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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@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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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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[–] Infynis@midwest.social 7 points 7 months ago (15 children)

Anyone know what I should be running Plex on instead? I don't want to just hook my computer up to the TV. Rokus are like $10, so ideally around that price point lol

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (3 children)

Why not? To get a picture on a big screen, I just use a really long cable from my desktop.

I control mouse/keyboard input via KDE connect, or grab the actual wireless mouse and keyboard from my desk.

[–] Infynis@midwest.social 7 points 7 months ago (2 children)

It's just not convenient, and not everyone in my house is as techy as I am, so having it work like a basic streaming setup is important. I also don't want to run more cables through the attic lol

[–] MentalEdge@sopuli.xyz 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Fair enough, dad uses a chromecast, mum has a miui android TV stick that started off ok but the new Android TV version is pretty ad-heavy. Siblings don't have big screens at all, and simply use laptops and phones for media consumption.

Dads savvy enough that he'll just use the HTPC he has if the chromecast gets obnoxious, but mom could use something more bespoke. Getting that for 10 bucks without having her trade in her digital soul so to speak isn't happening. "Cheapest" option I can think of is something like an RPI with OSMC/Kodi/JMP + a FLIRC receiver. For what that will cost, a Shield or OSMC Vero starts looking reasonable.

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