Microsoft Patent Monetizes Your TV Remote

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Microsoft Patent Monetizes Your TV Remote

Posted by Soulskill on Saturday March 17, 2012 @01:30AM from the you-will-pay-in-all-the-ways-you-are-able dept.

theodp writes "Microsoft, reports GeekWire, is seeking a patent on monetizing the buttons of your TV remote. In its application for a patent on 'Control-based Content Pricing,' Microsoft explains how one can jack up the cable bill of those who dare fast-forward past a diaper commercial or replay a sports highlight. From the patent application: 'If a user initiates a navigation control input to advance past (e.g., skip over) an advertisement, the cost of a requested on-demand movie may be increased. Similarly, if a user initiates a replay of a sporting event, the user may be charged for the replay control input and for each subsequent view control input.'"

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too late by alphatel · 2012-03-17 01:30 · Score: 5, Funny

I skipped this article.

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1. Re:too late by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 01:44 · Score: 2, Interesting
  
  Same here, what I'd like to know is if they will use their other patented / patent application stuff to really ream it down your throat.
  Eye tracking with a camera, monitor your "blood pressure, heart rate, etc." Maybe use it to show commercials for statins. I don't know.
  I did my part to help Microsoft go under. I've boycotted their products since 2005, and haven't bought a single thing from them. I keep a copy of XP SP2 in a vm just in case, but it never gets used, and will be obsolete soon anyway...
  Fortunately, I don't have a TV at the moment, and no remote, I wonder what this tech will do to the battery life. More waste surely.
2. Re:too late by SexyHamster · 2012-03-17 01:56 · Score: 2
  
  At the end of a commercial break there will be a series of questions to see if you were paying attention.
3. Re:too late by Maow · 2012-03-17 02:08 · Score: 2
  
  I skipped this article.
  And now you owe Slashdot double your subscription rate, filthy pirate.
  On a more serious note, if someone is already paying for TV, who the fuck thinks they should pay again?
  Oh, right, content providers. And, of course, Microsoft (can I say Micro$oft this time, seems appropriate).
  I guess I can't complain, being a Linux user with no cable TV (nor any torrents, Hulu, Netflix, etc.) In fact, I can almost chuckle at it and hope it drives more customers away. One can hope...
4. Re:too late by __aasdno7518 · 2012-03-17 02:34 · Score: 2
  
  No tv here either..We just have a couple to watch DVD's and streaming video. This does not surprise me..They want to nickel and dime us to death..A company can have billions of dollars,but it is never enough..They are never satisfied. I stopped using Microsoft's OS years ago when I discovered Linux...Never looked back.. This reminds me so much of the Beatle's song Tax man.
5. Re:too late by houstonbofh · 2012-03-17 02:40 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Well, it will drive more to piracy. And they will think it is just cost...
6. Re:too late by iplayfast · 2012-03-17 02:50 · Score: 2
  
  I agree, pay for cable, watch commercials, we are double paying for everything, and all for re-runs and rehashes of old shows. I think it's time to quit TV and go totally internet.
7. Re:too late by tqk · 2012-03-17 02:55 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  At the end of a commercial break there will be a series of questions to see if you were paying attention.
  I can think of *so* many ways to leverage this kind of thinking:
  i) shoes that detect when they're being put on, automatically debiting your chequing acct. for each use, and for each step taken in them.
  ii) Shirts that detect when they're being buttoned up. Ditto for zippers. Add modifiers for when used long sleeved, or rolled up.
  iii) sunglasses that charge per solar day.
  iv) clothing that detects seasons and charges by the year.
  v) & etc.
  I'm glad I'm not going to live long enough to see that world. The rest of you are welcome to it.
  
