How to Watch Multiple Streams at Once

To watch multiple streams at once, you can use a multi-stream viewer like ViewGrid. It lets you combine several live streams from platforms like YouTube, Twitch, and Kick into a single grid in your browser window. You just add the stream links you want, and they all play side-by-side without needing to juggle separate tabs or windows.

This is especially useful for following live events from different angles, keeping up with multiple streamers in a tournament, or watching a friend's gameplay alongside a main broadcast. Instead of your computer struggling to run several independent browser tabs, everything is managed in one place.

How to Set Up Your First Multi-Stream Grid

Creating a grid for your streams is straightforward. You don't need an account to get started.

1. Open the multi-stream layout tool in your web browser.
2. Find the "Add Stream" box. You can paste the full URL of a stream or video from a supported platform. You can also just type a channel name.
3. Press Enter or click the "Add" button. The stream will appear in the first available slot in the grid.
4. Repeat the process for each stream you want to add. As you add more, they will automatically fill the grid.
5. Use the layout buttons in the toolbar to change the arrangement of the streams on your screen. You can choose from layouts for 1, 2, 3, 4, and all the way up to 20 streams on a desktop computer.

You can also search for live YouTube streams directly from within the grid if you don't have a specific link handy.

Why a Grid is Better Than Multiple Browser Tabs

Opening four separate Twitch or YouTube tabs might seem easy, but it's often inefficient. Each browser tab runs its own process, consuming a separate chunk of your computer's memory (RAM) and processing power (CPU). This is why your computer's fan might spin up and videos can start to stutter—it’s working hard to manage all those independent tabs.

A multi-stream tool consolidates everything into a single browser tab. This allows for more efficient management of resources. While it's still a demanding task to decode several high-definition videos at once, it's generally less taxing on your system than the scattered approach of using multiple tabs.

Keep in mind, however, that there are limits. Watching many streams, especially at high quality like 1080p, still requires a reasonably modern computer and, most importantly, a fast and stable internet connection. If your connection is slow or unreliable, streams will still buffer.

Managing Audio, Chat, and Layouts

Once your grid is set up, you have a few simple controls to manage the viewing experience.

Audio Control

Every stream you add starts muted by default. This prevents a wall of noise when you first load a grid. To hear a stream, just click the speaker icon on that video player. Clicking it again will mute it. You can switch which stream's audio you're listening to with a single click, so you can easily follow the conversation on one stream while visually monitoring the others.

Live Chat

If you want to follow the conversation, you can open the live chat for any single Twitch, YouTube, or Kick stream. Clicking the chat icon in the toolbar opens a side panel next to your video grid, displaying the chat for the currently selected stream. This lets you participate or just follow along without needing another window open.

Focus and Fullscreen

Sometimes you need a closer look at the action in one particular stream. Clicking on any video in the grid will bring it into "focus view," making it the large, primary window while the others become small thumbnails. This is great for temporarily focusing on a key moment without losing track of the other feeds. You can also take any single stream to fullscreen, just like a normal video player.

What Platforms Can You Watch?

ViewGrid is designed to work with the most common streaming platforms. It uses each platform's official embedded player to show the video, so the experience is reliable. You can add content from:

YouTube (both live streams and regular videos)
Twitch
Kick
Rumble
* Custom HLS links (files ending in .m3u8)

This allows you to mix and match sources. For example, you could have a grid with two Twitch streams, a YouTube news broadcast, and a Kick stream all running at the same time.

Watching on a Phone, Tablet, or TV

While the best experience is on a desktop computer with a larger screen, you can also watch multiple streams on other devices.

On Mobile: You can use ViewGrid in your phone's web browser (at viewgrid.tv/m) or through the iOS and Android apps. The interface is adapted for smaller screens, and the maximum number of simultaneous streams is limited to 6 to ensure performance on mobile devices.

On a TV: There isn't a dedicated "cast" button within ViewGrid. To watch a grid on your TV, you can use the general features of your devices. The most common methods are opening viewgrid.tv in your smart TV's built-in web browser, connecting a laptop to your TV with an HDMI cable, or using the screen mirroring function of your phone, tablet, or computer.

Saving and Sharing Your Layouts

One of the most useful features is the ability to share a specific grid you've created. The entire layout—all the streams and their arrangement—is contained within the page's URL.

To share your grid, just copy the URL from your browser's address bar and send it to someone. When they open the link, they will see the exact same layout you created.

If you want to save a layout for yourself to watch again later, you can create a free ViewGrid account. An account lets you save your favorite grids so you can quickly bring them up without having to add all the streams again.

Pre-Made Grids for Live Events

For major live events, you often don't need to build a grid yourself. The Events page on ViewGrid features pre-made layouts for ongoing news, sports, and gaming events. For example, during a major gaming tournament, you might find a grid that includes the main broadcast, an official B-stream, and the point-of-view streams of several popular players, all set up and ready to watch.