On 20 April 2006, May Wong , contributed:
In this era of easy ad skipping with TiVo-like video recorders, could
> television viewers one day be forced to watch commercials with a
> system that prevents channel switching?
> Yes, according to Royal Philips Electronics. A patent application with
> the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says researchers of the
> Netherland-based consumer electronics company have created a
> technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a
> commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it....
> In this era of easy ad skipping with TiVo-like video recorders, could
> television viewers one day be forced to watch commercials with a
> system that prevents channel switching?
> Yes, according to Royal Philips Electronics. A patent application with
> the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says researchers of the
> Netherland-based consumer electronics company have created a
> technology that could let broadcasters freeze a channel during a
> commercial, so viewers wouldn't be able to avoid it.
If all else fails to deter this newly patented "technology", one could turn off the TV set for 3-minutes (typical duration of commercials now days); or else, maybe do as many others do during those long commercials, go grab a bite to eat, read a book or even go to the WC (bathroom!)
John Stahl Aljon Enterprises Telecom/Data Consultant