  --
  "Tongue tied and twisted, just an Earth bound misfit ..." -- Pink Floyd.
8. Re:too late by hairyfeet · 2012-03-17 03:03 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Meh the future is gonna be embedded ads that you simply can't escape. You'll see the characters drinking Coke while using their iPhone and driving their Ford Explorer to the Taco Bell. As for cable doing this if the other cablecos are like mine they pretty much have you over a barrel anyway so its not like there is anything you can do about it. Between the major networks having their shows in Windows 7 Media Center (which I'm sure MSFT paid a pretty penny for) and Hulu I haven't even bothered to hook my basic cable up to my PC yet i'm still paying for the damned thing because they have it priced in their contracts so you get screwed if you don't take the crap.
  So in the end it doesn't matter if they stick in more commercials (remember when the whole selling point of cable was commercial free TV?) or jack the price or whatever, because you'll take it simply because you got no choice. in my area its 12Mbps cable with bundling bullshit or 2Mbps DSL run by the evil empire known as AT&T, aka "STFU about the lousy quality bitch or we'll leave you on hold for another 4 hours" so it isn't like there is a damned thing I can do about any wallet raping anyway. man what I wouldn't give for real competition and just a big fat dumb pipe. While EU and Asia are getting these sweet huge pipes we are getting the short bus to the information superhighway. Pretty much MSFT has nailed what is the only "innovation" we have here in the USA anymore, all the new and exciting ways the megacorps can steal your wallets.
  
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  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
9. Re:too late by Ihmhi · 2012-03-17 04:10 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  The more they nickel and dime us, the more people will be driven to much more convenient methods of distribution - i.e. piracy.
  I am finding less and less companies that I am willing to give my money.
  
  --
  Random Thoughts From A Diseased Mind (Not For Dummies)
10. Re:too late by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 04:11 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  & etc.
  "etc." means "et cetera". Using "&" before it means you don't know its meaning. Stop using it.
11. Re:too late by TheNastyInThePasty · 2012-03-17 04:29 · Score: 2
  
  You've never watched Chuck then.
  
  "Oh hey, while we come up with a plan for what to do, let's go to Subway and get the new cheesy melty Philly Sub."
  "Oh man, that sounds delicious."
  "YEAH I KNOW and It's only $5!"
  "Wow, that's such a great idea!"
  Switch to a scene of them at subway unwrapping their sub.
  "Oh, it's so good. What did you get?"
  "I got the $5 club. It's got..."
  "That's great, so what's the plan?"
  
  Not even exaggerating. They had an episode too where one of the characters escaped a kidnapping just because he heard his co-workers were going to Subway without him.
  
  --
  The best thing about UDP jokes is I don't care if you get them or not
12. Re:too late by Opportunist · 2012-03-17 05:00 · Score: 2
  
  I want something like that for my ass, to count the kisses they'd have to give it for every idea like that.
  Why the fuck does anyone think anyone will put up with that crap? After I bought something, it's mine, and whatever remote control you put in goes out the nanosecond I find out it's there.
  When you want me to buy your crap, you better give me what I want. I don't give half a turd what you, the seller, want in your product.
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
13. Re:too late by kent_eh · 2012-03-17 06:10 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I managed to make my cable bill go down recently.
  They did an across the board price increase, so I called and dropped a few packages so that I'm now paying less.
  And after a few months, I find that I'm not missing the channels that I dropped.
  
  The next price hike, I'll likely do the same thing.
  I may not even wait that long. As the content to advertising ratio keeps getting worse, it makes me want to spend even less time in front of the tube.
  
  --
  
  ---
  "I can't complain, but sometimes still do..." Joe Walsh
14. Re:too late by SuperTechnoNerd · 2012-03-17 06:34 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  "I think it's time to quit TV and go totally internet"
  But the powers that be are trying to turn the internet into TV. So where does that leave us?
15. Re:too late by hairyfeet · 2012-03-17 06:36 · Score: 2
  
  Dude watch this movie review to get a taste of the future. yes its a bad movie but that's not the point, the point is its pretty much a 2 and a half hour commercial with a plot loosely woven around it. the main character uses a VIAO laptop and desktop while talking on his Sony phone and carries his Sony MP3 player while going on a Royal Caribbean Cruise (complete with long pan shot to show off the boat) while drinking his Pepto Bismal while talking about the Dunkin Donuts account. We're not just talking product placement here friend, we are talking about full blown commercials woven into the movie so you are bombarded with what is obviously product shilling.
  
  --
  ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
16. Re:too late by mcneely.mike · 2012-03-17 07:43 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  I can think of *so* many ways to leverage this kind of thinking:
  i) shoes that detect when they're being put on, automatically debiting your chequing acct. for each use, and for each step taken in them.
  ii) Shirts that detect when they're being buttoned up. Ditto for zippers. Add modifiers for when used long sleeved, or rolled up.
  iii) sunglasses that charge per solar day.
  iv) clothing that detects seasons and charges by the year.
  v) & etc.
  I'm glad I'm not going to live long enough to see that world. The rest of you are welcome to it.
  Charge even more for shirts coming off... ditto for bras, ditto for underpants. Microsoft could kill sex with one patent! (Guess that's because they are micro and soft?) :-)
  
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  soylentnews.org Go there to enjoy the people!
17. Re:too late by sixtyeight · 2012-03-17 08:00 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Then I for one am glad they don't build Pacemakers.
  
  --
  The Wolfpack Project: BitCoin + Crowdfunding = Political Accountability
18. Re:too late by nukenerd · 2012-03-17 09:06 · Score: 2, Insightful
  
  Christ Almighty, you can still love Microsoft after they come up with a idea like this?
  
  Microsoft set back personal computing by, I would say. at least five years with their hanging on to Windows-for-DOS (ie the Win95/98/ME series) long after even entry level PCs were capable of running a half-decent OS in the form of WinNT (lets not even mention Unix/Xenix/Linux). Back in 1995 they could have produced a lightweight version of NT for popular use instead of the Win95 crap that they pushed for another 5 years.
  
  The reason they did not was departmental in-fighting at Microsoft.
  
  While MS employ some of the best graphic designers in the business, they have done almost f#@k all in the way of innovation.
19. Re:too late by BurningFeetMan · 2012-03-17 09:28 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  They've already got you. You're clearly unhappy with the service, yet continue to subscribe...
  
  Listen to your subconscious and give up the cable!
20. Re:too late by Guru2Newbie · 2012-03-17 11:23 · Score: 2
  
  We dropped cable years ago, in favor of a Roku settop box. One-time $80US purchase, and Netflix (which we already subscribed to) and Hulu+ (a few dollars a month). Adds up to maybe $15 more a month than Netflix DVDs-in-the-mail only. Without cable. Granted we are already paying $2/day for a 20Mbps Internet connection, but that's mostly paid for by a home business.
21. Re:too late by russotto · 2012-03-17 12:42 · Score: 2
  
  Chuck did the super-obvious product placements on purpose; it was part of the humor (as well as actually being a product placement). Usually it worked, sometimes it didn't.
22. Re:too late by Whiteox · 2012-03-18 12:09 · Score: 2
  
  Yes, but in a few short years, that digital broadcasting box you will get via the cable guy will come with a remote with enough DRM in it to make this a reality. Either you subscribe or you don't. I think many will reject the package.
  
  --
  Don't be apathetic. Procrastinate!
well fuck you! by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 01:35 · Score: 3, Insightful

and you realy expect people dont find ways to steal media content from the web?
1. Re:well fuck you! by houstonbofh · 2012-03-17 02:42 · Score: 2
  
