Netflix created a virtual room and a special interface just for Oculus Rift

Here’s something to add to your wish list. During a recent hack day, Netflix engineers built a custom interface for browsing the service on an Oculus Rift VR headset. The project appears to use the Leap Motion controller to include gesture support so you can wave your hand to scroll through movies you want to watch. The Oculus Rift isn’t quite ready for Netflix-level bingewatching, and there’s no guarantee this will become a real product, but we’re still hoping for the day when we can go full couch potato with a face computer.

Netflix may be using Internet distribution as a means to disrupt the traditional broadcast and cable-network model, but this week, the company showed off a brand new experiment that could become a future reality: Oculus meets Netflix. The mashup, appropriately dubbed Oculix, shows a user sitting in front of his laptop while wearing the virtual-reality headset to peruse Netflix’s catalog. But the real fun begins when the video shows what the Oculus wearer can see, instantly transporting viewers into a virtual room where a floating grid of television shows and films await selection. The 3D environment can be manipulated via gesture control, enabling the user to select a video, and then view it on a virtual presentation screen. Netflix’s experiment was put together as part of its annual Netflix Hack Day, during which the company showcases some of the possibilities available to developers who innovate its product.