IBM patent brings TV-style ad breaks to DVDs

in brief IBM has lodged a patent for a DVD system which places television-like commercial breaks on DVDs.

The buyer of the DVD can opt to either pay extra for a certificate which allows the DVD to be played without advertisements, or pay a lower price for a DVD "interspersed with commercials", which could be tailored to the subject matter of the DVD.

If a buyer opts for the advertising included DVD, advertisements can be downloaded either from an online "advertisements on demand" service, obtained from a storage device in the DVD player, or taken from embedded DVD storage. The onset of a commercial interruption could be based on a signal embedded in the recording on the DVD.

DVD player control operations such as fast forward, skip, and rewind "may" be inoperative during the commercials, according to the patent. "Revenues from DVD advertising may contribute to the reduction in cost of the DVDs," the filing said.