  Yep. Content producers. I mean if you bought the DVD, why are they entitled to make you watch the adds EVERY TIME? And so on... If there was a way to legally buy the pirate rip MKVs I would actually pay more for them. They are just better product.
2. Re:well fuck you! by AngryDeuce · 2012-03-17 02:56 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Well, they're certainly not doing anything to discourage it when they roll out stupid bullshit like this...
  You know an industry is fucked up to the core when customers are treated like adversaries right off the bat. I won't shop in a store where I'm made to feel like a thief the moment I walk in the door, and that's precisely what all this crap does. As a corollary to that, I'm extremely short on sympathy for those that do treat their customers that way and end up with large portions of the population comfortable with ripping them off.
  A survey a few months ago found that 70% of people in the U.S. think it's reasonable to share music with family and friends. Now, the RIAA will stamp their feet and gnash their teeth at that, but the fact of the matter is, the majority of the people of this country do not see a problem with it. They can choose to ignore this and throw billions of dollars at court costs and all the other bullshit related to music piracy, or they can start more closely examining why it is that so many people out there don't have any moral compunction trading music back and forth in the first place. I suppose one could say "Well, that just proves that most people are thieves...." but still, when that many people openly do something that is technically illegal, maybe it's time to start examining those laws. If laws are passed that make the vast majority of the population "criminals", then there's obviously something wrong with the laws.
3. Re:well fuck you! by Opportunist · 2012-03-17 05:05 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  When I pay for pay-per-view, then yes, I feel kinda entitled to watch the damn movie without them meddling with it. When I buy a DVD, I feel kinda entitled to watch the damn thing without first having to clean the kitchen to avoid the unskipable ads.
  Get the idea?
  When you sell me a product, I feel damn well entitled to use it!
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
4. Re:well fuck you! by the_macman · 2012-03-17 05:49 · Score: 2
  
  Welcome to the free market: Supply & demand.
  There is a demand, thus a supply appears. Let's weigh the choices of pirating. Free high quality commercial free content I can watch instantly as many times as I want. No DRM. Any digital content ever produced can be obtained
  OR
  a cable service I pay too much for, with pre-set schedules, commercials louder than the program (which I'm now paying to watch) that I can't fast forward, pause, or rewind (unless I pay for it) and the content is locked into my cable box so I can't put it on my phone, ipod, ipad, or laptop.
  Honestly, from a consumer business standpoint, it's a no fucking brainer.
let's be consistent by tverbeek · 2012-03-17 01:36 · Score: 5, Funny

Does the patent cover giving the customer a refund if she pushes the "off" button?

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1. Re:let's be consistent by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 01:55 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  No, no, no, the service is to supply you with the opportunity to watch these shows as streamed. Fast forwarding... woah. That is skipping ahead, dear boy/girl/thing. That is using excess media enjoyment entertainment. Why, user, you are stealing when you fast forward. You should be glad we aren't suing you for theft instead of offering you an instant settlement.
  In fact, by turning off your television you are wasting entertainment that could have gone elsewhere. Refund, dear boy/girl/thing? You should be glad we aren't charging you for not constantly leaving your television on so you can hear commercials in the background.
2. Re:let's be consistent by MacTO · 2012-03-17 02:19 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  You don't get it. Pushing the off button is equivalent to skipping all of the advertising, so you will have to pay even more.
3. Re:let's be consistent by Opportunist · 2012-03-17 05:06 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Or do I get paid if I fast forward through the movie to get to the ads because they have better script, acting and are overall more entertaining?
  
  --
  We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
4. Re:let's be consistent by Asic+Eng · 2012-03-17 07:26 · Score: 2
  
  How such a system could look like has been presented in Charlie Brookers "Black Mirror - 15 Million Credits". I think that ought to count as prior art. I'm still in favor of the patent though - having ideas like that patented at least makes them more expensive to implement.
Fortunately I don't habe a TV remote by gweihir · 2012-03-17 01:37 · Score: 3, Interesting

In fact, I do not have a TV and dropped that waste of time about 8 years ago. Never missed it since then.
With the amount of stupidity that idiot box pours out these days, that sheer amorality of this patent does not surprise me. The source does not either.

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Most ACs are not even worth the keystrokes to insult them. Be generically insulted by this and ignored otherwise.
1. Re:Fortunately I don't habe a TV remote by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 01:44 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Obligatory Onion
  http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-constantly-mentioning-he-doesnt-own-a-tel,429/
See also by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 01:38 · Score: 3, Informative

Now where have I heard this idea before... Ah, right!
Though to be fair, the patent seems to have come first (Filing date: Mar 19, 2004, Issue date: Nov 22, 2011, WTF.) Great minds think alike?
I will always make sure... by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 01:39 · Score: 4, Interesting

...that my TV is receive-only. No pay-TV, no on-demand, just unencrypted broadcasts. If you can't deliver that, I will just stop watching. Your move.
Maybe MS will help us out here by DynamoJoe · 2012-03-17 01:40 · Score: 3, Insightful

If they get the patent they can charge so much for the license that none of the media companies will buy it.

