Reewynd
A curated Android TV experience for rediscovering the public media archive.
Reewynd is a purpose-built Android TV application designed to surface publicly available film and television content from the Internet Archive. It provides a lean-back browsing experience suited to television, enabling viewers to discover and enjoy classic media without accounts, subscriptions, or unnecessary complexity.
Content powered by Archive.org
Concept and Rationale
The Internet Archive hosts an extraordinary collection of public domain and openly licensed film and television content. However, the existing interfaces are optimised for desktop search and direct access, not passive discovery on a television screen.
Television viewing is fundamentally different from computer use. It favours relaxed, ambient consumption over targeted retrieval. Viewers want to browse, not search. They want to settle into content, not hunt for it.
Reewynd reframes the Archive's holdings as a television experience. It presents content in a familiar, navigable structure suited to remote control interaction, enabling viewers to discover classic films and series in their living room without friction.
Product Philosophy
Lean-back over power-user
Television is a passive medium. The interface prioritises comfortable browsing over exhaustive control.
No mandatory accounts
Viewers should not need to create an identity to watch public content. Access is immediate.
No dark patterns
No manipulative notifications, no engagement traps, no manufactured urgency.
Public access first
The Archive exists to serve the public. Reewynd exists to make that service accessible on television.
Clarity over features
A smaller, coherent experience is preferable to a bloated one. Features earn their place.
Respect the living room
Television occupies shared, domestic space. The application behaves accordingly.
Delivery Approach
Situation
Public media archives contain remarkable content, but television-based access remains poor. Existing interfaces favour desktop workflows and direct search, leaving a gap for passive, living-room discovery.
Task
Design and deliver a native Android TV application that reframes archival content as a curated television experience, without requiring accounts or compromising on UX integrity.
Approach
- Independent research into Archive.org content structures and metadata
- Iterative prototyping with real content and real devices
- Time-boxed milestones to maintain focus and deliverability
- UX-first technical decisions, prioritising viewer experience over implementation convenience
- Constraint-driven design, treating limitations as creative boundaries
Result
A production Android TV application available on the Google Play Store. A coherent, end-to-end experience that fulfils its original premise: bringing the public archive into the living room.
Current State
Reewynd is a production application, available now on the Google Play Store for Android TV devices.
- •Account-free access to public domain film and television content
- •TV-native browsing interface designed for remote control navigation
- •Integrated playback with standard media controls
- •Lightweight local persistence for viewing continuity
- •Clear separation of discovery, playback, and content sources
- •Intentional restraint in feature scope, prioritising coherence over breadth
Future Exploration
The following features are under consideration. They are not commitments.
Device-local viewer profiles
Optional profiles stored only on the device, allowing a display name and avatar without requiring sign-in or cloud identity. Designed to personalise the experience while preserving the no-accounts philosophy.
Enhanced custom curation
Backend-assisted playlist generation to surface relevant content based on viewing patterns and preferences. Any such system would maintain the application's commitment to privacy and account-free access.
Reewynd Rewind
A shareable retrospective of viewed content, presented as a curated montage rather than analytics. Shareable via QR code, optionally including the viewer's local name and avatar. A celebration of discovery, not surveillance.
Some future exploration is supported by an experimental backend curation service currently in development.
Technical Overview
Platform
Android TV (Leanback)
Language
Kotlin
Playback
Modern Android media stack
Persistence
Device-local storage
Architecture
- •Separation of UI, playback, and data layers
- •Designed for extensibility without premature complexity
- •Content sourced via Archive.org public APIs
- •Metadata enrichment through standard industry sources
Screenshots
Home
TV Series
Movies
Series Details
External Links
A Private Intelligent Consulting Project
Reewynd demonstrates product-led thinking applied to a genuine gap in the market. It represents end-to-end delivery capability: from initial concept through research, design, development, and production release. The project reflects the same rigour and judgement that Private Intelligent Consulting brings to client engagements.