Netflix Oculus Rift hack lets you watch House of Cards in your own private cinema
Hack transports you from your bedroom to a dimmed theatre
Thursday 21 August 2014
A debate has been bubbling away for some time now about whether the Netflix experience of watching a movie on a tablet in bed can match actually going to a cinema, but now a hack that makes the streaming service fully 3D has brought it full circle, sort of.
Fooling around on a day off, Netflix staff hacked their own code to see what weird and wonderful new features they could come up with.
'Oculix' was one of the more interesting creations, turning its scrolling menu into a 3D galaxy of thumbnails and its viewer into a cinema screen.
The latter makes sitting down to watch an episode of House of Cards like going to a cinema, albeit a weird, claustrophobic dystopian cinema with no audience or curtains or chairs or sticky floors.
Fairly useless, I'm sure you'll agree, but it's interesting that Netflix is playing around with the technology.
If VR does prove to be a game changer and not just a brief distraction for the entertainment industry, it could one day be implemented in the creation of content itself, giving a truly immersive experience of something like HoC, where you find yourself in the corridors of the White House yourself.
Read more: How to make a rubbish home cinema for £0
TV reviewGrace Dent: Jimmy McGovern's new drama sheds light on sex slavery in the colonies
Arts & Ents blogs
- 1 Shia LaBeouf's heartbeat is now available for livestreaming
- 2 Jeremy Clarkson says foreign London taxi drivers' cabs smell of 'sick'
- 3 Meteor over Loch Ness: This is how the photographer captured the breath-taking picture
- 4 Ryanair to offer £10 flights to the US? Don't get too excited
- 5 Gay teenager flooded by messages of support after his father described his coming out as 'worse than death'
-
Jeremy Clarkson set to host Have I Got News For You after Top Gear suspension
-
St Patrick's Day 2015: The worst Irish accents in film history
-
Raised by Wolves, review: Caitlin Moran's Channel 4 series makes for an enjoyable trip down memory lane
-
X Factor New Zealand judges Natalia Kills and Willy Moon sacked after 'bullying' contestant Joe Irvine live on air
-
Game of Thrones season 5: Drama will 'go on ten years' if HBO bosses can convince creators
-
Nigel Farage sparks race row by insisting discrimination in the workplace should be legalised
-
Nigel Farage: 'Some Muslims want to kill us'
-
Earth has exceeded four of the nine limits for hospitable life, scientist claims
-
Jeremy Clarkson: David Cameron backs 'friend' and 'huge talent' after witnesses claim Top Gear 'fracas' was over steak
-
Greek bailout crisis: Athens threatens to seize German assets 'as compensation for Nazi war crimes'
-
Jeremy Clarkson suspended: Top Gear presenter 'considering leaving BBC anyway' even if he's cleared
Crowdfunding: The end-end solution for business success.
Calling all entrepreneurs! See how crowdfunding can provide you with a full-circle, end to end solution for your business.
Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.