Re: Can the digital conversion finally stop TV "pop-up" ads?

Barry Margolin wrote:
In article <jradndoWWs5Q5VHanZ2dnUVZ_rignZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxx>,
"Mason Barge" <masonbarge@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

<jwsdisney@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:8a1acf34-cfe9-4fa6-924b-2c3d2a0e8f94@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I hate TV "pop-up" ads. In an already cluttered TV screen, they make
it almost impossible to enjoy the viewing experience.
-
I know that they can be stopped on computers with the right software.
But can "pop-ups" be stopped on TV?
To answer the question that you actually asked:

No. A "popup" on TV (by the time it reaches your set, at least) is a completely different animal from a popup on your internet browser.

Right. Pop-up blockers and ad-blockers in web browser work by recognizing the special codes that need to be put into web pages. Pop-ups require the web page to say "open a new window for this", and the browser can refuse. Ads generally require the web page to contain a reference to another company's web site (the advertising service) that contains the advertising image, and ad blockers can simply block connections to those well-known sites.

But TV is nothing like this. All the work of combining the "show" and the bugs and ads takes place either at the network or your local affiliate, so it's mixed together in the signal your TV receives. This doesn't change with the advent of digital TV -- it's still just sending complete pictures. The TV isn't doing any of the work, the way a web browser does, so there's nothing for it to do differently.

I think digital TV is envisioned to allow some new technologies that take advantage of smart receivers. Along with the regular images, they'll be able to send metadata that computers can process, e.g. a web site address. So while you're watching an ad, you can click a button on your remote and be whisked to the vendor's site so you can read more about the product and buy it. While watching a program you could click on the face of a character and go to their bio on the show's official web page. Commentary tracks could also be transmitted and enabled separately from the main program.

But I don't think they're ever going to send the ads in such a way that they'll be easy for the receiver to pull apart from the program. It's just not in their interest.


TiVo did an experiment a year or so ago, with content that could viewed in slow motion. The idea was that viewers would perform slo-mo on an
advertisement to see it at a "normal" rate. A 30 second spot went by in a couple of seconds. Many viewers including myself couldn't easily locate the beginning of the spot to begin slo-mo viewing. Viewers aren't
likely to put forth extra effort to watch a commercial. Another problem
was lack of associated audio.
.

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