We have seen all kinds of retro hacks, from old radios modified with modern hardware to Twitter support for a Commodore 64 — but I think this one rewrites some rules. Last week, Netflix organized its Hack Day, and there appeared a special edition compatible with the Nintendo NES console. All the information is stored in a 256 KB cartridge, and they even managed to play an episode of House of Cards.
The art of the retro hack
There is an extraordinary amount of hardware-focused hacks floating on the Web, and most of them don't even require advanced knowledge. Unlocking the multiplier on old Athlon and Duron processors barely required a pencil. To modify the antenna of a WiFi router, a piece of copper and a McDonald's straw is enough. But then there are retro hacks, and that's when everything gets much more interesting. Few things are as satisfying as seeing an 'old' system doing 'modern' things, defying the passage of time and bending the original rules of manufacturers. Take the case of Netflix. A service that distributes video globally definitely has a series of minimum requirements, but at the last Hack Day the company organized, three engineers concluded that a Nintendo NES console is a good system to watch series.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/_yn-rNdYZAYdarNES: Netflix on a NES
The official name of the hack is darNES, and the most impressive thing is that the console was not modified in any way. All the magic is in a cartridge with 256 kilobytes of capacity, and I must confess that the interface is excellent. We are not entirely sure about the method they used to connect the console to the Web (something tells me they didn't use one of the old Teleplay compatible modems), and there are certain extra details like the absence of sound and video in 2 bits. However, the point is that it works, and these three engineers can afford to say they were the only ones to watch an episode of House of Cards with a Nintendo NES.
Why Netflix holds Hack Day
Needless to say, it's very unlikely that any of the hacks presented during the Hack Day will become part of the Netflix product. The whole meeting aims to get Netflix engineers to take a break from their weekly work, and to use those 24 hours to develop crazy ideas. I think that reproducing Netflix on a Nintendo console fits like a glove in that description.
Official site: Official site:
