+1 I’d love to have this feature. I bought some Chrome Cast Audio devices to try this but that means I can’t use my media servers as the source. I’m dying for this type of functionality.
+1 multi room audio
If the 100+ posts and 600+ likes don’t express it, this feature, if approached it’s the most fundamental essence, has more use cases than all of Plex itself. I have not read every post, but a sample of the use cases and opportunities for really creative plugins I’ve read are as follows:
- Keep screaming kids calm on a long trip
- Virtually watch a movie or listen to music with a long distance loved one
- Party-mode playing the same video on every screen in the house (or bar)
- Wireless headphones for a TV
- Ambilight
- Synchronized billboards
- Whole-house audio, a la Sonos (squeezebox may have some useful insights)
- Distributed intercom/paging system
- Everything else I missed
Just looking at that list and the real world applications that it represents shows this to have the potential to be a big disrupter for some pretty big markets: Advertising, Home integration, Entertainment Venues (Sports Bars, Bowling Alleys, etc), Hospitality (Restaurants, Hotels, etc) just to name a few. Add to that the contributions as social services (military, visually/hearing impaired, etc) and you’ve got yourself a complete game changer.
Market and license this right and Plex could be everywhere.
Some of this is exaggerated for effect, but there is truth and realistic possibility in everything written above. How it aligns with Plex’s business mission and how to make it a reality I leave to folks far more capable than I.
Oh, yea… +1 
-bs…
+1 and I voted…
This would be phenomenal for my family and I living in several different countries.
This is the only feature I’ve ever voted for. It would be truly extraordinary and launch plex into the stratosphere. Despite that this feature doesn’t exist, I often try to accomplish in-sync playback using press-play-on-multiple-remotes-at-the-same-time method. It actually works OK but it will noticeably drift out of sync after about 30 minutes and makes it impossible to pause/resume.
Now, I want to acknowledge how technically difficult keeping videos in perfect sync actually is! If plex wanted to go down this road, you could begin with a basic “synced start” feature. Basically, start the same video from two receivers at the same time and make some basic attempt to have them synchronize the moment that playback begins. Then, make it so that pausing one video pauses the other, and apply the same “synced start” logic when resuming from a pause. Yes, nothing keeps them in sync after they start, so the receivers would still drift out of sync over time.
I think such a feature would not be all that difficult to implement (not nearly as difficult as keeping the videos perpetually in sync). If you slap “BETA” on that feature it would manage expectations and still be AWESOME in many circumstances:
-In my home the network is solid and the drift takes quite a while. We generally don’t notice it 'till the very end of a 30 minute show. If “synced start” logic is applied to pause/resume, then a person could simply pause and resume if they notice an echo or whatever.
-In the long-distance scenario, the drift matters less. A phone /skype connection is always going to have .25-.5 seconds latency anyway so it’s really impossible for it to seem perfect even if it actually is synced. But having the same control over start, pause, and resume would still accomplish that feeling of being connected to the other party.
+1 this would be great for staying in touch with family and friends
@jniland said:
This is the only feature I’ve ever voted for. It would be truly extraordinary and launch plex into the stratosphere. Despite that this feature doesn’t exist, I often try to accomplish in-sync playback using press-play-on-multiple-remotes-at-the-same-time method. It actually works OK but it will noticeably drift out of sync after about 30 minutes and makes it impossible to pause/resume.Now, I want to acknowledge how technically difficult keeping videos in perfect sync actually is! If plex wanted to go down this road, you could begin with a basic “synced start” feature. Basically, start the same video from two receivers at the same time and make some basic attempt to have them synchronize the moment that playback begins. Then, make it so that pausing one video pauses the other, and apply the same “synced start” logic when resuming from a pause. Yes, nothing keeps them in sync after they start, so the receivers would still drift out of sync over time.
I think such a feature would not be all that difficult to implement (not nearly as difficult as keeping the videos perpetually in sync). If you slap “BETA” on that feature it would manage expectations and still be AWESOME in many circumstances:
-In my home the network is solid and the drift takes quite a while. We generally don’t notice it 'till the very end of a 30 minute show. If “synced start” logic is applied to pause/resume, then a person could simply pause and resume if they notice an echo or whatever.
-In the long-distance scenario, the drift matters less. A phone /skype connection is always going to have .25-.5 seconds latency anyway so it’s really impossible for it to seem perfect even if it actually is synced. But having the same control over start, pause, and resume would still accomplish that feeling of being connected to the other party.
Great idea to implement this +1
Throwing in my vote. I’ve got my big TV in my bed room and I usually have it running some show on shuffle, but when I move out to my desktop in the living room I’m just listening to the audio from the other room wishing I could see the video on my secondary monitor. Would love to have the same stream running between multiple so I could roam my house and keep watching. As a temporary solution I’m just using remote desktop.
Do want. Sounds awesome.
yes please!
Came here searching for how to do this. I don’t personally need actual sync - I just want to play the same music (podcast, whatever) on the device in my garage, shed, and basement workshop, all controlled from the app on my cell phone without having to switch devices every time I walk from one to the other. But I’d also definitely use “poo mode” if it existed. 
Can’t believe (sort of…) that this still hasn’t been implemented.
+1 as well!
Just today I was asked about this. Shared with a friend the extension “showgoers” that allows Chrome to sync play states (no need for multicast or anything, just sync play states) and provides an optional IM chat. Then I was asked the obvious question I was dreading.
I’m not surprised Plex hasn’t implemented this (as it may look like a fringe scenario) but I’m surprised it hasn’t been released as a third party extension for the web player.
This could be an amazing feature just for those of us who need to do household chores. Moving from room to room and being able to enjoy the same stream in my house would be great!
Yeah Id love this feature to watch movies with my gf when we aren’t
together.
@atomhead said:
Yeah Id love this feature to watch movies with my gf when we aren’t
together.
I don’t understand. If you’re not physically together, why does it matter that you watch exactly at the same time? Do you talk it out over the phone while watching?
Yes, exactly.
This would be awesome!! Plex please take this to consideration!
