What this article covers:
- What is Watch Together?
- Starting Watch Together in Discord
- How to use Watch Together on Desktop
- How to use Watch Together on Mobile
- Frequently Asked Questions
WHAT IS WATCH TOGETHER?
Watch Together is a collaborative way to watch YouTube videos with others. In Watch Together, everyone can participate in building a playlist of videos. Watch Together will handle the video syncing for you - no counting down to pressing play!
STARTING WATCH TOGETHER IN DISCORD
There are many different ways you can launch Watch Together in the Discord app for you and your friends! Whether in a server’s voice channel, in a direct message (DM), or a group message you can check out How to Use Apps for instructions on how to start any Activity.
Before starting any Discord Activity on Desktop, please make sure to turn on Hardware Acceleration in User Settings > Advanced.
HOW TO USE WATCH TOGETHER ON DESKTOP
Adding Videos
After opening up the activity, you can use the search bar to search for videos or scroll through the list to add a video to the playlist by pressing the add button [+] within the desired video.
You can also add videos to the shared playlist by pasting a YouTube video link into the search bar.
As soon as there are videos in the playlist, they will begin autoplaying in order.
Deleting a Video
To delete a video from the playlist, select the trashcan icon to the right of the video.
This will remove the video from the playlist and instantly play the next video listed.
If Sharing mode is not enabled, participants will only be able to delete the videos they have added to the playlist. The host is the only person who can delete any video in Hosting mode.
Hosting or Sharing
By default, the person who started Watch Together is the host. In Hosting mode, the host controls what’s playing, pausing, scrubbing, skipping, reordering, and can delete any video from the playlist. However, anyone can add videos to the playlist.
If the host wants others to be able to control the video playback, they can toggle to Sharing mode. When sharing, all participants have control over the playlist, the video, and their actions to the video state apply to every user in the session.
We recommend Hosting when in big groups and Sharing when in small groups!
Adjusting Your Volume
Volume changes are always local, so if any user adjusts the volume or mutes the YouTube player, only their own audio is affected.
When using Watch Together on desktop, you can adjust the video volume within the video itself using the volume slider in the video or by adjusting your device’s volume.
On mobile, the volume icon in the video window can only mute or unmute the sound. To control the volume, you need to adjust your device’s volume
HOW TO USE WATCH TOGETHER ON MOBILE
Adding and Deleting Videos
After opening the activity on your mobile device, you can use the search bar to search for videos or scroll through the list to add videos to the playlist.
If you wish to delete videos from the playlist, select the Playlist button located in the bottom hub to navigate to the Playlist. Then, tap the vertical ellipsis and select Delete to remove the video from the playlist.
Hosting and Sharing
By default, the host will be the person who initiated the activity. As the host, they can choose to share the video playback controls by heading over to the Playlist tab and tapping the lock button beneath the video. Then, toggle the Allow everyone to edit the playlist and video state setting. Now everyone should be able to control the video playback!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: If I pause the video, does it pause for everyone else?
A: Yes, if one user pauses the video, it will pause for everyone. However, when the remote is not shared only the Host can pause the video.
Q: How does saved search history work?
A: Your search history is saved locally and is only visible to you, so the next time you use Watch Together you can easily select from things you have searched for before. Search history is only used to provide possible searches, it is not used to customize search results or recommended videos.
You can clear the history by clicking Remove next to each item in the search history list.
Q: Why does Watch Together stop playing videos?
A: Playback of videos is limited to 180 minutes if watching with a group or 30 minutes if watching alone. When the max playback limit is reached by an individual user, playback will end for that user. This will start a 10-minute cool-down, after which you can continue watching. This same timer applies no matter what server or voice chat you are in.
Meanwhile, the video will continue playing for viewers who have not reached their playback limit.
If you are Hosting and hit your playback limit, Watch Together will automatically assign Host to someone who has not reached their playback limit.You do not reclaim Host status when your cooldown timer runs out.
If you do not interact with Watch Together for 30 minutes, your session will be paused until you interact with WT again. If you are Host and you hit your inactivity limit, Watch Together will not reassign host to another user.
Q: Can I hide the Activity Launcher or remove the activity from my server?
A: If you have the admin permission in your server, you can hide the Activity Launcher for certain roles. To do this, go to Server Settings > Roles > Permissions > Voice Channel Permissions and toggle off the Use Activities permission.
You can also hide the Activity Launcher for a channel category or specific voice channel by right-clicking and going to Voice Channel Permissions.
Q: Can I change this activity to my preferred language?
A: This Activity is currently available only in English, but you can search for videos in different languages within the YouTube player.
Q: Why can’t I hear the video’s audio?
A: Watch Together plays audio through your operating system's audio output device. Your operating system's audio output could be different from your Discord audio output. If you are hearing the voices of other people in a call, but you're not hearing the audio from videos in Watch Together, it means you have set your Discord audio output to a different device than your system audio output.
To change the audio output for Watch Together, you'll need to change the audio source selected for your operating system. To find and update your operating system's audio output, look for the speakers icon in the Taskbar on Windows, or in System Preferences on a Mac.
Q: I have YouTube Premium. Why do I see ads while in Watch Together?
A: Watch Together utilizes YouTube's embedded player and does not support logging into your YouTube account during Activity sessions. Any restrictions will still apply when launching the activity.
Q: Where can I report bugs and problems with the activity?
A: You'll be able to submit a bug report by going to https://dis.gd/bugreport
For instructions on how bug reports should be submitted, please see our Help Center article: https://dis.gd/bugs