Catching up with friends remotely to watch TV shows and movies together is quite the non-trivial problem. If you want to watch in sync over streaming services or video calls, our old pal latency decides to show us how just fractions of a second can throw off our sense of being ‘together’.
Now Twitch has opened up its Watch Party tech to let anyone stream from their Prime Video account with minimum fuss and perfect legality (given Twitch is owned by Amazon, which owns Prime Video). It tested the idea with some of its bigger creators, and now it’s opening up to everyone.
Now if you love streaming for an audience this is a fun alternative angle to showing off your gaming skills, or your crafting chops, to just relax and enjoy a show with fans. And you can put your camera in the top of the chat column so folks can see your reactions to what’s happening too.
But even if you don’t care about trying to build an audience or show off to fans, this is a great tool for just sharing a show and hanging out with friends.
There are other watch party browser plug-ins that try to help you synchronise watching a streaming service with friends. Check out TwoSeven for one of those options.
But Twitch is designed for hosting people to come watch a thing together, with a great chat service built in and it’s very easy to get started. So whether you’re hanging with a crowd or just a few friends, and you’re eager to catch up on whatever Prime Video has to offer, this has potential beyond just those who want to be seen by a bigger audience.
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Seamus runs Byteside. You may also have spotted his words at the Australian Financial Review, the ABC, Junkee, Gamespot, The Esports Observer, CNET, Gizmodo and a few other spots over the years. He's very happy that he gets to nerd out for a living.
