Roku has patented a way to show ads over anything you plug into your TV

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.

billwashere,

ROKU has patented a way for me to not even look at their tvs.

Thcdenton,

*their tv

Freuks,
@Freuks@lemmy.ml avatar

So boring companies.

Subdivide6857,

Nope! I had thought about trying out their 4k box, but nope.

Quexotic, (edited )

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.”

IdleSheep,
@IdleSheep@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

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.

Quexotic, (edited )

Some will show ads anyway, or so I’ve heard. They’re fn asshats

daFRAKKINpope,

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.”

Quexotic, (edited )

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

uis,

Or for computer monitor

rasakaf679,

Fuck Roku. If we stop buying their shit. They’ll eventually be bankrupt to implement this feature. So Fuck roku

viking,
@viking@infosec.pub avatar

So then some other ad-tech company can buy the patent for cheap during the wind-down.

Landless2029,

Roku would just start selling the televisions well below cost or even free since they make WAY more money from ADs.

glitchdx,

I don’t have to imagine roku injecting ads, I’ve already seen it. Had a movie going on my tablet, screen shared to the tv over wifi, tv screen had an ad “you can watch this movie on our bullshit streaming service!”. This was 2 years ago. I will never buy a smart tv. And fuck roku specifically.

phoenixz,

So now cables would need network access, what could possibly go wrong there?

squid_slime,

avoid integrated smart technology, buy a separate box preferably Foss or with possibility to load a custom rom/os

SidewaysHighways,

What is your setup if you don’t mind me asking

Twelve20two,

A separate box?

shimdidly,

Ever since Roku deplatformed Alex Jones I knew they were unprincipled and no good. Glad I left and never looked back.

nobleshift,
@nobleshift@lemmy.world avatar

LibreELEC FTW!

acr515,

If your TV has native Roku on it, this wouldn’t help at all because you have to run Kodi through HDMI input to the TV anyway, right?

sugar_in_your_tea,

Yup, so don’t get a TV with Roku on it.

zanyllama52,
@zanyllama52@infosec.pub avatar

Well, fuck, that’s pretty gross.

farhanfrezz,

Well, goodness, that’s rather unpleasant.

festus,

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!

RatBin,

Or maybe just reading any text on your TV ever. Say you use an epub reader on your screen because you like reading rhat way. Do these corpo guys even think this will make ads any more effective and likable? The opposite! I’ve been avoid ads ever more and any time I see a new technology to bring ads in any context I leave a little middle finger behind.

bcron,

I was thinking Diablo 2 is gonna be rendered unplayable. It’ll probably view “IL” in “SKILL” or a rune or small charm as a pause symbol and make it so you can’t open your inventory

Edit: Oh shit, the ‘II’ in Diablo II

Jolteon,

I’m pretty sure there is points in some movies that have static content briefly as well.

schwim,

It will be interesting to see how the technology fares with something like pi-hole.

somnuz,

There should be a special division in all patenting offices called Burning With Fire ™

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