Philips Attempts to Patent Advertisement Enforcing

Posted by Tim Davis on 19 April 2006 - 12:56

If Philips has their way you may not be skipping through TV commercials much longer. In fact, you might not even be able to change the channel on your TV during a commercial.

Philips has filed a patent application to stop people from changing channels during commercials or fast forward commercials for pre-recorded shows. According the patent application, Philips solution is to use MHP (Multimedia Home Platform) to read flags in broadcasts. If an advertisement is marked as such, your STB (Set-Top Box), DVR or even your TV could stop you from changing the channel or skipping past commercials. MHP software is already built into most digital TV receivers and recorders available today.

View: Philips Patent Application

Source and full story: neowin.net