Distance. Deleted.
This project was born out of frustration, & From a long-distance relationship, my friends are scattered across different cities. Like many people, we tried to keep our movie nights alive using standard tools like Discord, Zoom, or Google Meet.
And the experience was awful.
- The Lag: "Wait, did you see that?" "No, I'm 5 seconds behind."
- The Quality: The stream would pixelate into a blurry mess during action scenes.
- The Desync: Hearing them laugh at a joke that hadn't happened on my screen yet completely ruined the immersion.
I realized that conference tools are built for static slides and talking heads, not 24fps high-bitrate cinema. I didn't want to just screenshare; I wanted to watch together.
As a UI/UX designer and developer, I couldn't handle the friction anymore. I wanted a platform that prioritized video synchronization above all else. I wanted to replicate the feeling of sitting on the same couch, even when we were miles apart.
So, I built NearWatch. Watch Together, Feel Together.