We may all live in a digital world, but it's still nice to visit a friend's house and watch the latest episode of your favorite HBO show together. Now that's been made possible during a coronavirus pandemic lockdown thanks to Scener.
In what is termed as "remote co-watching," a virtual movie theater service called Scener this week added support for HBO. Scener works by allowing multiple viewers to share a stream, in this case HBO, and watch it together just like they are having a group video chat.
What Scener promises is synchronized playback, so you are all watching the same show at the same time without anyone in the virtual theater falling behind due to a poor connection (that's the theory, anyway). It works with up to 20 participants and includes text chat alongside video and audio interactions.
Joe Braidwood, Scener co-founder, said "We're excited to bring Scener's Virtual Movie Theater to HBO Now and HBO GO viewers, giving them an interactive way to stay connected while enjoying the world's best video entertainment. COVID-19 has highlighted the need to connect virtually with loved ones, and Scener's partnership with HBO provides a fantastic way to interact. By combining the worlds of live video chat and streaming entertainment, Scener makes it easy for viewers to enjoy one of our most beloved pastimes—watching TV together—from a safe distance."
As the video above explains, Scener works through a free extension for Google Chrome, which also makes it compatible with Chromebooks, but it should work with any system that supports Google's browser.
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