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TV these days is a bit hit and miss. There’s the odd gem, but most of it’s utter tosh. Thankfully, Apple’s been thinking about our TV-watching plight. No longer will you have to grab the remote and scour the channels when something crap like Coronation Street comes on — your box will automatically switch channels or pump out something pre-recorded to save your eyes, with zero effort on your part.
The auto-switching patent was awarded in a bundle of 29 to Apple (solid patent system in operation here, then) and describes a device, like an Apple TV, which automatically knows if you’re going to hate something. I’m guessing you’ll describe what you like and what you don’t with a quiz, maybe it’ll even learn when you switch manually (an “I hate this” button perhaps?), and then it’ll filter out all sorts of stuff. Ads, horrendous chat show guests, crappy soaps — anything and everything is fair game.
The patent describes a “seamless” experience, which cuts out the offending media and replaces it with something suitable, either live or pre-recorded, that blends into what you’re watching without an abrupt cut-off. I don’t know about you, but that sounds bloody marvellous to me. Something that knows what I like, cuts out shows I don’t, even eradicates Piers Morgan from my screen, and nukes ads? I can’t see advertisers jumping for joy, but if an Apple HDTV came out with that built in I certainly would, at least. [The Register]
Image credit: TV from Shutterstock
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t Apple going to find it hard to get content partnerships from most networks if they are going to fuck with their advertising revenue?
Apple will probably ask for 30% of their advertising revenue anyway, and then put iAds on the BBC.
Prob work Similar to the Tivo suggestions with a thumbs up and down button…
and Yes they are not going to get any network Partnerships or likely be allowed to connect to any type of subscription service with ad Skipping its the reason no one has done it before
So go over to Sam’s place and up-vote Piers Morgan while he’s not looking?
Yup!
From my experience of contemporary American TV and any channels on Sky other than Sports and the Discovery and History Channels, my Apple TV will either display a blank screen or will go into a recursive loop eventually exploding in frustration!
Nope, it’ll just show you endless re-runs of classic children’s cartoons. On the Venn Diagram of television experiences, they mark an exact centre of ‘you may not love, but they’re impossible to hate’
True, I do have a thing for Shaun The Sheep (as you may have noticed!), some of the previous very funny American Saturday morning cartoons (Pinky & The Brain included) and of course, any 70s and 80s British humor, from Python to Flawty Towers.
this is going to be such an epic fail for everyone apart from hermits.
how will this work with a family?
i dont want TVs telling me what to watch. my tivo recommends &records stuff if i fancy that. i dont want it swapping channels when i go for a pee. what about when guests are over?
not that i will get an apple tv anyway.
Regularly scheduled programming like Sky has break at the same time. It will change one channel on adds to another.
Or show you something pre-recorded. Sky’s adds are pretty long on occasions, i reckon you could get an episode or two of Tom And Jerry in there.
1) What’s the mechanism for gauging interest ?
2) Why wouldn’t I just continue to do what I do now – i.e. record anything interesting anyway, and skip the ads when playing back ?
+1
this is what i do anyway.
If everyone used a device that automatically skipped ads, there would be no TV programmes. Maybe if Gizmodo is so fond of people skipping ads they should encourage people to use ad-block with their site?
I used to have my ad blocker bypass giz, but re-enabled them when there were little annoying bugs.
When I lived with my parents and my Dad got hold of the remote, he kept changing channels during the ads. Was bloody annoying!
Thanks Apple. Really wanted you to automate an annoying Dad!
I used to watch corrie ):