2008-03-23

Comcast's cable box is watching you



The cable company Comcast is experimenting with different camera technologies built into its devices so it can know who's in the living room.
Newsvine

Orwellian Channel Surfing: Comcast Wants To Put Face Recognizing Cameras In Your Cable Box


The idea being that if you turn on your cable box, it recognizes you and pulls up shows already in your profile or makes recommendations. If parents are watching TV with their children, for example, parental controls could appear to block certain content from appearing on the screen. Kunkel also said this type of monitoring is the “holy grail” because it could help serve up specifically tailored ads. Yikes.

clipped from newteevee.com
GigaOM
WebWorkerDaily
NewTeeVee
Earth2Tech
FoundRead
OStatic

Kunkel said the system wouldn’t be based on facial recognition, so there wouldn’t be a picture of you on file (we hope). Instead, it would distinguish between different members of your household by recognizing body forms. He stressed that the system is still in the experimental phase, that there hasn’t been consumer testing, and that any rollout “must add value” to the viewing experience beyond serving ads.


blog it

Related:
Newsvine - Orwellian Channel Surfing: Comcast Wants To Put Face Recognizing Cameras In Your Cable Box
Comcast Cameras to Start Watching You? « NewTeeVee
Slashdot | In Soviet US, Comcast Watches YOU