Slouchers on Twitter (you know who you are), take note: IBM is apparently working on technology that would enable you to blog or tweet straight from the remote control of your TV. The company has filed a patent for said technology with the USPTO, reports BaltTech.
The interesting part of the patent filing, which was submitted by IMB engineers last year but only surfaced online a few months ago:
A viewer selects a media program to view by use of a remote controller with networking capability.
Upon the viewer wishing to send a blog posting to a blog, the viewer determines whether a tag to be included in the blog posting is to be a pre-existing tag or a custom tag, wherein the blog posting comprises program information about the media program useful to identify the media program. If the tag is to be a pre-existing tag, the viewer selects the pre-existing tag from a plurality of pre-existing tags using the remote controller and if the tag is to be a custom tag, the viewer generates the custom tag using the remote controller.
If a protocol provided by the remote controller to send the blog posting to the blog allows a snapshot of the media program to be included in the blog posting, the remote controller takes the snapshot of the media program and includes it in the blog posting.
Imagine that: tuning in to Mad Men from the couch and letting your blog subscribers, Facebook friends or Twitter followers instantly know what you’re watching, even including a snapshot of the lovely Christina Hendricks, all by using your network-enabled remote controller.
According to the patent filing, the remote would even allow a viewer to not only communicate with a blogging service but also display responses to and from other bloggers with whom the viewer is communicating. That’s right, that means your buddies could be sending you an @reply or direct message with their opinions on the show (and the actress) and you’d be able to view the responses simply by using that super remote of yours.
Sign me up for one!
Screenshots from the filing:
This is a nifty idea and I’m sure they could sell a few of these, but you shouldn’t be able to patent something like this… It’s not creating something new it’s just taking something that exists already and throwing it on a different piece of hardware.
I had an even better (yet similar) idea: a “Duck Hunt” style retweet interface.
Imagine you’re sitting on your couch, you got the projector on showing you all the tweets you missed during the day. Just shoot the tweets that look interesting. When you shoot the tweet (target and sound effects optional) it will update your Twitter and Identi.ca with “RT @whoever blah blah…” via the API.
Nintendo, IBM, whowever, give me 1% and the idea is yours.
PeteThe Freshman — you have just described the world of Big Pharma patent wars — A+ B is an old patent about to expire/or be sold as a generic drug. Big Pharma says A+B+C is a new patent. And A+B+C is new patentable subject matter. IBM is putting it in a new platform for new applications. Doesn’t mean it is right, but Big Pharma and IBM and many others are doing it quite well with billions at stake.
when will there be an iphone app for a universal remote?
Don’t we already have something that allows you to tweet from the couch? Aren’t they called “laptops” and “smartphones”?
This should be just about as successful as WebTV.
Those IMB engineers are so talented!
The newer Samsung TVs already have something very similar with their internet connectivity. There are Twitter, flickr, and YouTube widgets though the interface is somewhat clunkey and slow.
The real invention is a TV remote that starts tweeting for help when it finds itself buried in a couch.
hahah! Yes!,
Now THAT is something I would buy
This idea would make sense if we didn’t have mobile phones. I don’t see why anyone would pay for this when their mobile phone is right next to them.
phones cost money
Aaaargh! I STILL dont understand the point of twitter! someone educate me, puh-leeeease!
I get to read about this on Twitter, decide the tech should clearly be in the set top box or tv, not the remote, claim down the pub later that I should be an accomplished inventor and see that you need help undertanding Twitter and get to write this paragraph for you. It’s all value.
The point of twitter is that you are narcissistic enough that you think your friends want to know exactly what you’re doing all the time. So you tweet, your friends get notified (by SMS message, by Push notification, email, whatever).
Tweeting what you’re watching on TV is pretty sad, but what’s even sadder is that you’re lazy enough that you can’t type “This episode of 24 is awesome!” into your phone or computer YOURSELF, you’ll spend, what, $100?, on a remote that does it for you.
This should be code named the “Huxley”
i didnt know that people still watch television. tweeting from your couch? what will they think of next?
Since I often seem to have the TV in the background while on my macbook I can already do much of this. Will be interesting to see what these smart “IMB engineers”
actually implement.
Patents smatents
Is this what passes for innovation now? It’s depressing to see how so many patent strategies just rely on experimenting with all possible permutations of the moment.
Doesn’t Boxee already do this?
I hate this idea – turning twitter into a nightmare of I’m watching this, then I’m watching that, then I’m ordering pay per view… Utter, utter drivel!
I’d block anyone who used this – both on twitter and facebook. Go away, get a life!
What I do love is that the patent application takes a flow chart and a great diagram to describe it – without mentioning Twitter except as ‘Micro-blogging server’. Nice.
So – TV companies and advertisers are now going to be including these on TV Guide so that they can get people to tweet about their programs. Not nice… more plastic components that you really don’t need…
H.T.P.C.
Gosh this the height of Geek Achievement till date.
But what about real time screen capture. Live wardrobe malfunctions and goof ups will be over the web in minutes. Kool I am loving this.
I like the screen capture idea.
I can image the football game tweets -
“Touchdown! http://twitpic.com/p48h – FTW #gogators”
Thanks for the information.
Thanks. It was interesting article.
humm.. what’s next twitter on steering wheel, lawn mower, rest room, grill, pillow ?
Why not just write an app that turns the mobile phone into a universal remote?
Give a look to Open Remote : http://www.openremote.org/
Verizon FIOS has a built in twitter client. From your remote you can tweet about what you are watching, or compose your own tweet: See: http://www.flic...rks/3833576093/
Steve: I spotted the ‘IMB’ thing right away; time for typo fixing!
Looks like a great new way for The Nielsen Company to expand and track millions more viewers in real time as a service to its business partners. I wonder who makes the equipment they use now? I’m just saying…
Not a bad patent to have. Too bad I watch tv with my mobile device so I would never buy such a thing.
Another idea contributing to the downfall of civilization as we know it.
It’s nice to see important advances in technology like this. Now here’s another reason to fight for the remote.
very cool…wonder if it’ll ever come to be
Welcome to the future
Welcome to the future!