Posted on 04/20/2006 6:26:51 AM PDT by Xenophobic Alien
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- In this era of easy ad skipping with TiVo-like video recorders, could television viewers one day be forced to watch commercials with a system that prevents channel switching?
Yes, according to Royal Philips Electronics. A patent application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office said researchers of the Netherland-based consumer electronics company have created a technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it.
The pending patent, published on March 30, said the feature would be implemented on a program-by-program basis. Devices that could carry the technology would be a television or a set-top-box.
Philips acknowledged, however, that the anti-channel changing technology might not sit well with consumers and suggested in its patent filing that consumers be allowed to avoid the feature if they paid broadcasters a fee.
On Wednesday, company officials issued a statement that noted the technology also enables the opposite: allowing viewers to watch television without advertising. The intention was never to force viewers to watch ads against their will, the company said of the technology.
"We developed a system where the viewer can choose, at the beginning of a movie, to either watch the movie without ads, or watch the movie with ads," the company stated. "It is up to the viewer to take this decision, and up to the broadcaster to offer the various services."
The company also said it had no plans to use the technology in any of its products.
Philips wanted to provide the technology and seek the patent only as part of the broader developments within the industry, Philips spokesman Andre Manning said.
"Philips acknowledged, however, that the anti-channel changing technology might not sit well with consumers and suggested in its patent filing that consumers be allowed to avoid the feature if they paid broadcasters a fee."
PAY A FEE to not watch commercials?
#$%@ them all, I'll yank my satellite dish off the wall and burn it, first. I don't watch network TV as it is, because I'm sick and tired of the constant deluge of commercials screaming at me.
It's getting to the point where we'll need a lawyer sitting in our houses all day and night, watching whenever we read a book, magazine, or watch something on our tvs, or use our computers, to make sure we're not 'infringing" on these leeches "rights" to try and sell us crap.
Any manufacturer's that buy into this technology, better be prepared to lose a LOT of money, I know i'm not the only one fed up with commercials.
Great, so when I watch the 3 Stooges on Spike, I will have to endure those Bob commercials about ED.
Don't think that this hasn't crossed the mind of some execs. Clothing companies have already figured this out....see all the 'Tommy', 'Old-Navy', etc T-Shirts walking around. I think that if a company wants me to advertise their product, then they should pay me, rather than the other way 'round.
I firmly belive that the execs at my old company, if it wasn't for all of the sticky legal implications, would have killed me and sold my organs on the black market to save a few $$ on their bottom line.
"...Go out and get your HDTV tuner PC cards now that don't supports the proposed broadcast flag for HD, and build your own systems. And when the commercial flag comes out, the code will be modified to auto skip the commercials...."
It would be great if a similar device could be used to get rid of those annoying, view-obstucting on screen logos. that and all the other on screen graphics. If one wants those things, allow the viewer to toggle it on and off. At my house, it would be permanently set to OFF.
Somebody will make black market "cheater chips" to defeat this ploy. And, everybody will buy them!
Now I can do it but it is a hassle. And I don't have to do that to watch most of my discs. And if I toggle it to R1, then I will have to toggle it back to R0 to watch my R2, R3, and R4 discs. OR I can just import the foreign edition of the offending US title. Problem solved.
The US industry's answer is I should buy R1, R2, R3, and R4 machines and play each disc on the "appropriate" DVD player.
This will just hasten TVs demise and move people to internet entertainment faster.
Thats the best choice of all ... that is what I do. No cable, no Satellite, no antenna, no nothing cause there ain't anything worth watching anymore.
Actually, there are ads I watch on purpose (I love the United Ads). But, for some reason, companies would rather make stupid, annoying ads (This is Bob) instead. I wonder why they did away with the product ads they used to do where the star of the show would advertise a product (I remember the mother in The Real McCoys advertising Lux liquid even today, and that was a *few* years ago)!
susie
Broadcasters should be very careful about using this technology. TV viewership is at all time lows. Even the mighty networks are having to tighten their belts. The quality of current TV shows is abysmal. And now they want to force us to watch a commercial?
Just another reason to throw the idiot box away.
Snart=smart, hoo boy!
During the daytime I do that (when my husband is not here). I can get things done (change a load of laundry, empty the dishwasher, etc) during the ads. However, if I do that when hubby is here, I'm in great danger of him changing the channel to something weird....like sports!
susie
There are commercials during the Super Bowl? The pace of the game makes it unwatchable, unless a few adult beverages are inbibed of course. I watched the last one of course, my hometown boys were involved, but that was the first I paid attention to for the length of the game since VII. I love football, but cannot sit through the BS.
Why would anyone skip the ads? They're far better than the programming!
You are the product the network is selling, and they are not about to let something as trivial as your free will cut into their ad sales!
We spent several years not watching any network shows (because we could not get cable where we lived and they disallowed our satellite company piping in networks from other areas). It didn't bother me at all. Then, along came Dead Zone and Monk, and now Lost and 24..... *sigh*
susie
As FZ said, "I'm the slime oozin' out from your tv set."
You could just mute the audio, close your eyes and take a five-minute nap. Somebody could make money marketing a wake-up timer for that.
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