- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
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.
You must log in or register to comment.
tl;dr never buy anything Roku, ever again. Got it.
Roku has patented a way to ensure I don’t buy their junk.
Roku about to patent a way to make you buy their junk.
Just imagine they work out a deal with every consumer TV manufacturer to put this on everything.
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.
if the video being displayed is static
Imagine you’re playing Skyrim and while reading one of the books your TV covers up the content with an ad! That would be infuriating!
I’m pretty sure there is points in some movies that have static content briefly as well.
This is like Windows putting ads in the fucking startmenu…
Is this real? I’ve never seen a native ad in windows and honestly don’t know if maybe it’s some kind of a regional thing.
On fresh installs before running the debloater scripts there’s plenty of Try Candy Crush and it’s already got Office 365 pinned and accidentally clicking that takes you to the store page, and there’s some other shit I can’t remember by name
More like Windows showing ads even when you boot Linux
More like your monitor showing you ads is while using Linux.
Please don’t give them ideas.
I’m tired boss…
The amount of ewaste they will be producing when they push that update. Should be against some environmental laws.
Not what laws are for.
Is what guillotines are for.
Give me freedom from advertising or give me death.
Roku would gladly do the latter if they thought it profitable
Roku somehow thinking that the Ferengi rules of acquisition was a how-to guide book.
Can’t we put these devices in some kind of dev mode and install software to stop this shit?
I assume these devices run some kind of Linux kernel, with a stripped down Linux distro.
roku generally puts a lot of effort into security
“security” for themselves, not the customer, I guess
i’m trying to say that they’re pretty locked down
Well, fuck, that’s pretty gross.
Removed by mod
roku has patented a way to go fuck itself
Thanks to OP for reinforcing my choice to forever avoid smart TV’s.
Edit: if you want a non-smart TV look for hospitality TVs.
Also, “how to ask everyone capable to hack your shit product without asking everyone to hack your shit product.”
Or just buy whatever TV you want, never connect it to the internet, and then plug in a separate box where you’ll actually get the content from.
Smart TVs aren’t actually that smart if they have no internet and you entirely bypass their home screen to go straight to whatever box you have.
Some will show ads anyway, or so I’ve heard. They’re fn asshats
I don’t see how. Unless it has, like, 20 predefined stored ads. But even then it might be refreshing in 20 years to see a commercial for Kia. Be like, “Oh yeah! I remember Kia! Man, crazy how long it’s been since Kia’s have been around. Such a bad car.”
I wish I could find the source but I do remember seeing an article about it. Maybe it’s a broken memory.
IIRC, it was Vizio brand TVs that had not yet been connected to a network and they were already showing ads implying that they had in fact been shipped with ads in their cache, or perhaps having been connected to a network for testing
That’s some scummy shit…
deleted by creator
It’s not the release, but the idea/intent.
deleted by creator
Sure, but the issue is they’re obviously looking at ways to make ads more invasive. Maybe they won’t do this particular approach, but they’ve shown their hand.
This is the direction the TV industry is going: TVs as billboards. My current TV is okay (LG, no ads), but most newer TVs aren’t acceptable.
Time to create an app that runs a moving pixel and or subsonic tone during pause to thwart these fuckers
I’m waiting for Version 2.0 where they don’t care about whether you’re watching content or not and just randomly inject ads every 20 minutes.
That’s the endgame for sure. This first phase is to test the water and soften the blow when they will hijack the signal to show you ads.
Ever watch an extra wide screen film? That black bar above and below licensed content is the perfect place to inform you about exciting products and opportunities!
Did you know that your eyes only look at one spot at a time? Our customer optimizers are working hard to design a system to use AI to identify this spot in every frame, so that we can fill the rest of the screen with even more consumer opportunities! This applies to audio gaps too - we’ll fill in those awkward silences with exclusive content!
And wait for them to find a way to inject ads into your sleep cycle a la Futurama! Did you know that on average, people spend one-third of their lives sleeping? This means that if someone sleeps eight hours a night, they will sleep for 229,961 hours in their lifetime, which is about one-third of their life. Think of all the missed opportunities to spend!
I hate you, so much right now.
Just a thought: What if I were to buy a TV with a port other than HDMI and use a converter from Roku device to that port? For example, hdmi to display port or whatever.
Is there a consumer tv out there that has display port as an option?
Monitors for sure, but I’m talking 70” OLEDs and whatnot.
Use more adapters
Adapt hdmi -> RCA -> hdmi
Now, if only they would invent the exact opposite of this, I would buy it
I want zero ads. Ever.
They did! Its called a pihole plus ublock origin plus piracy.
You can’t buy it, only the hardware, but the software is all free.
Still doesnt block youtube ads 😩
For ad-free youtube on Android TV: SmartTube
For ad-free youtube on mobile Android devices: ReVanced
For desktop: Firefox + uBlock origin
Also for Android: NewPipe
Also for desktop: FreeTubeOr GrayJay for Android
You can’t defend against ads with pihole if the ads server has the same address as content server
This is true. Hence the piracy. Only way to go ad free.
But with the risk of malware infection, unfortunately.
When something is free, you’re the product.
I’d advise to continue to use non-pirated products, but only from those companies, whose service you’re satisfied with.
And if there’s none, don’t consume product at all. It’s not like movies are vital for you.Vlc is pretty good, and I run a pretty strange distro. If I’m extra scared, I’ll use qubes or get a sacrifice machine.
I think the poor having culture is important. Either art is important, or it Fucking isn’t. You seem to be arguing its the frivolity, not the substance and fruit of civilization.
Video isnt my favorite medium, I have a lot of criticisms of it, but its still art, still precious. And so everyone deserves to have it.
And so everyone deserves to have it.
And authors along with those, who maintain content distributing infrastructure, deserve to be rewarded for their labour.
But I can’t pay them. Its not generally an option. Have you seen the terms on their Fucking contracts?
Literally the closest I can get is wandering around Los Angeles giving money to people who look vaguely familiar or give off writerly vibes.
My TV set is like a dumb monitor: HDMI in, colorful image out, basta.
Not even audio. And of course it does not get any internet connection. And I don’t feed it any caviar.
TIL what ‘basta’ means.
