Mac Application for watching movies together via Internet?


Recommended Posts

Heya guys,

I'm looking for a software that will let my fiancé and me watch a movie (same file on both our Macs) together with synchronous play position and maybe audio-chat (maybe even video chat?) along with it.

It's important that those files are local and don't have to be streamed to her / to me, apart from youtube stuff maybe (bonus, but priority is local files)

I know I could google this, but I'm looking for Neowin user input as to what is good or best, what's a bargain, etc...

any input is appreciated!

Thanks in advance

Glassed Silver:mac

What's wrong with using Skype for video chat and counting down from three before pushing play?

Aye, this seems like your best option. Just watch it in VLC hit the space to pause it right at the start, go on skype, get your popcorn, count to 3 or whatever and both hit space at the same time.

I know there are a lot of stream based ones such as the Justin.TV videos.. you could stream it and have her watch.. but it goes away from the whole local file thing.

Don't really get what's wrong with curling up next to each other and watch on a single screen. Seems like the best and not to mention coziest solution. ;) If you can't be in the same room for whatever reason simply use Skype/IM/phone as suggested above.

Don't really get what's wrong with curling up next to each other and watch on a single screen. Seems like the best and not to mention coziest solution.

Seriously, this is what I was going to say.

You're not asking for something that streams the video over the net so that you're both watching from different locations at the same time, you're asking for a piece of software that will synchronize a video file on two computers that are on the same network. Since you're not mortal enemies sharing that network (at least, I would hope you aren't if she is your fiancee) I can't really see a practical application for this. Even in a business environment, where masses of people in a building might need to watch a video at the same time, no one bothers having it perfectly synced.

If you insist on trying something like this, the best solution I can come up with is phoning one another's mobile, and counting down until you both hit the play button. Then turn on Skype (or whatever you feel like) and go from there. You'll both be watching the same file at almost the exact same second, and the video will show the expressions of the scene in front of the two of you.

Still, what's wrong with being together if you both want to watch something at the same time?

Thinking about it a bit more, if your internet connection was fast enough (and in a house environment, it's highly unlikely that it will be) and you were really insistent on doing this, you could RDP in to one machine and screen share. But as I said, with a bad internet connection one side is going to get one heck of a choppy video...

What the heck do you want this for? As I said at the start, there is surely no practical reason that someone would create this software?

http://www.watch2gether.com/ - Not for movies but it works for youtube so that's sort of what you want

Not really, but thanks.

This does solve the youtube part of my problem, but not the movie part. :)

Seriously, this is what I was going to say.

You're not asking for something that streams the video over the net so that you're both watching from different locations at the same time, you're asking for a piece of software that will synchronize a video file on two computers that are on the same network. Since you're not mortal enemies sharing that network (at least, I would hope you aren't if she is your fiancee) I can't really see a practical application for this. Even in a business environment, where masses of people in a building might need to watch a video at the same time, no one bothers having it perfectly synced.

If you insist on trying something like this, the best solution I can come up with is phoning one another's mobile, and counting down until you both hit the play button. Then turn on Skype (or whatever you feel like) and go from there. You'll both be watching the same file at almost the exact same second, and the video will show the expressions of the scene in front of the two of you.

Still, what's wrong with being together if you both want to watch something at the same time?

Thinking about it a bit more, if your internet connection was fast enough (and in a house environment, it's highly unlikely that it will be) and you were really insistent on doing this, you could RDP in to one machine and screen share. But as I said, with a bad internet connection one side is going to get one heck of a choppy video...

What the heck do you want this for? As I said at the start, there is surely no practical reason that someone would create this software?

It's a long distance relationship.

Damn I'd LOVE to just cuddle and sit there watching the flick, but most of the time it's not possible.

I want this why? I just thought that there might be a more pleasant way of combining chat AV with watching the flick.

I have a 27" screen, so a windowed movie is perfectly fine, although I'd much prefer full screen.

On my fiancé's Macbook with 1280x800 however, the movie should be fullscreen and then guess what? AV chat should be integrated to have it float above the movie and work okay with maybe existing subtitles. (Think original audio track Animes etc...)

Streaming is POSSIBLE as I have 10MBit/s uplink, but I'd really prefer not to have to use it, as the quality lowers and it's just not necessary at all, cause the files exist in location A and B.

Why the unneeded redundancy?

I know there is an application like this, I forgot it's name however and am not sure about the AV chat part.

Thanks for all your input so far however! :)

Glassed Silver:mac

  • 8 years later...

