Does Watch Together require a Plex Pass subscription?

No, Watch Together feature is currently free for all users.

Which apps have the feature?

The following apps currently support the Watch Together feature. Generally speaking, everyone using the feature together will need to have the newest release of their particular app. The minimum requirements may also increase over time, as fixes and improvements are made in the apps.

• Amazon Fire TV
• Android mobile
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• iOS
• PlayStation 5
• Roku
• Smart TVs: LG, Samsung, VIZIO (see Smart TV supported models)
• Web App
• Xbox

How many users can I add to a Watch Together session?

If you are using content shared from your Plex Media Server, this will depend on the server hardware, network connection, disk speed, and content being shared. If you attempt to add too many users to a session, you may encounter playback issues.

Put another way, if your Plex Media Server and network could not handle that number of users streaming things individually all at the same time, then it would also not be able to support them for Watch Together.

What types of content can be watched together?

The Watch Together feature works with our free “Movies & TV” streaming service as well as any personal movies or TV episodes you might have in a Plex Media Server.

Can I invite a new person once a session has started?

No, once you have create a Watch Together session, no new users can be invited to the group. If you would like to add a new user, you will need to create a new session.

Can I rejoin an ongoing session once leaving?

If you leave a session early, you can rejoin by selecting the session from the Watch Together row on your Home screen.

Can I join a session from multiple devices?

You can join the same session from multiple devices on the same account. Remember that each one is an individual stream and consumes server and network resources.

If I pause playback to get a drink, what happens for other people?

If you pause playback (or seek within the content), then the same action will happen for all the other members of the session. That also means that if you pause to go to the restroom, another member of the session could resume playback while you’re gone.

Can I use change audio streams or subtitles?

If you have subtitles or different audio streams are available, they can be enabled at any time during your session. Please note that making such a change will apply only for you, and not all members of the Watch Together session.

Note: In some apps, opening playback settings to adjust audio or subtitle streams will pause your playback. Similarly, applying a change could cause you to need to re-buffer the playback with the change. In either case, that could cause other members of the session to also pause.

How do I remove a Watch Together Row from my Home screen?

The session will be removed automatically after 3 hours, however if you would like to remove it immediately:

• On mobile devices you can select the ... (More) button next to the row, and select remove.
• On AppleTV and Android TV, long press on the row, and select remove.
• On Roku, press the (*) while on the row, and select remove.

I just friended someone and they don’t show up in the invite list

If someone just accepted a friendship or sharing request from you, both of you may need to restart your player app to pick up the change, so that you can use Watch Together.

The post Frequently Asked Questions – Watch Together appeared first on Plex Support.

You’re away at college and you have friends at a different school. There’s a hankering for a good old-fashioned “family movie night”, but your relatives are thousands of miles apart. Or, you know, maybe you’re stuck inside your house during a global pandemic (wait, do those really happen??) and everyone else is stuck in their own homes, too. In any case, you’d love to watch something together, but you’re physically separated from those with which you want to watch. You could try the old “Okay, everyone hit Play at the end of the countdown” trick, but everyone knows that doesn’t work well.

So, what’s one to do when physically separated from others like this? You use Plex’s “Watch Together” feature, of course! Get a group of people together (virtually) and then play content in a synchronized manner.

The Watch Together feature works with our free “Movies & TV” streaming service as well as personal media you might have in a Plex Media Server.

Related Page: Frequently Asked Questions – Watch Together

Requirements

Watch Together is supported in the following player/client apps. Generally speaking, everyone using the feature together will need to have the newest release of their particular app. The minimum requirements may also increase over time, as fixes and improvements are made in the apps.

• Amazon Fire TV
• Android mobile
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• iOS
• PlayStation 5
• Plex HTPC
• Roku
• Smart TVs: LG, Samsung, VIZIO (see Smart TV supported models)
• Web App
• Xbox

Getting Started

The watch together feature can be accessed by selecting the (More) button on the details/preplay screen for an item, and selecting Watch Together.

Invite Friends

Once you have started a Watch Together session, you will be prompted to select the friends you wish to join the session with you. Before you can select someone for the session, you need to already be friends with that user. If you are not yet friends, simply invite them as a friend. If you’re planning to watch personal media off your Plex Media Server, make sure that you’ve shared the content with them so that they have access.

Tip!: If someone just accepted a friendship or sharing request from you, both of you may need to restart your player app to pick up the change, so that you can use Watch Together.

After you receive an invitation to a Watch Together session, a new “Watch Together” row will appear at the top of your app’s home screen. If you have multiple Watch Together sessions available, you can scroll through them. In some rare cases, you may need to restart the app for the row to appear, after being invited to the session.

Note: On mobile devices, if you’ve enabled Push Notifications for the Plex app, you will receive a notification when sent a Watch Together invitation. Selecting the notification will join the Watch Together lobby.

Lobby

Once you join the session, you will be placed in a lobby. Wait until everyone has joined and is “ready” and playback will start automatically. Otherwise, you can start the session immediately and let other people join from their own lobby screen.

Controlling Playback

While watching your content, any member of the session can pause/start playback as well as skip or scrub within the playback timeline. Doing so will adjust playback for all members in the session.

The post Watch Together appeared first on Plex Support.