Microsoft Patents TV That Watches Back, Counts Heads, Charges Admission

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the the-kinect-as-box-office/toll-booth dept

Fri, Nov 9th 2012 11:45am — Tim Cushing

Here's a scenario for you: at some point in the the near future, you sit down in front of your Xbox 720/960/1080 and queue up a little video-on-demand from the Live Arcade selection of movies. You select a film from the menu and, before you can press the "Play" button, you are greeted with another menu giving you several price points, depending on how many people will be watching.

It sounds ridiculous, but Microsoft has applied for a patent covering a method that could make this a reality. Geekwire (via Slashdot) has the details on a patent application utilizing the Kinect (or its successor) to count noses for content providers.

The patent application, filed under the heading “Content Distribution Regulation by Viewing User,” proposes to use cameras and sensors like those in the Xbox 360 Kinect controller to monitor, count and in some cases identify the people in a room watching television, movies and other content. The filing refers to the technology as a “consumer detector.”

In one scenario, the system would then charge for the television show or movie based on the number of viewers in the room. Or, if the number of viewers exceeds the limits laid out by a particular content license, the system would halt playback unless additional viewing rights were purchased.

While it's a little early in the process to decide whether this is actually a pursuit Microsoft deems worthy of implementing or just some brainstorming put on paper, there's no denying that media companies and content providers would certainly not mind at all if an enterprising group could create something that would allow them to monetize every eyeball in the house.

While Kinect hackers have managed to crank out some very interesting uses of the body-tracking technology, it looks as though the in-house team has something a bit more devious up its collective sleeve. With this in place, PPV events could move to the Xbox to get the most bang for their buck during prize fights and MMA bouts. Movies rented through XBLA (Xbox Live Arcade) could rake in even more money by charging for each additional set of eyeballs, leading to Xbox owners treating their own living rooms like drive-ins and sneaking in additional viewers through piles of coats lying strategically on the floor.

Every use may not be as mercenary as the above scenario, however. The Kinect "Consumer Detector" could also prevent younger (or at least, shorter) eyeballs from being sullied by R-rated movies or, god forbid, porn.

The system could also take into account the age of viewers, limiting playback of mature content to adults, for example. This patent application doesn’t explain how that would work, but a separate Microsoft patent application last year described a system for using sensors to estimate age based on the proportions of their body.

Unfortunately, this will prevent pornstar midgets from viewing porn, but please, let's think of the children, each of whom represents a potential income stream.

The intro paragraph of the application lends itself to use for many different royalty collecting entities. In addition to the mentioned Pay Per View/Video-on-Demand possibilities, there's also performance rights organizations to be considered, because once you start talking licenses, they're never far behind.

A method of distributing content to a user, comprising: providing a selection of content available to the user; for each content, presenting a licensing option comprising associating a performance of the content with an individual user's consumption of the content at a display device; receiving a selection of one of the content and a license display option for said content; presenting the content to the display device if a number of user performances allowed for the content is equal to or less than the license option for which the selection is received; and monitoring the presentation of the content at the device to determine the number of users consuming the content during the performance.

This description, along with the methods listed below it in the filing, seem to indicate that your fully-paid and relatively peaceful viewing of a movie or prize fight could come to an instant halt and ask you to feed the meter any time someone new walks into the room. Or better yet, the new system could push already-strained friendships to the limit. "Oh, hey. I'd invite you in but I'm only got enough money for five people. Sorry, man. Maybe next time." AWKWARD.

But beyond the fact that this patent, if granted and implemented, will create a whole new level of rent-seeking across a wide swath of the "creative industries," there's also privacy issues that need to be addressed. Does any company, whether it's Microsoft or any of the upstream content providers, have the right to basically scan your living room for signs of life simply because they're the one licensing the content? For that matter, is it any of their business how many people you have watching a movie or listening to music in your private residence? It certainly never has been before, but with the advent of digital distribution (and its accompanying "licenses"), the attempts to wring every last dollar out of every bit of content will continue.

Will "buying for five but watching for ten" become the new "piracy?" Pursuing this angle isn't going to make Microsoft any friends, at least not in terms of customers. Consumers' first reaction would probably be to toss the "Consumer Detector," in which case it's not difficult to imagine it becoming a mandatory piece of equipment for certain applications. After that, for consumers concerned about this, their only option would be to toss the Xbox. I don't think Microsoft has enough confidence in the future of its console line to take that chance.

Or maybe it's got nothing to do with the console. Maybe it's some groundwork for the new "Cloud TV" service Microsoft inadvertently announced via a job posting.

Microsoft is known for revealing additional product details in job postings, but a new round of listings has unveiled a brand new TV service. Described as a "Cloud-based TV platform," Microsoft is looking to hire engineers to build client applications for the service. LiveSide spotted several job postings related to Cloud TV recently that tempt job candidates to "get in on the ground floor of an ambitious new project."

Combining this with the above patent opens up the possibility that Microsoft could be crafting the content delivery system that watches you back, delivering headcounts to media companies and cutting off customers who violate the license terms by exceeding the limits declared by the copyright holder. At this point, the whole setup is full of easily exploitable holes. The odds of this coming to market are extremely low, if for no other reason than the potential backlash against any company involved. But it's not impossible, either. There are many rent-seekers in the content market and many of them have never shied away from a new source of income just because it might be unpopular. (At least, not at first. Many have walked back ideas due to public outcry, but they rarely seem to discard bad ideas before trying to implement them first.) Microsoft doesn't seem to share the same enthusiasm for angering the public to make incremental gains, but its design team has crafted a handy backdoor for a whole new level of IP enforcement—one that will only widen the gap between what consumers feel are acceptable limitations and what the content industries believe they should be.

