Watch movies and series
Silo is in active development before 1.0. These guides are updated frequently.
Silo remembers where you stopped for each profile, so pick your own profile before you watch on a shared device.
Start or resume
Section titled “Start or resume”Open a movie or episode. On a series page, the play button starts the next episode for you.
- Phone or tablet: tap Play. If you’ve watched part of it, Continue Watching? asks whether to Resume or Play from Beginning.
- Web: select Play. If you’ve watched part of it, Resume Playback? offers Resume at your saved time or Play from Beginning. When the title has more than one version, the button says Resume and Play from Beginning is in the More menu.
- Apple TV and Android TV: choose Resume, or Start Over to begin again.
You can also choose the audio and subtitle tracks on the title’s page before you start.
Choose a version before playback
Section titled “Choose a version before playback”Some titles have more than one file, such as a 4K and an HD copy, or a director’s cut. The title’s page then shows Version to pick the file, and Edition to pick the cut when there’s more than one. On Apple TV, open Versions. On iPhone and iPad, Auto lets Silo choose.
Audio tracks, subtitles, and running time can differ between versions. After switching to a different cut, check where playback resumes.
Controls while you watch
Section titled “Controls while you watch”Web: move the pointer or tap the picture to show the controls. Besides pause and seek, you can change the audio track, subtitles, and Chapters. On a narrow screen, some of these move under More player options. The gear button holds Speed, from 0.5× to 3×, and Quality. When the speed isn’t 1×, the gear button shows it. The speed lasts until you close the player, and a Watch Party always plays at normal speed.
iPhone and iPad: tap the picture. Audio & Subtitles picks tracks, Chapters appears when the file has chapters, and Playback Settings has Quality and more.
Android phones and tablets: tap the picture. Audio & Subtitles picks tracks, Chapters appears when the file has chapters, and Quality changes the quality. The button with three dots opens playback settings, which also have Quality, and Version when the title has more than one.
Apple TV and Android TV: use the remote to show the controls and open the options panel (Info and options on Apple TV). It has tabs for Video, Audio, Subtitles, and Chapters when the file has them.
Quality lists Auto and lower qualities for the title. Choose Auto to let Silo pick, which plays the original file when your device and connection can. Your choice applies to what you’re watching and doesn’t change your quality settings.
If playback keeps buffering
Section titled “If playback keeps buffering”On Auto, Silo lowers the quality when playback keeps stopping to buffer. Quality lowered to stop buffering then appears with Restore quality for 15 seconds. If you picked a quality yourself, or set Silo to ask, it asks first: Playback keeps buffering offers Lower quality and Keep quality. If the title has nothing lower to play, Silo shows Can’t lower quality for this video.
After lowering, Silo remembers the slower speed for this device and network for 24 hours, so the next title starts at the lower quality too. While that limit holds a title down, the Quality menu shows Auto · limited after buffering. Restore quality goes back to the quality you had and clears the limit. To clear it later, or to have Silo ask before lowering, see Lower quality when buffering.
Silo doesn’t lower the quality on its own during a Watch Party.
Chapters, intros, and the next episode
Section titled “Chapters, intros, and the next episode”Open Chapters and choose one to jump to it. Skip Intro and similar buttons appear when Silo knows where that part starts and ends. If one skips the wrong part, send a problem report with the title, episode, and times.
In Settings > Playback, choose whether to skip intros, credits, and recaps automatically and whether to play the next episode.
Shuffle a library, series, or collection
Section titled “Shuffle a library, series, or collection”Shuffle plays random movies and episodes from a library, a series, a season, or a collection until you stop. Nothing repeats until everything in it has played, specials included. Each pick starts from the beginning, not from where you stopped, and only titles your profile can access are picked.
- In a library of movies or TV shows, select Shuffle at the top. In a narrow browser window, only its icon shows. On Android phones and tablets, it’s on the Library tab.
- For a series, open its More menu. In the web app, choose Shuffle; do the same on a season’s page to shuffle only that season. In the apps, choose Shuffle Series, or the item for the season you’re viewing, such as Shuffle Season 2. A season needs at least two episodes that can play.
- In a collection, select Shuffle. On Android phones and tablets, it’s the shuffle icon at the top of the screen.
Near the end of each title, the next-up screen shows Up Next at Random and what you’re shuffling:
- Play Now starts the next pick.
- Pick Another swaps it for a different random title. The one you skipped can still come up later.
- Stop shuffling ends the shuffle and returns you to the page where you started it.
If auto-play is on, the next pick starts on its own after a countdown. Select Auto-play is on on that screen to turn it off, or change it in Settings > Playback. During a shuffle, the player has no next episode control.