CoWatch admin

How often each browser checks whether its current video time has drifted away from the latest authoritative playback event. Lower values react faster but do a little more work in the browser. The default is 5000 ms.

The smallest drift that triggers a temporary slowdown or speedup instead of doing nothing. This is for small differences that can be corrected smoothly without jumping the video. The default is 0.12 seconds.

The drift amount where CoWatch stops trying to ease back into sync and jumps directly to the expected time. This should be higher than the speed adjust threshold. A viewer who is this far behind is first gone back for (see "Go back for a viewer") rather than jumped ahead past what they missed. A video that is still loading is never jumped, and after a jump the next one waits 10 seconds (20 if it comes within a minute), so a slow connection is not re-seeked over and over. The default is 1.25 seconds.

The shortest amount of time a temporary playback-rate correction should last. Smaller values finish corrections quickly but can make rate changes more noticeable. The default is 2 seconds.

The longest amount of time a small drift correction is allowed to stretch out. Larger values make corrections gentler but leave viewers slightly out of sync for longer. The default is 12 seconds.

The target temporary speed change as a fraction of the normal playback rate. At the default 0.06, a 1x video usually nudges toward about 0.94x or 1.06x when possible.

The largest temporary speed change CoWatch can use while easing drift. This caps aggressive corrections when the drift is close to the jump threshold. The default is 0.12.

The slowest playback rate CoWatch may temporarily use while correcting drift. It only affects automatic sync correction, not a viewer's manual speed setting. The default is 0.25x.

The fastest playback rate CoWatch may temporarily use while correcting drift. Higher values can catch up faster but may sound or look odd during correction. The default is 2.5x.

When a viewer's video stops to load, or they are stuck behind the tap-to-play prompt, the host's browser pauses everyone where that viewer stopped and plays again once they are ready, so nobody misses part of the video. Everyone sees who the room is waiting for, in chat and on the video. This is the longest the room waits before playing on without them. 0 turns waiting off, so a viewer whose video stops to load falls behind and is gone back for, or skips ahead. The default is 30 seconds.

How long a viewer's video must be stuck loading before the room waits for it, so a hiccup that clears on its own doesn't pause everyone. A stall right after a seek gets two extra seconds, since everyone loads briefly after a jump. The default is 1500 ms.

The most times the room waits for buffering, or for a viewer who dropped out, in any five minutes. Past that, a connection that keeps stalling no longer pauses everyone and that viewer catches up by skipping ahead instead. A viewer can also choose "Don't wait for me" on their own screen while the room waits. The default is 3.

When a viewer drops out while the room plays (their page closes or reloads, or their connection goes quiet for about 20 seconds), the host's browser pauses everyone where that viewer was and waits until they are back and their video is ready, then counts down and plays on. Anyone can choose "Continue without" them instead. A viewer who uses Leave & Forget isn't waited for. If the host is the one who drops out, the pause comes once host passes to someone else. This is the longest the room waits before playing on without them. 0 turns this off. The default is 30 minutes.

A viewer's video can fall behind without stopping long enough for the room to wait: a few short hiccups on a weak connection, or a slow jump. Once it is more than the jump drift behind, the host's browser takes everyone back to where that viewer is, so they don't skip what they missed, and chat says who it was for. This is the furthest the room goes back; a viewer further behind, or one who falls behind again within a minute (a device that can't keep up), skips ahead instead and is told so. Every viewer list also shows anyone whose video is a second or more out of step. 0 turns going back off. The default is 10 seconds.