Would you be willing to pay a lower price to buy or rent a DVD in exchange for watching ads in the middle of the playback?
Imagine this scenario. You’ve just received the latest Hollywood blockbuster in the mail from the DVD rental service of your choice. You’ve popped the popcorn, poured a tall glass of your favorite beverage, and settled back to watch the film on your flatscreen TV. 15 minutes or so into the movie–right as the action is building to a crescendo–the movie fades to a commercial. For the next minute, you’re forced to watch the commercial as the fast-forward button has suddenly stopped working. The unhappy experience is repeated two or three more times before the movie ends. The only way to avoid the interruption is to pay another buck or two to the company you rented from.
No, me neither.
However, evidently IBM has filed a patent application for technology that makes this scenario possible.
I’m not rich by any means (a byproduct of being a teacher :-), but I’m also not going to save a few bucks in exchange for allowing even more advertising to be shoved down my throat.
Yuk. In the age of Tivos, who needs that? I’d just as soon not see the movie at all. If I have to sit through interrupting ads, they should pay me to watch.