Watching TV Together
Watching television together apart
Watching television is of course more fun when you do it together with other people. And there are those programmes that you specifically want to watch with friends or family, simply because it’s more fun to enjoy them in the company of others. Unfortunately, watching television together is not always possible. Sometimes, you are just too far away for a visit. Or you cannot see each another because of Corona.
Egeniq contributed to the realisation of an app that allows you to watch your favourite shows together with others, even if you are physically apart. In this way, you can enjoy the company of your friends or family while at the same time complying with the 1.5 metre rule. Now that we will start spending more time at home again watching television, the prospect of being able to ‘virtually’ invite people for a visit is of course very attractive.
Watching TV together apart: how does it work?
Egeniq is responsible for the development of the app functionality within the video player that enables watching television together apart. How? By means of the video connection services of Sceenic. This is how it works:
- First, you choose your favourite programme, and then you click on ‘Watch together’.
- Next, you invite your friends or family members by sharing the link via Whatsapp, e-mail, or social media. You then enter your ‘virtual room’. This room can accommodate a maximum number of 4 cameras. Behind one camera, several people in a household can take a seat.
- Finally, you turn on your webcam and the sound, or you talk with each another via the chat function, and voila! You can enjoy your favourite show together.
Note that the person who has invited the friends or family members is also the one who controls the app. For example, if the pause button is pressed, the programme is paused for all viewers.
For the time being: only via the browser
At the moment, the app is still in its experimental phase, which means that it is only available via the browser on smart phones, tablets, laptops, and computers. Moreover, the group capacity is still limited: as yet, only a maximum of 4 participants can enter the room.
If the concept of virtually watching television together proves to be successful during the following months, chances are that the app will also become available for use in the iOS- and Android-systems.