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Limited time Prime Day deal cuts price of this Hisense 65" 4K smart TV in half by Ivan Jenic It’s Amazon Prime Day, and brands are offering great deals to consumers. One of the best deals of the day is definitely this Hisense 65" U7, which is currently $799.99 on Amazon, down from $1,499.99. That's nearly 50% off and $700 saved on this feature-packed 4K TV (purchase link down below). The U7 uses Mini-LED backlighting with up to 3,000 local dimming zones and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness. That means blacks are truly deep and highlights are punchy enough to hold up even in bright rooms. The screen is covered with a dual-layer anti-reflection coating, which prevents the afternoon overhead lights from washing the picture. For gaming, the native 165Hz refresh rate and VRR 330 support make this one a great TV option for PS5 and Xbox Series X. The TV even features a native game mode, which should help minimize the input lag for a better gaming experience. Audio is handled by a 2.1.2 channel system tuned by Devialet, which is a notable partnership for a TV at this price. Additionally, Dolby Vision IQ, Dolby Atmos, and IMAX Enhanced are all supported. It runs Fire TV with Alexa+ built in. So, if you’re looking for a sharp, large screen to watch the World Cup on, the U7 at this price is definitely an attractive option. Speaking of which, Hisense is the official sponsor of the World Cup, which should mean absolutely nothing to you, and isn’t the reason why you should by this TV. The reason why you should buy it is that it’s “la bella televisione, HDTV-compatible, beautiful,” and available at half the price. Hisense 65" U7 Mini-LED 4K Smart Fire TV - $799.99 | 47% off on Amazon Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • eM Client 10.4.5600.0 by Razvan Serea eM Client is a full featured e-mail client with a modern and easy to use interface. eM Client also offers calendar, tasks, contacts and chat. eM Client supports all major services including Gmail, Exchange, iCloud, and Outlook.com. You can easily import your data from most of the other e-mail clients. This includes Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail, Thunderbird, The Bat and more. eM Client fully supports touch devices like touch-enabled laptops, tablets and hybrid devices. Use your email client easily in a modern way. eM Client PRO vs. Free version While the Free license allows you to set up the maximum of two accounts in the application, it is possible to add an unlimited number of accounts with the PRO license. The PRO license also enables you to use eM Client for commercial purposes. Commercial use is any activity that helps you make profit, the Free license therefore cannot be used in company settings or on personal computers for business correspondence. PRO users also gain access to the dedicated support system and to the licensing manager. eM Client has been fully optimized to run smoothly on Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10 and 11. eM Client 10.4.5600.0 changelog: Improved memory management Improved MS Teams support A lot of other fixes Download: eM Client 10.4.5600 | 128.0 MB (Free, paid upgrade available) View: eM Client Website | eM Client Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • Re: Capitalism. It's just 1 of dozens of economic models currently-adopted worldwide; most national models separate money from politics thereby limiting the influence wealth carries over the economy (due to limited tentacles wealth politics has over the broader economy). The "American model" of unfettered financial influence should NOT be the variant of pure capitalism adopted worldwide. More regulations formulated within this variant is effectively useless due to the misalignment between regulatory objectives and fundamental influence wealth politics carry over the market. Re: enough money. Without constraining the breadth/depth/scope/scale that any measure of money/wealth can have within a market, there will always inherently be those who have "enough money" and those who do not. Those without "enough money" will always lose -- regardless if a bedroom DJ, indie developer, or million-dollar corporation going against a billion-dollar mega-corporation. The evil is the absence of guardrails against the influence of wealth; not the mere existence of wealth. Re: dragged through the courts. The liberalist nature of litigation does not exclude anyone, anywhere, for any reason for getting dragged through the courts. Rather than formalize remediation pathways for various perceived ills, everything is left up to flawed interpretations... and this is where a litigation-averse community fails to thrive (thus a losing proposition when dragged to courts). Everyone should have more protections and clear remediation strategies! Going to an alternate remediation arbitration is OK so long as the case review and remediation processes are clear and transparent. For corporations, hit them where it hurts: automatic financial penalties. (PS: This is where corporate risk management strategies would do well to behave more ethically.) Overall, failure to truly shake-up the incentive core and regulatory extremities of the economic market will necessarily mean that all other actions are simply applying lipstick on a pig. Change begins from the inside. Is the root cause of the problem that a majority of consumers within a market goes for Option Brand-name versus Option Indie? Or that brand-name is spending foreign money to control domestic markets? Or that money is the objective measure for success across all walks of life? Or that deep pockets dictate the moral and ethical rights/wrongs of entire societies? Regardless of the answer (and there's nothing inherently wrong with being a socialist or communist or whatever label your surroundings deem 'cool' or 'uncool') there's a common thread: If a market truly wants to nurture domestic innovation, then performative finger-wagging will do nothing to that end.
    • Does anyone remember the time when VSCode was a lightweight solution, just shy of 40 MB? No?
  • Recent Achievements

    • Conversation Starter
      Admir earned a badge
      Conversation Starter
    • First Post
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      First Post
    • Apprentice
      daryld went up a rank
      Apprentice
    • Contributor
      Carltonbar went up a rank
      Contributor
    • One Month Later
      The_Focal_Point earned a badge
      One Month Later
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      404
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      164
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      130
    4. 4
      Xenon
      71
    5. 5
      neufuse
      69
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!