--
bah.
1. Re:Maybe MS will help us out here by Maow · 2012-03-17 02:13 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  If they get the patent they can charge so much for the license that none of the media companies will buy it.
  I think the favour they're doing us is thus: making it so onerous to watch TV that people simply turn it off, cancel their cable, and suddenly realize that they don't even miss it.
Mediaroom by rogueippacket · 2012-03-17 01:45 · Score: 3, Interesting

Considering a number of large television providers use Microsoft Mediaroom (which requires Microsoft certified set-top boxes, most of which are PVR capable) today, there is already a large platform this patent could be deployed to. But I guess it's a sign of the times - upfront subscriptions are slowly disappearing, with pay-per-use content (such as Video on Demand) and Micro-transactions taking over. Who knows, maybe we will see an overall reduction in subscription costs with patents like this, but probably not any time soon. I don't know if the average broadcast television subscriber is ready to be nickel-and-dimed for skipping a commercial yet.
fsck you microsoft! by FudRucker · 2012-03-17 01:55 · Score: 2

stay out of my TV and Remote!!!

--
Politics is Treachery, Religion is Brainwashing
Re:Pointless, will not work without a monopoly by fish+waffle · 2012-03-17 02:03 · Score: 4, Funny

why would anyone use a service that forced them to pay to skip ads
You mean like slashdot subscriptions?
Oh, companies... by Nugoo · 2012-03-17 02:09 · Score: 2

I wonder if, someday, I'll hear about a media or tech company doing something that doesn't make me even happier I'm a pirate.

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I explicitly release the above into the public domain.
Might be a "Good Thing"... by X!0mbarg · 2012-03-17 02:13 · Score: 4, Interesting

Think about it this way: If anyone does try to implement this type of thing, they have to pay Micro$oft for the Patent.
Now, if they don't wish to put such a financial burden on a system such as this, (thus increasing its cost, and reducing its appeal to the end user), they'd opt to leave such a feature out.
Active DISCOURAGEMENT of a Bad Idea by Patenting it, so they can actually DENY it to folks, and the right to Sue if anyone actually Infringes!
Big Oil has been doing this for years, tho: Buying up high fuel efficiency ideas, patenting them, and Denying them to anyone, and suing them into the ground if they try to bypass their patent.
Not that I'm For such a "feature" on any system I'd subscribe to. This would be a decent way to head such a heinous money-grab off at the pass!
Maybe "Uncle Bills' Kids" aren't as bad as we all thought...
That, or I'm simply seeing a possibility that others are far more likely to Implement than avoid...
In THAT case, say Hello to rampant 'Product Placement' as revenue! After all, I don't see ANYONE wanting a system like this anywhere near their wallet!
Replay advertisement for free TV? by Anonymous Coward · 2012-03-17 02:19 · Score: 2, Funny

So if you replay the advertisement instead of skipping it, you should be charged less for the movie. Yay!
A better way of advertising by msobkow · 2012-03-17 02:26 · Score: 4, Insightful

One thing advertisers don't seem to understand is that I actually like catching a new ad when I watch TV at a friend's place. Many of them are very artistic, cute, and funny.
But even a good joke told 5-6 times per day wears thin.
It's the broadcast time that is the majority of the expense for most advertisements, not the creation of the content. Stop torturing people with the same joke 50-60 times per week for a month at a time, and maybe they'll stop skipping over the ads. Show a new ad each day, or at least once a week.
But stop trying to hammer your "message" into us by repeating yourself ad-nauseum at full volume dozens of times per week. All you're doing is pissing off people and forcing them to use torrents and PVRs to escape your tripe.
Modern advertising is as annoying and effective as a two or three year old yelling "Mommie, mommie, mommie, can we..." over and over for three hours straight, trying to wear down their parents.
It's my money in the end. I'm not going to spend it on your products or give it to you just because you nag like a child. In fact, I'm likely to use your competitor's product because they're not insulting my intelligence and harassing me.

