Sony Patent Application: Preview of InteractiveTV?
Tweet of the week
Thanks to Innovator, Consultant, Strategist, Emerging Media, Social TV, Canadian Expatriate Richard Kastelein for tweeting @expathos this week about a Sony patent application that may give us a preview on how viewers could interact with their TVs. What is the future TV of and TV apps.
We all know that one day the computers and TVs will be the same; there will be central location in your house that will control all your entertainment from movies, games, music, internet and the television. But who will bring us there first? Will it be the Sony ‘Smart TV’?
Richard Kastelein reported for appmarket.tv that Financial Times (FT) and the UK Times said that Google and Intel are expected to announce Google’s I/O conference on May 19th, in San Francisco a significant breakthrough into consumer electronics and the broadcast industry with the launch of a “Smart TV” platform.
“The technology is allegedly powered by Android and Intel’s chips, and will make Sony televisions and even Blu-ray DVD players function like computers, running Google’s search, Chrome Web browser, YouTube and other programs.
Kastelein thinks that this smart TV will be a windfall for the App industry, he quoted Julie Jacobson
“…that by 2015, more than half of all TVs shipped worldwide will have a network connection – and seven out of ten of those units will ship with an embedded app platform and app store, according to a new report from Gigaom Pro called, “TV Apps: Evolution from Novelty to Mainstream” (subscription required).”
Janko Roettgers authored an article for newteevee.com “Is This the Sony Smart TV?” And Paul Johnson of appmarket.tv wrote an article “Google TV – Does Sony patent give us a view on how viewers could interact with their tv’s?” Both are of the opinion that a recent Sony patent application entitled NETWORK MEDIA PLAYER WITH USER-GENERATED PLAYBACK CONTROL(.PDF) may be the basis for the announcement.
The patent application essentially describes a network media player able to generate and consume XML-based metadata for programming from any source, including over-the-top, local media and cable TV.
This type of metadata would then be stored on a central server and exchanged between users through social networks, or made available by broadcasters or other entities.
Here is a excerpt from the patent application:
It is desirable to provide a mechanism to create, use, and/or share different playbacks of television programs and other sensory works. For example, it is desirable to provide an individual who has recorded the Super Bowl only to watch the commercials with the ability to playback his recording of the Super Bowl on his PVR such that only the commercials are shown. Similarly, an individual who has recorded the Super Bowl only for the football may desire to only see each football play during playback. This [patent application] discusses techniques and systems that may be used to create metadata or the like that controls or varies the playback of a sensory work, such as, a television program.
It also gives a hint as to how big business will profile the American consumer and narrowly direct advertisements at a specific communities. The next step will be to direct ads at a specific household or individual. Talk about “big brother” getting closer to reality. Take a look at this:
In some instances, it may be desirable to insert additional information, video, audio, and the like, during the playback of a sensory work. For example, a user may desire to insert media from another source, from another segment within the same source, or to insert new data. One implementation of this technique would be to insert profile-based advertising during playback. For example, during the playback of the Super Bowl, viewers may be shown advertisements based on demographics or any other information available. Thus, viewers living within one census block group may be shown a Lexus advertisement, while those in another census block group may be shown a Toyota advertisement.
What are you able to afford? The Lexus or the Toyota? So will big business/brother show the Lexus to you or just to your rich brother?
May 20, 2010 @ 11:17 am
Don’t take patent applications overly serious in the sense that the overwhelming majority of the inventions described in them never become commerically available or successful. It could very well be that they filed this just to cover themselves and get a share of the Intellectual Property for such a concept and they may never actually build or sell it even though someone else (a competitor) may build and sell it. Also, the claims of the patent are what’s important and what Sony will actually have protection on. Not everything discussed in the application is protected. I would gamble that these concepts you pointed out have already been patented or described in other patents.