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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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[-] SharkAttak@kbin.social 206 points 7 months ago

tl;dr never buy anything Roku, ever again. Got it.

[-] jkrtn@lemmy.ml 75 points 7 months ago

Roku has patented a way to ensure I don't buy their junk.

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[-] APassenger@lemmy.world 26 points 7 months ago

Yeah... I've been evaluating moving to Plex or Jellyfin.

Kinda getting done with a lot of this smart stuff. The Monopolies are flexing and I don't enjoy it.

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[-] PoliticallyIncorrect@lemm.ee 170 points 7 months ago

Good way to kill their product..

[-] otter@lemmy.ca 27 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

~~I can't imagine anyone that would leave the device plugged in after the first ad comes up. Pretty much anyone using such a device would also know how to unplug them. They clearly have other uses for that screen, so it's not a total loss to keep it unplugged till the user can switch to a different brand.~~

Ah it's a Roku TV entirely. Reminds me of the Samsung TV ads

Roku TV sets come with ads. Generally, these are restricted to Roku's home and menu screens, its screensavers, and its first-party video channels, and once you start playing video, the only ads you'll see are the ones from the service you're streaming from. That said, Roku TVs have shown ads atop live TV before.

Now, the company is apparently experimenting with ways to show ads over top of even more of the things you plug into your TV. A patent application from the company spotted by Lowpass describes a system for displaying ads [...]

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[-] Hobbes_Dent@lemmy.world 130 points 7 months ago

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.

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[-] 9point6@lemmy.world 119 points 7 months ago

I'm glad they patented it so that any of the products I actually buy won't be able to do this

[-] RainfallSonata@lemmy.world 34 points 7 months ago

Parents can be licensed for use by other companies.

[-] spacemoss@lemmy.world 51 points 7 months ago

Autocorrect or comment on society?

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[-] crazyminner@lemmy.ml 88 points 7 months ago

The amount of ewaste they will be producing when they push that update. Should be against some environmental laws.

[-] melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee 64 points 7 months ago

Not what laws are for.

Is what guillotines are for.

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[-] unreasonabro@lemmy.world 73 points 7 months ago

roku has patented a way to go fuck itself

[-] DogPeePoo@lemm.ee 69 points 7 months ago

Now, if only they would invent the exact opposite of this, I would buy it

I want zero ads. Ever.

[-] melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee 24 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

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.

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[-] circuitfarmer@lemmy.sdf.org 66 points 7 months ago

I've just invented a way to never use a Roku product again, and I've chosen not to patent it.

The process is this:

  1. Don't buy anything from Roku anymore.
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[-] Stretch2m@lemm.ee 62 points 7 months ago

On this episode of Black Mirror....

[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 55 points 7 months ago

I'm tired boss...

[-] NeoNachtwaechter@lemmy.world 51 points 7 months ago

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.

[-] Landsharkgun@midwest.social 21 points 7 months ago
[-] cyberpunk007@lemmy.ca 20 points 7 months ago
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[-] Teon@kbin.social 50 points 7 months ago

Sounds like a class action lawsuit waiting to happen.
Imagine that you pay for an ad free streaming service through your roku, like HBO for example. And now you have ads streaming over it?
People will sue for a way to disable it over ad free paid content.
Also, this will lead to way more pirating. People are sick of advertisements.

[-] whodatdair@lemmy.blahaj.zone 37 points 7 months ago

That’ll be why they just pushed a “agree to our new license with arbitrage or your tv is a brick” update

[-] melpomenesclevage@lemm.ee 22 points 7 months ago

People who don't pirate already are fools.

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[-] SplashJackson@lemmy.ca 50 points 7 months ago

The best way to prevent ads is to figure out every way in which they can be served in the future, and patenting every one.

And then do nothing with them.

[-] tal@lemmy.today 26 points 7 months ago

Utility patents expire after 20 years (under US patent law; might have different rules somewhere else).

[-] aesthelete@lemmy.world 23 points 7 months ago

Twenty years of sweet freedom from ads

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[-] EdibleFriend@lemmy.world 48 points 7 months ago

Hopefully this ends up something they never actually do like that sony patent for ads that only go away if you call out the name of the product.

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[-] reksas@sopuli.xyz 47 points 7 months ago

if they patent this, it could be slightly good thing because it might prevent other companies from doing it

[-] watson387@sopuli.xyz 41 points 7 months ago

That's some scummy shit...

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[-] nfsu2@feddit.cl 41 points 7 months ago

This is like Windows putting ads in the fucking startmenu....

[-] Giooschi@lemmy.world 28 points 7 months ago

More like Windows showing ads even when you boot Linux

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[-] festus@lemmy.ca 40 points 6 months ago

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!

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[-] ArmokGoB@lemmy.dbzer0.com 37 points 7 months ago

Roku filed for the patent in August 2023 and it was published in November 2023, though it hasn’t yet been granted

So they haven't patented shit.

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[-] Dupree878@lemmy.world 33 points 7 months ago

So I guess fuck people who use static images as screensavers

[-] twack@lemmy.world 25 points 7 months ago

I mean... Yes? I hate this idea and Roku will lose me as a customer over this, but yes they are specifically targeting screensavers. Idle time is ad time to these people.

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[-] FabledAepitaph@lemmy.world 32 points 7 months ago

Time to go back to books, fellas. This party is done.

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[-] 0x2d@lemmy.ml 23 points 7 months ago

also, check their privacy policy 💀

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[-] assembly@lemmy.world 22 points 7 months ago

Aight. So it’s time for me to start taking this seriously. Has anyone tried using like a GrapheneOS or LineageOS as a Roku or FireTV replacement? Is there anything like that which will support an experience with a regular remote control and have apps like Netflix and Hulu work?

[-] zarenki@lemmy.ml 19 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

The problem with those TV apps is DRM. All the major streaming services require that you either use a locked down platform (probably checking SafetyNet and more on Android TV) or settle for their browser UI which lacks dpad support and gets quality throttled to 1080p or lower.

Circumventing that DRM is possible, but no project at the scale of a platform like those would dare the both legal risk and support headache of making those circumventions (which are very liable to break) a core part of the OS.

Kodi (and distros using it like LibreELEC) exist for people who want a FOSS platform for using non DRM encumbered media with a TV remote interface.

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[-] smileyhead@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 7 months ago

Please don't tell the idea to HP or they might get inspired.

[-] zanyllama52@infosec.pub 22 points 6 months ago

Well, fuck, that's pretty gross.

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[-] teamevil@lemmy.world 20 points 7 months ago

Time to create an app that runs a moving pixel and or subsonic tone during pause to thwart these fuckers

[-] ThePrivacyPolicy@lemmy.ca 21 points 7 months ago

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.

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this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2024
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