--
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
This is great! by DRMShill · 2012-03-17 02:32 · Score: 2

So this means they're going to give me the option to pay a little extra and automatically skip commercials right? Right...?
Who needs cable ? by walterbyrd · 2012-03-17 02:32 · Score: 3, Insightful

Even more abuse, and expense, from cable companies? Why do people put up with up?
You can watch practically anything on the internet. Not to mention services like netflix, hulu, or amazon, for about $8 a month. I have heard of people paying $190 a month for comcast.
Also, I think there are ways to get HDTV from broadcast signals.
Alternate motive? by kpainter · 2012-03-17 02:49 · Score: 5, Funny

I wonder if they plan use this to charge people for skipping Windows 8?
Just no by VargrX · 2012-03-17 02:58 · Score: 2

No... I'm going to give you the same answer to this type of garbage that I alway's have:
READ your TOS - as far as I can tell, and that some laywer friends of mine can tell, and unless there is something specifically stating this in YOUR TOS, You are NOT liable for 'skipping advertising of any kind' when you sign your agreement with your local broadcasting company.
The advert's are nothing more than a nuisance to most people, and do absolutely nothing except provide for 'snack/bathroom break' time during the show. As far as 'advertisers/distributors /producers' aiming to make thier money back by violating your eyeballs, tough luck, they didn't pay directly for that privelege.

--
Sometimes people just have to learn and adapt to change, it is one of the requirements of being a living thing.
1. Re:Just no by StewBaby2005 · 2012-03-17 04:07 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  "and do absolutely nothing except provide for 'snack/bathroom break' time during the show" I wonder if Advertising is responsible for the rise in obesity in the US population then? Isn't it a bit like Pavlov/Behavioural ? Once you get up to fix a snack during a break, you ALWAYS get up to fix a snack during a break, except when you are going to the restroom to relieve yourself of the aforementioned snack?
Re:Pointless, will not work without a monopoly by Nerdfest · 2012-03-17 03:23 · Score: 4, Informative

Actually, if you participate regularly, SlashDot gives you the option to skip ads even without being a paying subscriber. Because of that, I don't block their ads.
next thing you know... by s0litaire · 2012-03-17 03:27 · Score: 4, Funny

...we'll start getting "Drive by Rewinds"
A bunch of geeks high on red-bull and cheesy puffs in a 4x4 armed to the teeth with universal remote controls.
Driving the suburbs, Sega beats blaring from their iPhones, aiming their remo's at the houses pressing the rewind button.
Costing the poor householder $$$ in MS rewind fees...

--
Laters Sol "Have you found the secrets of the universe? Asked Zebade "I'm sure I left them here somewhere"
My friend did this... by yanom · 2012-03-17 05:52 · Score: 2

My friend had an annyoing teenage neighbor who kept shooting paintballs at his house. Rather than call the cops, he figured out how to use his remote on the kid's TV, and switched it to the Playboy Channel the instant his mom walked in.

--
"That's either incredibly asinine or the most brilliant troll I've ever read. Not sure which." -Anonymous Coward
Re:Pointless, will not work without a monopoly by NovaHorizon · 2012-03-17 06:07 · Score: 2

I have to agree with that. I never even noticed slashdot has ads until I was presented with that option to turn them off and finally noticed one. I have yet to actually use that option. Perhaps we can get a statistic on how many readers have that options and have left the ads running?

--
Defective Logic
Wait by fireylord · 2012-03-17 09:37 · Score: 2

You are saying that 10Mbit is the top tier? Man that's ridiculous. I take it your government not appreciate the advantages to their economy as a whole that decent, universally affordable high speed internet access brings.
Re:Pointless, will not work without a monopoly by blackraven14250 · 2012-03-18 06:00 · Score: 2

It also helps that /. has a relatively low number of unintrusive ads anyway.