How to Watch Movies and TV Shows Together Together

Nikole Beckwith’s heartwarming comedy about the unexpected bond between Matt (Ed Helms), a single man who wants a child, and Anna (Patti Harrison), a loner surrogate, challenges preconceived notions of love, boundaries and connection.

The film hits US theaters on April 23rd and is available on digital VOD on May 11th. Streaming services like Hulu and Plex will also be added later this spring.

Plex

Plex is a great way to store and organize your personal media on a home server. You can use it to share your library with friends, or just watch movies and shows on demand. The company also has a fun feature called Watch Together that lets you watch movies and TV shows with a group of people.

Watch Together is an experimental beta feature from Plex that is available for free, no Plex Pass required. It works across desktops and mobile devices, and it's currently supported on iOS, Android, AppleTV, Amazon FireTV, Roku, NVIDIA SHIELD, and Plex for Windows.

To start watching together, you first need to invite everyone you want to watch with. You can do this through the native Watch Together tool or with a third-party application, like SyncLounge.

Once you've invited all of your friends, open Plex and select the movie or show you want to watch. It'll then take you to a lobby screen where you can see who's invited and ready to join the session. Once all of the participants have joined, you can either watch the movie or show as normal or pause and scrub through it with the other members in the room.

You can also share the movie or show with other users, if you want to make it available to other people on your network, though that won't work if you're watching through Watch Together. You'll also need to make sure all of your friends have a free Plex account and that they're running the latest version of Plex.

There are no limits to the number of people who can use Watch Together, but you should be aware that syncing too many videos will cause playback problems. This is especially true if the video is sluggish or has a large number of subtitles.

The main problem with Watch Together is that it's in the experimental stage, and so Plex isn't quite sure how well it'll work. That's not a huge concern, however, as it's a free service that will eventually improve over time. For now, SyncLounge is a good alternative, as it supports multiple Plex users and provides better user status indicators than the official app does.

Movies Anywhere

Movies Anywhere is a free service that unites the purchases you've made across multiple streaming services, including Vudu, iTunes, Amazon Video, and Google Play. Once you connect all those accounts, the movies that you've purchased will be consolidated into one central library that can be accessed across all connected devices, including Apple TV, Google Play/YouTube, Microsoft Movies & TV, Vudu, and some smart TVs from Samsung, LG, and Sony.

It's easy to use, too: You just need an account and an Internet connection, and you can even share a URL that gives whoever receives it a pass to access the movie. You can also send a Screen Pass, which allows up to nine people to watch a movie together.

The service is available on iOS and Android phones, plus Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, some smart TVs, and the web. You can sign up for Movies Anywhere using your Facebook or Google account, and it's free to use.

Once you've signed up, you need to connect your digital retailer accounts and let the service know your privacy settings. The process is very straightforward, though it does ask you to agree to share certain data with the participating retailers and studios.

There are a lot of ways to connect your accounts, including through a third-party app, but the best way is to go to the main page of Movies Anywhere and click on "Connect Retailers" to start the process. It's a quick process, and once completed, your full library will be accessible in all those stores, which is a big selling point for the service.

For new users, the service is offering a handful of free films when you sign up: Ghostbusters (2016) and Ice Age are both available for download on their own, while a second signup adds Big Hero 6 and Jason Bourne. These aren't necessarily Oscar-worthy titles, but they're a nice incentive for a few minutes of your time.

As far as content goes, Movies Anywhere has a very large library of movies. In fact, it's got more than 7,300 movies as of this writing. It's partnered with Disney, 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures, Universal, and Warner Bros.

YouTube

YouTube is the largest video platform on the internet, with an unrivaled variety of content. From movies to how-to clips, pranks to personal musings, it has something for everyone. It’s also a great way to connect with friends and family.

If you’re looking for a way to watch YouTube videos together, there are several options available. Some of them are free, while others require a subscription.

One option that is a bit more expensive but still worth it is YouTube Premium, which allows you to download videos offline. It also comes with some extra features, including the ability to create playlists, share videos, and upload your own content.

Another option is Metastream, which lets you watch YouTube videos in sync with other people. It works by using a browser extension to keep the video stream in sync, and it has the added bonus of real-time chatting.

The website is ad-free and has an easy-to-use interface that makes it easy to find the video you want to watch, host a session, and chat with your friends. The only drawback is that you need to download the Metastream Chrome extension in order to start a session or join one, but it’s well worth the effort.

In addition to watching YouTube, you can also use Sync Video to watch other streaming services, such as Netflix and Prime Video, with your friends. To use Sync Video, simply click on the YouTube video that you want to watch and follow the instructions.

You can use the app on desktop, mobile, or even your tablet! You can also invite friends to join you in your room, and each person can share their screen with the rest of the group.

There are other options for watching YouTube with friends, but they’re usually more expensive and don’t offer the same level of control. There are a few free alternatives, though, so it’s worth trying them out to see what fits your needs best!

Discord recently launched a new feature called Watch Together that will allow users to watch YouTube videos on the server. It’s similar to a number of other screen-share plugins, but it plays the videos on your screen instead of streaming them through a voice chat, and you can adjust settings like pause and scrub for everyone in the room.

Hulu

Hulu is one of the best streaming services for TV shows and movies, but it also has a lot of original content, too. Whether you're a fan of reality TV, comedy, or anything in between, you can find something to watch on Hulu.

In May, Hulu added a new feature that lets users watch a show or movie with up to eight friends simultaneously. It's called Watch Party, and it works on Hulu's website through a web browser.

You can invite your friends to join you on Watch Party through text chat or by using a third-party voice chat app like Discord. It's also compatible with Android and iOS devices, so you can get together with your friends from anywhere in the world.

To use Watch Party, first find a show or movie you want to watch. Then, locate a Watch Party icon on the details page of the title (it looks like three people in a circle). Click it and you'll be prompted to create a party.

Then, share the link with your friends. They'll need to install the Hulu Watch Party Chrome extension and join the party. Once they're in, the party will synchronize for everyone in the group.

Watch Party is available for all Hulu subscriptions, including the ad-free plans. It's a great way to hang out with your friends and watch a show or movie without any interruptions.

However, it's important to note that Watch Party isn't available on Hulu's Android or iOS apps. Only on its web-based service.

If you don't have a Hulu account yet, it's easy to sign up for a free trial. You'll be able to watch as many episodes as you want until the trial expires.

Alternatively, you can opt for a paid subscription to Hulu or Hulu + Live TV. The subscriptions aren't cheap, but they offer a large library of content and some additional features.

Among other things, Hulu offers a variety of live TV channels, including ESPN+ and Disney+. You can also download content offline for up to 30 days, which is a big bonus. It's not compatible with all devices, though, so you'll need to check out the official website for the list of supported ones.