Photograph: Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock Play video games remotelyĪmong Us is one of many innovative co-operative and multiplayer games you can play remotely on phones, tablets, PCs and consoles. The BBC launched a pilot service called Together last year that allows you to group iPlayer, Sounds, Bitsize, News and Sport on a computer.īut don’t forget, if you pause it your end for a quick pit-stop it’ll pause it mid-action for everyone else too, which they might not thank you for.įor a low-tech alternative you could just tune into a live broadcast on TV or stream and chat with WhatsApp. Group watching on Netflix is more limited at the moment, requiring the free Teleparty Chrome or Edge browser extension on your PC, Mac or Chromebook, so it won’t work on your smart TV, phone or iPad, but you can text chat with other viewers in a bar to the side. Amazon’s Prime Video Watch Party can do similar via Android devices, computers in the browser or Fire TV devices.

It lets you invite other people with a Disney+ subscription to join you to watch the content at the same time. If you’d rather not see the faces of others when watching a film, or you don’t use Apple devices, you can still watch on-demand services together remotely.ĭisney+ has a feature called GroupWatch built in, which is easy to use and works on most devices. You can still watch the best Christmas film as a group, even if you can’t be in the same room. Place a tablet or laptop at the end of the table if someone can’t make a gathering. Those sitting on their own should use headphones to avoid feedback and help keep conversations more natural, and shorter video chats are usually better to avoid fatigue. Google users can use Meet on Android, in Chrome on a computer or iPhone and iPad apps. It can be used for free for up to 40 minutes at a time.įor those in the Apple ecosystem, FaceTime is built into every iPhone, iPad or Mac, is very easy to use and now you can send invites to those on Android or Windows for calls in their browser. Zoom is one of the easiest cross-platform services available with an app available for most devices. You can use almost any device with a camera, but tablets or laptops are the easiest to set up for longer chats if you have them. Video calls are most people’s first port of call. Photograph: ArtistGNDphotography/Getty Images A quick video call can keep someone involved in Christmas, even if they’re not in the same house with you.

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