How to Watch Multiple Streams at Once on One Screen

To watch multiple streams at once, you can use a multi-stream viewer tool. These tools let you paste links from different platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Kick into a single browser window, creating a custom grid of video players. This way, you can follow several events, streamers, or camera angles on one screen without juggling multiple tabs.

ViewGrid is a free tool for this. You don’t need an account to start; you just open the site and begin adding the streams you want to watch.

Setting Up Your First Multi-Stream View

Creating a grid of streams is straightforward. You find the streams you want to watch and combine them in a layout that works for you. Here’s how to do it step-by-step.

1. Find Your Streams
2. First, decide which streams you want to follow. Go to Twitch, YouTube, Kick, or Rumble and open the channels or videos. Copy the URL from your browser's address bar for each one. You can also just make a note of the channel names.

1. Add Streams to the Grid
2. Navigate to the ViewGrid multi-stream viewer. You’ll see an input box. Paste the first URL you copied into the box and press Enter. The stream will appear in the grid. Repeat this for each stream you want to add. You can also type a channel name directly into the box. For YouTube, there's a search function to find live streams without leaving the page.

1. Choose a Layout
2. As you add streams, they will automatically arrange themselves. You can change this arrangement using the layout controls. ViewGrid offers different grid sizes, from a simple two-stream side-by-side view up to a 20-stream grid on a desktop computer. On a phone, you can watch up to six streams at once.

1. Control the Audio
2. This is one of the most important parts of watching multiple streams. By default, every stream you add will be muted. To hear one, just click the speaker icon on that video player. The audio will switch to that stream, and any previously unmuted stream will be muted again. This lets you quickly jump between audio sources without having them all play over each other.

1. Bring Up the Chat
2. If you want to follow the conversation, you can open the live chat for any single Twitch, YouTube, or Kick stream. Look for the chat icon. Clicking it will open that stream's chat in a panel next to your video grid, so you can watch the action and the community reaction at the same time.

Customizing Your View

Once your streams are in place, you can adjust the view to better suit what you’re watching.

Focus on a Single Stream

Sometimes you want one stream to be the main event with others as secondary feeds. You can click on any stream in the grid to put it in "focus mode." This makes that video player large and arranges the others as smaller thumbnails on the side. Click it again to return to the balanced grid layout.

You can also make any single stream go completely fullscreen, just like on its native platform.

Immersive View

To minimize distractions, you can hide the top toolbar and other controls. This "immersive view" leaves just the video players on the screen, which is great for keeping your attention on the content itself.

Share Your Layout

The URL in your browser's address bar updates automatically as you add or remove streams. This means you can share your exact layout with someone else just by copying and pasting the link. If you're watching an event with friends, you can all sync up on the same set of streams instantly. If you want to save a layout for later, you can create a free account to store your favorite grids.

Practical Things to Keep in Mind

Watching many video streams at once requires a decent amount of system resources. Here are a few things to be aware of.

Internet and Computer Performance

Every stream you add is a separate video connection. Watching four 1080p streams is more demanding on your internet connection than watching one. If you notice buffering or stuttering, try closing a few streams or lowering the video quality on some of the players.

Similarly, your computer's processor has to decode all that video. Older computers might struggle with a large number of high-quality streams. If your computer's fan starts running loudly or your browser feels slow, that's a sign you may be pushing its limits.

Mobile vs. Desktop

You can watch multiple streams on your phone using the ViewGrid mobile apps or by visiting the website in your mobile browser. However, the experience is different from a desktop. Due to the smaller screen size and different processing power, the number of simultaneous streams is limited to six on mobile devices, compared to twenty on a desktop.

Getting Your Grid on a TV

People often ask how to watch a multi-stream grid on a television. Since ViewGrid is a web-based tool, it doesn't have a "cast" button like some video apps. The most common methods don't involve a specific ViewGrid feature but rather your existing hardware:

HDMI Cable: The simplest way is to connect a laptop to your TV with an HDMI cable and use the TV as a second monitor.
TV's Web Browser: Many smart TVs have a built-in web browser. You can navigate to ViewGrid's website directly on your TV to set up a grid.
* Screen Mirroring: You can use your computer or phone's built-in screen mirroring feature (like AirPlay or Miracast) to display your browser window on the TV.

When Is a Multi-Stream View Most Useful?

While you can use a multi-stream setup for anything, it’s especially helpful in a few key situations.

Live Sporting and Esports Events

For major tournaments, you can have the main broadcast in one window while watching the individual point-of-view (POV) streams of your favorite players in others. This gives you a much fuller picture of the game, letting you see specific strategies and reactions that the main broadcast might miss. For a curated list of popular events, you can check the [Events Calendar](/events), which often has pre-made grids ready to go.

If you're a serious fan of live events, you might also find our "Multi Stream Setup Guide for Watching Live Events" helpful for more detailed strategies.

Breaking News or Game Launches

When a big story is developing or a new video game patch drops, multiple creators go live at once to cover it. You can set up a grid to watch different news channels for varied perspectives or see how different streamers react to new game features simultaneously. This lets you gather a lot of information quickly without constantly switching between tabs.