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Do you want to watch Netflix with someone on Discord, but you keep getting a black screen when you try? All you need to do is disable hardware acceleration in your browser. If that doesn't work, you can try disabling hardware acceleration in Discord, or adding Netflix as a game. This wikiHow article guides you through the process of streaming Netflix on Discord without that pesky black screen.
Avoiding a Black Screen When Streaming Netflix on Discord
Disabling "hardware acceleration" in your web browser will fix the black screen. If you're still having trouble, try disabling hardware acceleration in the Discord app, or add Netflix as a game in Discord and stream it that way. If nothing else works, try a different browser, such as Chrome, Firefox, or Opera.
Steps
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Open your browser. In our testing, the only thing that prevented the black screen when streaming Netflix in Discord was disabling hardware acceleration in your browser, regardless of whether you are using the Discord desktop app or the web app.- You can't stream Netflix on Discord using the mobile app.
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Click the Settings menu. You'll usually need to click the three dots or three horizontal lines at the top-right corner of your browser and select Settings to get there.- If you use Opera, you'll instead click the "O" in the upper-left corner to open the browser menu.
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Turn off hardware acceleration. The steps for this vary depending on your browser, but you can also use the search function to find where hardware acceleration is.- Chrome/Opera/Opera GX: Click System and make sure the toggle next to "Use graphics acceleration when available" is off.
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Edge: Click System and performance, and make sure the toggle next to "Use graphics acceleration when available" is off.
- In our testing, Edge didn't work, even with hardware acceleration turned off.
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Firefox: Scroll down in the General tab until you see the Performance header, then uncheck the box next to "Use recommended performance settings" to see more options. Then, uncheck the box next to "Use hardware acceleration when available."
- Since the Catalina update for macOS, Safari no longer features a switch so users can manually toggle hardware acceleration. You can't use Safari on Mac to stream Netflix on Discord without a black screen. Your best bet in that case is to use the desktop app or an alternative web browser, like Chrome or Firefox.
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Restart your browser. Once you've relaunched your browser, you can stream Netflix in Discord without showing a black screen.- If you're still seeing a black screen when streaming Netflix in Discord, try disabling hardware acceleration in Discord, too.
- If nothing works and you're still not able to stream Netflix in Discord, consider trying a different browser than the one you normally use. In our tests, Chrome, Firefox, and Opera worked, while Edge did not work at all.
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Open Discord. Click the app icon in your Start menu or on your Dock.- In our testing, the hardware acceleration option in Discord didn't matter when streaming Netflix. However, if disabling hardware acceleration in your browser doesn't resolve the black screen issue, you can also try disabling hardware acceleration in Discord.
- You can't stream Netflix on Discord using the mobile app.
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Click. You'll see this gear icon at the bottom of the Discord window, towards the left side of the window.
- This will open your Discord settings.
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Click Advanced. It's in the panel on the left side of the window under App Settings. -
Disable Hardware Acceleration. Click the toggle to the right of Hardware Acceleration to turn it off. Once it's off, you should be able to stream Netflix without a black screen.
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Open Netflix. If you are using the Netflix desktop app to stream, open it now. If you use Netflix in your web browser, sign in to your Netflix account.- If you don't have the Netflix app or your browser open, you won't see it available as a source to add in Discord.
- If you've disabled the hardware acceleration feature in both Discord and your web browser, but still see a black screen, this method may fix the issue.
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Open the Discord desktop app. Click the app icon that looks like a controller on a light blue background. -
Click. You'll see this gear icon at the bottom of the Discord window, towards the left side of the window.- This will open your Discord settings.
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Click Registered Games. It's under the Activity Settings header in the panel on the left side of the Discord window. -
Click Add it. This is next to the text, "Not seeing your game?" and will prompt a drop-down menu to open. -
Select your web browser or Netflix app. If you don't see your web browser or Netflix app, relaunch it. -
Click Add Game and then press Esc. Now that you've set Netflix or your browser as a "game," you can stream Netflix without a black screen.[1]
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