The Philco Predicta is a TV remembered better for its design than its sales. With a swiveling screen and sleek space-age design, it marketed itself as the first “futuristic” television, and it tends to turn up everywhere there’s a retro future from Futurama to Fallout. And now, thanks to some intrepid engineers, it can stream Netflix!
That’s a bit more challenging than just hooking up a streaming box and calling it a day. The Predicta obviously wasn’t designed to handle modern TV technology, which Netflix is built on. Much had to be reconfigured for the Predicta to even figure out the signal, let alone accept it as a television broadcast. But they not only got the Predicta streaming Netflix, you can even control the streaming just by turning the knob.
Of course, some things you just don’t change; it may now be connected to the Internet, but it still streams exclusively in rich black and white. So, perhaps stick to the vintage stuff when you use this TV. Now, if only Netflix could create a system that would let you turn your grandpa’s beast from the ’80s into a streaming device, you’d never have to explain a Roku again.
(Via The Daily Dot)