10mo ago

Roku explores taking over HDMI feeds with ads

www.lowpass.cc Roku explores taking over HDMI feeds with ads

Roku TVs could one day show ads as soon as you pause playing a game on a connected Xbox, or stop a stream on an Apple TV.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/13903698

Roku is exploring ways to show consumers ads on its TVs even when they are not using its streaming platform: The company has been looking into injecting ads into the video feeds of third-party devices connected to its TVs, according to a recent patent filing.
This way, when an owner of a Roku TV takes a short break from playing a game on their Xbox, or streaming something on an Apple TV device connected to the TV set, Roku would use that break to show ads. Roku engineers have even explored ways to figure out what the consumer is doing with their TV-connected device in order to display relevant advertising.

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Stopthatgirl7 @lemmy.world

10mo ago

Roku explores taking over HDMI feeds with ads

www.lowpass.cc /p/roku-hdmi-ad-insertion-patent

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62 comments

I dread the day when I can no longer buy a dumb TV or monitor. It's coming way too soon.
- You'll still be able to buy them but you'll have to get it from like Harbin Industrial Electronic Co., Ltd. who happens to be the only manufacturer of it in the entire world, and the minimum order size is 20.
- even the commercial monitors are coming with bloat.
  you basically have to get the really expensive ones that you can swap the main boards out for whatever.
- Was also struggling with this shit recently. I found out about the concept of "digital signage" which is like, the kind of screen that's used for a restaurant menu or an airport display. It's certainly a dumb display, so no smart tv crap. But the quality is all low, ain't exactly meant for good sharp picture. I ended up just getting a stupid 'smart tv' and have not hooked it up to the internet ever. It gets a display feed from my computer and that's it.
- When my dumb tv dies I don't think I'll bother replacing it if I can't find another non-smart tv. I barely use it anyway so I don't think it'd be that big a problem. If monitors are all smart bullshit now then that's a different problem
- I dread the day when TVs refuse to operate without a network connection. As it is now, even most smart TVs can be made dumb by never connecting them to WiFi etc., but I wonder how long that's going to last.

This is an interesting tidbit.
However, the fact that Roku even explored this points to a major underlying issue: These days, TV makers hardly make any money with their physical products. Roku’s FY 2023 earnings report shows that the company lost $44 million on the sale of smart TVs, streaming players and other devices in 2023. What brings in the bacon are ads and services; Roku generated a gross profit of nearly $1.6 billion with this business segment.
The only purpose of the TV is to show you ads indefinitely. Even when the sale, which is a loss leader, is recouped by ads you'd think, "Hmm. Maybe that's enough of that." But no, for these companies and their insatiable greed it will never be enough.
- They keep adding more and more shit to the main screen too. I can't even turn off all the bullshit fake channels that are really just ads now. I used to have a muscle-memory pattern of hitting 3 buttons to turn my tv off when we finish watching a show or movie, and now half the time it opens some goddamned ad and the other half of the time it turns the tv off.
  They force me to look at the damned screen to see what i'm doing and then i see these little shitty channels of whatever garbage they're trying to hawk now.

I wanna explore the homes of these executives in minecraft after minecrafting them

Rate of profit really declining
- It has a tendency to do that.

China pls sabotage TSMC so we can stem the flow of chips into every goddamn thing I can buy. I don't want an ad burned onto my morning toast once dumb toasters aren't sold here anymore.
- I think I've touched too much grass to understand this.

Roku TVs could one day show ads as soon as you pause playing a game on a connected Xbox, or stop a stream on an Apple TV.
People are gonna be so pissed at the false positives on this, lmao. What an awful idea. I mean they'll hate the function generally but this is 100% not going to work as intended and be even worse.
- I imagine as soon as someone has to see an ad in the middle of their Call of duty match or whatever, they'd be either returning that tv or at least never buying anything from roku again. The brand would burn itself down, making people not want their tvs, which in turn makes them lose money by having less people using them and seeing their ads
  
  Lmao I’m imagining a slur-cursing kid getting an ad in the middle of their rant and hurling a controller at the tv in a fit of anger
  
  which means they'll increase the amount of ads they show to the rest of the suckers who continue to keep their roku/tv
  end result being anyone who keeps using roku anything just sees ads 24/7
  
  I imagine as soon as someone has to see an ad in the middle of their Call of duty match or whatever, they'd be either returning that tv or at least never buying anything from roku again.
  They’ll either SWAT Roku executives or go on a mass shooting rampage at a local Arby’s

Why do they keep trying to make the drink the can meme a thing? Plz no.

I wonder when it's going to become illegal to jailbreak (remove ads) from your TV, fridge, toaster, toothbrush, etc..
- In the US, it already would be under the DMCA.
  
  The additional trouble with the DMCA is that the IP lobby groups try to make it apply globally. Many countries which have trade agreements with the US agree to enforce or allow enforcement of the DMCA within their own borders in exchange for getting access to US based IP.
- "An off switch?" "She'll get years for that. Off switches are illegal."

that's so awesome i was so tired of things like games and movies getting in the way of my viewing experience of ads for shitter paper.

why hasn't the world moved to an open standard yet? seems absurd that we allow a bunch of bytes be controlled based on the cable you have
This way, when an owner of a Roku TV takes a short break from playing a game on their Xbox, or streaming something on an Apple TV device connected to the TV set, Roku would use that break to show ads. Roku engineers have even explored ways to figure out what the consumer is doing with their TV-connected device in order to display relevant advertising.
So they would be showing ads to no one? They'll just be sending data to a TV that's not on? And this would produce a profit?

I already refuse to shop at Best Buy because their ads on so many websites are invasive.
No ad buyer who wants people to like their product will go for this.
So it will just be the worst garbage.

cursed. very cursed.

mine literally already does this. I turned on my TV to play FF7 Rebirth the other day. It's a Hisense (which is a Roku TV). Tell me why when I turned the TV on and it popped up on the PS5 HDMI connection (PS5 was still in rest mode so it was just the 'no connection found' screen) it pops up with a little ad telling me to watch FF7 Advent Children on Prime Video. Excuse me??
- Advent Children???? How could they
  
  Square Enix is just preparing me for Denzel's dumbass to show up again
  
  Is it bad?

Roku's value was that it was a low effort way to use streaming apps on a TV, they don't even have any network effect advantages. 90% of TVs already come with all the roku functionality built in. Absolute business suicide.

First the basilisk and now this?!

Thank fucking Christ my media server is over wifi. If I ever run into ads on my totally legally acquired array of horror movies, I'm going fucking nuclear.

How to kill your brand with this one neat trick!

On that topic, my trusty 55" dumb tv of over nine years died recently. Are there any decent dumb tv brands that aren't too expensive these days?
- what you want is a "commercial display"

i will be trashing all my rokus if they go that route.. hopefully there is a decent alternative by now
- Host your own media server. Sail the high seas of piracy
  
  I have a jellyfin and a plex server, but nothing has ever been as simple as the roku where we can just hit the button to turn the tv on and fire up youtubetv or pick one of the media servers to watch a movie or show and then a menu item to turn the tv off again when we're done.. it's more just the device that interfaces with the servers than anything else and it's getting really cumbersome now. unfortunately we have one for each of the tvs.. 1 in the living room, 1 in the kitchen, and 1 in the bedroom... my partner is a big tv junkie.
  is there something else that handles those three functions with a remote? that's really all that's needed to be honest

beep-beep beep-beep beep-beep not plugged in
beep-beep beep-beep beep-beep not plugged in
beep-beep beep-beep beep-beep not plugged in
Etc.

62 comments