Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

New Patent on TV Forces You to Watch Ads

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the forced-attention-spans dept.

WebHostingGuy writes "A patent application filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says 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. Philips acknowledged that this 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."

4 of 470 comments (clear)

  1. I don't mind the ads... by gowen · · Score: 5, Funny

    The thing I don't like on TV are all the repeats... (or "dupes" as they're known in the trade).

    --
    Athletic Scholarships to universities make as much sense as academic scholarships to sports teams.
  2. Good job. by CosmeticLobotamy · · Score: 5, Funny

    Someone finally found a way to make to make people go back to reading books. Good work, guys.

    I'm off to patent magazines that refuse to let you turn the page for 30 seconds if there's an ad on it.

  3. 30 seconds into the future... by Turbofish · · Score: 5, Funny


    1) Forbid viewers from switching channels during commercials.
    2) Forbid viewers from turning off their TV's.
    3) Get promoted to CEO of Network 23.
    4) Rule the World!


    Bwahhhahahahahaha!

  4. Re:Wow, this technology works! by guitaristx · · Score: 5, Funny

    Then what the hell am I paying $80/month for?

    Don't back-talk your pimp!

    *smack*

    --
    I pity the foo that isn't metasyntactic