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Roku, the popular streaming platform, is considering a novel approach to monetize your TV’s HDMI with Ad overlays. The company is exploring the possibility of displaying ads over content received from your HDMI signals.
Roku will overlay ads when you pause video playback on HDMI devices
Several smart TV services have a very low-profit margin when sold with the hope of income generating through advertisements. There is however a problem when external HDMI devices connect to televisions. Since they can bypass the built-in operating system entirely, they break Roku’s business model.
To cope with this challenge, Roku unveiled a patent that looks into the idea of inserting ads on HDMI inputs. It was LowPass that initially spotted this patent. It suggests an avenue for identifying paused content from HDMI sources to display ads during these periods.
Roku’s proposal would involve monitoring video and audio feeds for pauses in the HDMI input stream so that commercials can be placed accordingly. The company cannot communicate directly with devices attached via HDMI. Nonetheless, they may utilize metadata and content detection in customizing adverts for specific content as implied by patent texts.
However, it remains speculative whether or not such ideas will interrupt traditional television-watching experiences with commercial breaks. Per 9to5Google, it is just a patent on possible technology but there is no evidence that Roku possesses the practical means to enact it.
Sticky ads over HDMI are possible since Roku has tried something similar before
The concept of smart TVs potentially being able to monitor our every move is indeed worrying, and it also raises concerns about sticky advertisements. Furthermore, even existing Roku TVs have some suggestions like “more ways to watch” offering over HDMI inputs, which means HDMI ads are more than possible.
However, even with all the speculations surrounding the unveiling of this new advertisement approach; there is no evidence that Roku has developed this feature yet. This application (sic) could eventually materialize into something more tangible especially if history is any indication.
It may be a fresh marketing technique in the form of an abstract presentation of top-layer ad compositions using HMDI integration (sic). With changes in how streaming takes place around us, these are vital issues for companies such as Roku who care about the shift towards ad-supported models.
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