Netflix Hack Day ends in three features that need to exist right freaking now

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Mobile By Russell Holly Aug. 21, 2014 5:40 pm
As it sits right now, Netflix is one of the better streaming experiences available. Every couple of months, the company holds a “Hack Day” where the product development and technical teams fool around with the innards of Netflix in order to try out fun new things. The last couple of events like this have yielded some fun things, but the results of this most recent event has created several things that Netflix really should be implementing immediately.
[h=3]Netflix Hue[/h] While there are several apps out there that try to match your Hue lights to whatever is happening on the television, there’s an inherent disconnect when the provider of the video and the controller of the lights aren’t the same app. Sync issues or even flat out lag can happen, and that creates a less-than-great experience. Netflix Hue works with the same basic concept, where it grabs whatever the dominant color is being shown on the screen and sets the Hue bulbs to match. What makes this significant is that Netflix is doing this in line, which means there’s a significantly decreased chance for lag or errors.
Make this happen for real, Netflix. It’s too cool to just sit on a shelf.
[h=3]Oculix[/h] Watching video on an Oculus Rift is not a new trick, but compared to everything else the Rift can do the experience is a little on the plain side. Oculix takes the Netflix experience and gives it the Professor X Cerebro experience, placing videos in an impressive 3D orb around you. Tile your head to find things, use hand gestures through a Leap Motion to make a selection, and enjoy your movie in a virtual movie theater. It’s a cool idea, especially if you’re showing off what the Oculus Rift can do.
I could easily see this being one of the most popular apps on the Oculus Rift when a consumer version is finally sold, but Netflix would need to make that happen.
[h=3]Netflix Mini[/h] If you’ve ever worked in an open environment, you’re probably no stranger to seeing co-workers with headphones on. It probably wouldn’t surprise you to learn that a bunch of those people probably have Netflix scaled down in a tiny window so they can watch something while they work, either. Netflix Mini takes this idea and makes it a Chrome Extension, so you can watch a movie or TV show in that tiny floating window without having to flip back and forth between windows or worry about window sclaing issues. It’s probably the kind of thing that will get someone fired, but at the same time it’s something many other people would gladly pay money for.
These are all things a ton of people would absolutely love Netflix for implementing, and since there are already functional prototypes we know these things are possible.
You can do it, Netflix. Make it happen.



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