One interesting tool we found in our research was Syncplay.

Similarly to Rabb.it, it uses Rooms to bring a group of users together. However, instead of streaming the video online, it is an add-on application that works together with your media player of choice by synchronising the play/pause and seeking actions. All users must set up Syncplay on their personal computers. Once they have all joined the same room, then whenever one of them takes one of those actions on their media player, the same action is replicated on everybody else’s computers (e.g. when someone hits play, everyone’s video starts playing at the same time).

Syncplay is very useful for couples or a small number of friends who are apart from each other, but want to watch something privately. An initial set-up needs to be done in order to use the application, and the video file of interest has to be obtained and available on each user’s personal computer.

This makes it infeasible, or at least very inconvenient, to host an event within a group or a community. It’s difficult to make an open, social experience out of something that requires a name to be passed around and, more importantly, a specific file to be made available to use on your computer. There isn’t a way to post a link that will allow other users to join immediately, in a sort of “pick up and play” kind of way that Rabb.it aims for. While Syncplay’s method of synchronising the video is interesting, the general feel of using it is one of a “closed”, private experience.

Another point worth noting is that the only means of communications between users in a room is a chat box, with messages also appearing in the top right of the video, in a style not unlike that of subtitles. There is no option for video or voice calls, so users would have to use a third party application to enable that.

A big advantage Syncplay has over Rabb.it is that the video can be of high quality and still play reliably well, because no internet bandwidth is required to stream the video to all the machines. If you can watch HD or Blu-ray videos on your computer, then you can watch them through Syncplay. No internet subscriptions are required either, and the video can be maximised to cover the entire screen if the user so wishes.

Drawbacks of Syncplay and the method it uses:
– prior set-up required: every user needs to have the Syncplay application installed and set up, and the video has to be selected through the application by every user.
– video file required: every user requires a copy of the video file available on their personal computer.

There are several websites available which allow you to stream videos from YouTube or subscription-based online video services, such Netflix or Crunchyroll. One such website is Rabb.it.

Rabb.it is split into chat rooms. One user acting as the host is in control of what is being streamed.Rooms can be made to be public, locked, or locked to all but the host’s friends. For someone to join a locked room, they need to follow an invitation link (usually given to them by the host).

Once ready, hosts can select the video, and can play and pause it whenever they wish. The video will begin for the rest of the users too, and everyone will be watching the same video being synchronously streamed through the virtual machine controlled by the host and visible by everyone.

Rabb.it is a nice tool for getting online communities more engaged. Many people like to watch TV, so Rabb.it can be really good for those who enjoy spending time online with other people. It is especially useful for hosting events, as those invited only need to click the link and they can start already start watching. The easy set up is very user friendly.

However, there are some drawbacks to a system like rabb.it:
– unavailable videos: what if you want to watch something that is not available on any of the streaming websites?
– paid subscriptions: a 3rd party paid subscription may be required in order to utilise some of the services
– low quality: streaming requires high internet bandwidth for everyone involved, otherwise the video could stutter or run at very low quality; also, the quality depends on what is available on the streaming platform being used.
– video cannot be maximised: the chat box is always visible on the side, as well as a control menu at the bottom of the screen