowerPoint parties! Zoom PowerPoint parties are meant to add an educational aspect to video calls with friends — but they're way more fun than they sound.
What Is A Zoom PowerPoint Party
Zoom PowerPoint parties are pretty straight-forward. Everybody in the 'party' prepares a short presentation on something they're interested in or care about. And then, when everyone gets on a Zoom call, they present that PowerPoint to the group.
OK, I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone want to do voluntary work on a PowerPoint? But the great thing about Zoom PowerPoint parties is they're supposed to be lighthearted and funny, and they can be about virtually anything you want them to be about. Some people who have shared their own PowerPoint party ideas have included ones on Netflix's Tiger King, 'Why Birds Aren't Real,' and 'Hot Cartoon Characters.' The possibilities are endless.
Schedule The Due Date
If you want to have a Zoom PowerPoint party with your friends, it's pretty simple to do so. It's most important to first set a date and time for the presentations to take place. While many people have had a lot more free time due to practicing social distancing guidelines, you still want to factor in time that they probably don't want to spend working on an nonessential PowerPoint. Setting a deadline three days to a week later could be most practical.
Once everyone's agreed on a due date, you can go ahead and schedule a meeting on Zoom. You can do this by going to the Meetings tab on the left side of the screen on your desktop or on the home screen on your smartphone app. Here, you'll see an option to Schedule A Meeting. Select this and then fill out all of the information required, including the date, time, and topic of the meeting. You'll even be able to invite attendees to the meeting by typing in their email.
Choose Your Topic
After sorting out when your PowerPoint presentations are due, it's time to start planning out your topic and creating your slides. This is all up to you. Whatever topic you're passionate about or just really want to annoy your friends with is exactly what you should do your presentation on. Do you have a hunch that the moon landing never happened? Have you created a sure-fire system to dealing with ghosting? Do you know why Mr. Krabs has a whale as a daughter? Now is the perfect time to explore and share all of those burning thoughts.
Create Your Powerpoint
Netflix Cheating Code
Unlike real PowerPoint assignments, you can have as much fun with your slides as you want. Do you want to use all of the animations and special effects you were told to avoid in school? Great. Do you want your entire PowerPoint to be made of blank white pages with a single word on each slide? Fabulous. You have all the liberty in the world to do what you want with your PowerPoint slides. Just remember that the point of Zoom PowerPoint parties is to teach your friends about something, so creating your PowerPoint in a way that does this best is probably the most ideal. Adding pictures, videos, and screenshots of tweets will go a long way.
Present Your PowerPoint
Netflix Sign In Help
Once everything is in line and your due date rolls around, it's time to present your masterpiece to your friends. To do this, make sure everyone hops on the Zoom call you scheduled. This can be done by going into the emailed invitations and clicking on the link there. People can also join the meeting by copying the Meeting ID also provided on the email and entering that in once clicking on Join A Meeting on the Zoom app.
After everyone has signed on, the PowerPoint party can begin. Whoever wants to go first can do so by sharing their screen. To do this, you have to click 'Share Screen' at the bottom of your Zoom call window. Then, when you are shown options of which windows you want to share, tap on your PowerPoint screen. This will allow everyone in the call to see your PowerPoint. Click on the Slideshow tab and then Begin within your PowerPoint. After this, your presentation can begin. You'll be able to verbally present as your friends see your PowerPoint. Once you've finished your turn, just hit Stop Share at the bottom of your screen. Then, the next person can follow this same process to present their PowerPoint.
Whether you choose to use flashcards, notes, or just do your presentation off the dome, remember that the main objective is to have fun and interact with your friends. And if you can end up convincing one of them that Nick Jonas is in fact the hottest Jonas brother, well then that's just a plus.