Watching Netflix together online: what works

Walnut can’t show Netflix, and neither can any other shared browser or screen share. There are still good ways to watch it with friends far away, and Walnut still has a part to play on the night.

Why Netflix goes black when you share it

Netflix, like most subscription streaming services, protects its video with DRM. Your browser decodes the picture so that only your own screen can show it. Anything that captures the screen gets a black rectangle instead: a screen share in Walnut, in Discord or in a video call, and a shared browser like Walnut’s TV.

Walnut’s TV notices when a page asks for DRM, and rather than show everyone a black screen it tells the room: This site can’t be shared inside Walnut. Walnut doesn’t try to get around DRM, and its terms ask you not to either.

Netflix’s own terms also say an account is for one household. Playing one person’s Netflix for friends in other homes goes against them, even where it would work.

What does work: everyone plays their own

To watch Netflix together, each person plays it on their own account and the players are kept in step. There are two ways to do that.

A sync extension

Browser extensions such as Teleparty keep everyone’s Netflix player in step and add a chat beside it. Each person needs their own Netflix account and the extension in a computer browser. Check the extension’s own site for the services and browsers it supports today.

Press play together

The low-tech way works better than you’d think. Get on a call, open the same episode, count down from three and press play at once. If someone drifts, pause, agree on a time and go again. It works on a laptop, a phone or the TV in your living room, so nobody has to squint at a small window.

A Netflix night with a Walnut for the call

Walnut can be the call. Voice in a Walnut has noise suppression, echo cancellation and a volume for each person, and the room has its chat and reactions for the rest of the night.

1. Start a Walnut at easywalnut.com and send your friends the link. Everyone needs their own free Walnut account.
2. Join voice and put headphones on, so Netflix’s sound doesn’t reach your microphone.
3. Decide what to watch. If you can’t agree, press Start on the room’s TV and look at trailers on YouTube together.
4. Open the same episode on Netflix, each on your own account, in another tab or on your own TV. Leave it paused at the start.
5. Count down and press play together. If someone drifts, pause, agree on a time and start again.

What Walnut is good for on the same night

• Before: trailers and reviews on the room’s TV, so you can choose together.
• After: the cast interviews, the explainers and the theories, in sync from YouTube.
• Instead: anything that isn’t behind DRM, such as most of YouTube, direct video links, or your own videos shared from your screen.

Honest limits

• Walnut doesn’t keep Netflix players in step. Pressing play together is the best it can offer, and a second or two of drift is normal.
• The same goes for Disney+, Prime Video, Max and most other paid services. If the TV says it can’t share a site, a screen share of it will be black too.
• Films you rent or buy on YouTube are protected the same way. Most of YouTube isn’t.
• Walnut for Windows doesn’t change any of this. Its TV is the same kind of browser, without DRM support.

Questions

Can I share my screen to watch Netflix in Walnut?

No. Netflix protects its video with DRM, so a screen share shows a black picture, in Walnut and in other apps. Each person needs to play it on their own account.

Does the same apply to Disney+, Prime Video and other services?

Mostly, yes. Paid streaming services usually protect their video the same way. Walnut’s TV tells you when a site uses DRM, so you won’t be left looking at a black screen.

What can we watch in sync in Walnut?

YouTube links and direct video links (MP4, WebM, MOV and HLS) play in sync on everyone’s own player. Any site without DRM can go on the room’s TV. Watching YouTube together.