The new do-it-yourself ‘Netflix and Chill’ button prepares you for binge watching your favorite TV series on long and lazy nights. Really, really lazy nights, actually.
- Officially, the buttons has been called ‘The Switch’, but the internet changed it to ‘Netflix and Chill’
- Netflix provides all the instructions on their website
- It will control your TV, home network, smart lighting system and your phone
The famous streaming service that has taken over the market in the past couple of years is either providing a way for its users to boast their IT capabilities, poking fun at the Internet of Things (IoT), or just searches into the mind of a possibly exhausted customer after a long, hard day at work.
Netflix debuted ‘The Switch’ button, which has been dubbed as the ‘Netflix and Chill’ button by the internet. It’s a make-it-yourself project through which they show how to construct a home environment controlling device. It essentially prepares you for TV series marathon without even touching your phone.
The button is set to dim the lights, switch your phone to ‘do not disturb’, order takeout food, and, of course, turn your TV to Netflix. It’s essentially with the simple purpose in mind that you could have everything needed for a movie night at the press of a button and the use of an app.
What is interesting, however, is that Netflix is not actually selling anything.
Instead, they have posted a video and instructions on how to design it all by yourself. That’s in the case where you have a “solid understanding of electronics and programming”. Admittedly, not all can boast about those skills, and might just end up dialing or turning switches manually. The magic would be lost. Poor Muggles, like us.
On the other hand, it doesn’t seem like so much of a practical design than it’s a marketing trick to draw attention. Furthermore, it might just be making fun a little at the Amazon Dash button or the high-tech IoT, where everything in your house is connected to a point where you don’t have to get off the couch anymore. It’s certainly convenient and easy.
For those who want to give the ‘Netflix and Chill’ button a try, they will need a microcontroller, a polymer lithium ion battery with a Micro USB jack, a transistor, a resistor kit, an infrared LED, and an actual button, along with a smartphone. Not quite all the items found in any garage.
However, once you’ve gathered them all, Netflix provides the rest of instructions.
The device will connect to your TV, home wireless network, your phone and the in-home smart lighting system. It’s yet unconfirmed if the streaming service will let this continue on as an advertising gimmick or if they will actually start selling the buttons themselves.
Image source: aolcdn.com
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