Streaming services are a great way to enjoy the latest and exclusive content available. Be it Spotify for music or Netflix for series, and movies. Netflix is a great streaming service and it allows max four members to stream at the same time. But what if you have plans for a movie night with a group of around 5-7 people without gathering at one’s place? In that case, you can watch Netflix together on Zoom. Here you will know how to watch Netflix with friends on Zoom.
Also, we will share tips to fix common issues that can appear while watching Netflix together on Zoom. There can be many reasons you want to watch Netflix together on Zoom, such as following social distancing or if someone is grounded from your group. It wouldn’t make sense to share the account if there are more than four people as Netflix has a max limit of four. It would also take away all the fun that one could have from watching and talking about a movie together.
This is where video conferencing software Zoom comes into play. Why would you choose Zoom for this you might ask? Well, Zoom is easy to use and it can be used on literally any device with Zoom installed. So today we’ll be guiding you on how to watch Netflix with friends on Zoom.
How To Watch Netflix Together on Zoom
Get ready for a movie night by following these steps to watch Netflix with your friends on Zoom. Everyone in the group has to follow all these steps to prepare for a movie night together on Zoom. We assume you have already decided which movie you are going to watch together.
1. Download the Zoom Desktop Client
You must download the Zoom desktop client as it’s got better settings and above all, you don’t have to worry about anything else. Yes, Zoom can be used on web browsers, but it’s just not advisable for today’s purpose. You can get the Zoom Desktop client from here. Make sure to sign in with your account and password, or create one if you don’t have an account yet.
2. Starting or hosting a meeting
Now to host a Zoom meeting, simply click on the orange icon ‘New Meeting‘ on the home screen of the Zoom app. This will give you to choose between having the Video On, Video Off, or Screenshare Only.
Inviting friends to a scheduled meeting
- Select the meeting tab on the top.
- Click on the desired scheduled meeting.
- Now click on Copy Invitation.
- With the link copied to the clipboard, simply send it to the person via email, or text to any messaging app by pasting the link.
Inviting friends during a meeting
- Click on the arrow which appears in the Participants at the bottom.
- Click on Invite.
- Now add the person’s name or e-mail id to invite them to your ongoing meeting.
3. Play your Netflix movie
Simply log in to your Netflix account, pick the movie that has been decided to watch together on Zoom, and start playing it. You could pick any other Streaming service if available in your regions such as Plex, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, or any streaming service of your choice.
4. Screen sharing the movie using Zoom
- Go back to the Zoom Desktop Client and hit the Screen Share button. It will be located at the bottom of the app in the center.
- Upon clicking it, you’ll get receive a pop-up with all the active applications that are running.
- Select the window that has got your browser with Netflix running or you can share your whole desktop screen.
- After selecting the window make sure to enable the Share Sound option (You can choose Mono or Stereo Sound). This lets you share the audio output of the movie with everyone in the Zoom meeting. Plus, the audio and video will be played in real-time.
- The last step is to click the blue Share button. And that’s it. This is how you will be able to screen share a Netflix program with your friends via a Zoom meeting.
[Fix] Problems while watching Netflix together on Zoom
Now that you’ve learned how to watch Netflix with friends on Zoom meeting, here are few issues that can occur. So, check out know how to fix them.
1. Video stuttering while watching a movie on Zoom
Sometimes you might find one of your zoom meeting members complaining about the movie playback having some stuttering issues. Well, this could be caused only because the person might be having a slow internet connection speed or the network might be having some trouble. The only solution that you could do to fix this is by enabling the Optimize Screen Share for Video Clip.
You’ll find this option available at the bottom left. What enabling this option does is it reduces the video quality output to everyone on the meeting which may not be suitable for some, but hey, it fixes up any of the stuttering or delays that people with slower networks might have.
2. Zoom’s 40-minute restrictions
This issue will only pop up if the host doesn’t have a paid zoom account. And considering that on average a Netflix program can last at least 50 minutes, this might be a headache. But why worry? When you can always create another meeting and invite your friends to continue watching. Zoom only has limits on how long a call can last and not on how many calls you can create in a day.
3. Netflix Black screen issue in Zoom Screen share
Sometimes Zoom might have a few glitches when it comes to screen sharing. It happens usually if you try to screen share from a streaming service. This happens due to DRM and is done to avoid the content being recorded and later being distributed which results in piracy. However, there’s a fix for the black screen in Zoom.
- On the Zoom desktop client click on the Settings icon.
- Here you have to click on Video and then advanced.
- You will see the options about hardware acceleration that have already been ticked.
- Simply untick those options and you are good to go.
Conclusion
This is how you can watch Netflix together on Zoom. Yes, this method works when using other streaming services like Hulu, Amazon Prime, Plex, and even Music streaming services like Spotify, and Pandora. And oh, if you’ve got a movie file downloaded to your system, simply play it with the media player of your choice and screen share it via Zoom!
So that’s all on how to watch Netflix with friends on Zoom. Let us know if you use Zoom to watch video together.
Also Check:
When screen sharing Netflix through Zoom, the participants video/audio lags about a second behind. Is there a fix for this?
Hi Cole,
You could try selecting the optimize video option or maybe your internet connection could be at fault. If it still occurs, it’s something that has to be looked into by Zoom itself.