What if your old TV could still talk to you?
Not just with clips, but with mood, the static hum, cheesy laughter from sitcoms, the glow that turned your living room into a mini stage. Before endless scrolls and thumbnail suggestions, we had surprise.
Discovery.
You’d flip channels and let randomness lead the way.
MyRetroTVs brings that magic back.
It’s a virtual TV built by Netflix engineer Joey Cato, letting you surf through clips from the 1950s to the 2000s. Each decade feels alive with its own design, packed with commercials, shows, music videos, and those little static transitions that made everything feel real.
When you visit the site, you’ll see six options: My 50s TV, My 60s TV, My 70s TV, My 80s TV, My 90s TV, My 2000s TV. Click any one to start exploring that era.
Your keyboard becomes your remote:
Use the arrow keys to switch channels
Tap B to go black-and-white
N adds picture noise
Number keys (0–9) jump you across decades
There’s no search box and that’s on purpose. You’re not supposed to hunt. You’re supposed to wander. Suddenly you’re watching forgotten jingles, old presidential ads, NBA drafts from the '80s, and sitcom openings that once lit up your evenings.
The clips are timed so if you return later, it picks up where you left off. Even the static is part of the experience not just visual flair, but a clever way to hide buffering and keep the feel analog.
I’ve always loved WWE superstars from the 90s and 2000s. Watching those fights again pulls me right back to my childhood, when Monday Night RAW was the highlight of my week. My brother and I would sit glued to the TV, completely swept up in the drama. Those moments are still some of my favorite memories.
The tech behind MyRetroTVs is simple, but clever:
YouTube hosts the clips, sorted by year and category
CSS and JavaScript create the glow, color tints, and fuzz
Memory tracking saves where you left off on each channel
Each decade has its own TV model interface with unique buttons
It’s all fake but it doesn’t feel that way. It feels like home.
Joey Cato built it to reconnect with his youth. Instead of chasing speed and slick algorithms, he chose fuzz, randomness, and vibe. It’s not built for efficiency. It’s built for emotion. A place where getting lost is the point.
Users can suggest new clips or flag ones that feel out of place. New videos drop every week. It’s not just nostalgia, it’s nostalgia that grows with you.
There’s also merch if you want to show off your favorite era. Think mugs or collectible editions that give you a bit of the experience in your hands.
Will it become a memory map of your childhood? A social space built around shared feelings? A tool to revisit who you were? Maybe. In a world that’s speeding up, this little site dares to slow down.
It wants you to drift.
To feel.
To remember.
And maybe, that’s its real magic.