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Roku has patented a way to show ads over anything you plug into your TV (arstechnica.com)

submitted 7 months ago by ForgottenFlux to c/technology

233 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A patent application from the company spotted by Lowpass describes a system for displaying ads over any device connected over HDMI, a list that could include cable boxes, game consoles, DVD or Blu-ray players, PCs, or even other video streaming devices. Roku filed for the patent in August 2023 and it was published in November 2023, though it hasn't yet been granted.

The technology described would detect whether content was paused in multiple ways—if the video being displayed is static, if there's no audio being played, if a pause symbol is shown anywhere on screen, or if (on a TV with HDMI-CEC enabled) a pause signal has been received from some passthrough remote control. The system would analyze the paused image and use metadata "to identify one or more objects" in the video frame, transmit that identification information to a network, and receive and display a "relevant ad" over top of whatever the paused content is.

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[–] Hobbes_Dent 131 points 7 months ago (7 children)

So we just ordered a new tv and just want the universe to know that Roku wasn’t even considered and this shit is why.

[–] ilmagico 5 points 7 months ago (6 children)

I mean, yeah sure, but are the alternatives that much better in this respect? Which alternative non-ad-ridden, privacy-respecting smart tv would you recommend (or ended up buying)? Asking for my future tv choice...

[–] [email protected] 6 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Commercial displays are your best bet, although they can be quite expensive.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 7 months ago

Will probably last longer too since they're intended for 24/7 or at least 16/5 continuous runtime.

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