IBM: You need ads on your DVDs!

Determined, apparently, to kill the DVD as an entertainment medium, IBM has applied to patent an invention that would allow television-style commercial breaks to be embedded into DVDs.

[0010] The present invention provides a DVD player for, computer program product for, and method of, playing back contents of DVD with commercial interruptions. When a DVD is to be played, a certificate is consulted to determine whether the content of the DVD should be played with or without commercial interruptions. If the certificates provide for commercial interruptions, then commercials can be obtained from an online service that renders commercials on demand, or from a storage device in the DVD player or from the DVD itself. In the case where commercials are obtained from the DVD itself, the commercials may be interspersed with the content or programming on the DVD.

[0011] Further, DVDs that play back with commercial interruptions may be bought at a lower price than those that do not. In addition, if a user decides to update to a no-commercial-interruptions DVD, the user may do so without having to obtain a new disk. In such a case, an updated certificate may be downloaded to the user's DVD player or Internet Protocol Television (IP TV) or any device (i.e., digital video recorder (DVR), TiVo etc.) or entered in the DVD player by the user.

So, we could still watch commercial-free DVDs, but we would just have to pay extra for the privilege.

And did you catch the reference to adapting the technolgy for DVRs, as well?

But wait, there's more!

The new technology also facilitates data mining!

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the commercial advertising includes customized advertisements based on viewing habits of a viewer.

3. The method of claim 2 wherein the viewing habits of the viewer are collected by a service provider.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the customized advertisements are pre-stored on the DVD player.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the customized advertisements are downloaded and presented to the viewer in real time.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Your viewing habits will be collected by your "service provider" - your cable or satellite TV company, presumably - and used to pre-upload commercials tailored specifically to your interests.

So, if you're an avid viewer of The New Yankee Workshop, your pre-loaded commercials might include ads for Home Depot or Black & Decker.

Or, if you really like Monday Night Football, your personalized ad schedule might include beer and pizza commercials.

Or, if you enjoy watching the high school cheerleading championships on ESPN 2, you could be targeted by sportswear companies if your service provider knows you're a young woman; or you could be targeted by Victoria's Secret and Maxim magazine if your service provider knows you're a middle-aged man. And they will know.

Or, if you never miss an episode of Co-Ed Confidential on Cinemax After Dark... but you get the point.

Show of hands - who thinks this is a really good idea?