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Filed Under: charging, drm, patents, scanning
Companies: microsoft

103 Comments

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Reader Comments

The First Word

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Sounds like "A method and device for pissing off customers" to me.

—Anonymous Coward

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fogbugzd (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 11:46am

I would like to write more, but I am busy writing up my patent for a cardboard costume that makes viewers look like a potted plant to devices to Kinect devices.

Wait, on advice of my attorney I am dropping the word "cardboard" to make it more generic. Oh, wait. Another change incoming. He wants it more even more general so that it is a costume or other device that confuses any camera looking at it for any purpose. Also, he says to make absolutely sure that I am patenting a general idea with no specifics on how it would be implemented.

That last point bothers me a little bit because I had thought that patents were supposed to patent methods and not general concepts. However, he quickly pointed out that I am wrong. He used this patent as an example of why I am wrong because the Microsoft patent is for the general idea and is pretty short on specifics.
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 11:48am

So, it's begun in earnest.
The deadly kiss of Microsoft seeks the lips of the television.

Gone, gone it will be, only dust and ashes.

Well, I for one am looking forward to the day when all "television watching" is done on a phone or computer. :-P
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Keii (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 11:53am

Sometimes I pray that companies who patent these absolutely outrageous things are doing it only to sit on them and prevent other unscrupulous companies from abusing them.
Like this patent or the recent Google "Guilt-By-Association" patent.
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Keii (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 11:56am

Re:
An apparatus for adding or removing entities from scanning devices.
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izzitme101, 9 Nov 2012 @ 11:58am

Heres a scenario for you: At some point in the future, when the x-box **** and all other tv's ect start looking back at you and charging admission, maybe people will get pissed off enough that no one iwll bother, then we might find people outside socialising instead of watching some wannabe famous person on i used to be a celebrity, please give me a job!
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Keii (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 11:59am

Re: Re:
No wait...
"monitoring devices" covers more ground.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:01pm

1984
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:03pm

They should name the system
Orwell 9000
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Mike Martinet (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:06pm

Brilliant
Sounds like a heckuva way to compete with free.

You go, guys.
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weneedhelp (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:07pm

Meh.
Talk about driving piracy, this would absolutely do it.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:08pm

Re:
At the very least, if someone(MPAA) forces this system on everyone, Microsoft will happily collect royalties. Hopefully royalties so outrageous the system will go bankrupt.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:09pm

This will be worked into our everyday lives posing as something benign until we become dependent on it then the bait and switch will become apparent.
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CyberCowboy, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:10pm

Why not just
setup a small picture of an empty room just in front of the camera? or point the unit at a wall
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DannyB (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:10pm

This patent is great!
Maybe this will be the thing to get people to stop watching TV and go to the theat...., um..., I meant outside.
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Forest_GS (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:12pm

Only if it's cheaper. If it's not cheap to use this method, nobody will like it.
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out_of_the_blue, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:13pm

"watches you back" = spies
Have I mentioned the surveillance state in the last hour? Probably, because intrudes on me about that often. Commercial interests + gov't aren't going to stop at any reasonable level: you are the "product" at best, a victim at worst.

Only way to stop the constant increase is object to and prevent spying any way you can. One big way is to get Noscript for Firefox and remove Google from its paid-for exclusion; 2nd way is with a hosts files. Then don't buy products such as Xbox...

But there we run again into the sheer fact that masses of dolts will happily go along with being spied on...

And Monitoring Mike will say there's "no evidence of real harm", that it's all just for your benefit to deliver the best possible services!
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:13pm

This is another reason why console gaming is at an evolutionary dead end. They could be coming up with something new, exciting, and heavily demanded. Instead, they'd rather resell the same game as a sequel, treat their customers like criminals and ATMs, and torture everyone with the occasional Han Solo dance number.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:13pm

And Microsoft wants people to care about kinect lol.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:15pm

Well, if the first implementations use an actual Kinect, fortunately all you'll have to do to evade detection is sit down.
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Forest_GS (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:16pm

My solution to this would be two paper cut-outs placed in front of the camera, aligned so it looks like the person in the picture is at the optimal distance, so that it sees only one person at all times.
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Keii (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:17pm

Re: "watches you back" = spies
Just kiss him already.
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Keii (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:18pm

Re:
http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1340/1332711307_b0ac70d143.jpg
(Stolen from the internets)
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:22pm

Stay out of my home.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:23pm

I agree with out_of_the_blue and the rest, how long before paranoia kicks in and these power-hungry dictators makes this a requirement in every house? We are becoming Oceania, that's all there is to it.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:25pm

Re:
A gauze curtain with lights on the tv side and none behind hides everybody behind it. Ita an old stage trick.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:27pm

Re: "watches you back" = spies
I applaud you OOTB. Perhaps no other person in history could say in one post that grifting is wrong, and then admit in another post that he uses noscript, and changes his hosts file so that he doesn't have to see ads, in one post says government granted monopolies are just peachy, and then wonders why we allow corporations to have any power in another post.

Who am I kidding? You don't need multiple posts to show off your hypocrisy.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:32pm

This is the best idea ever. Until internet goes down, your kinect stops working.
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rorybaust (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:35pm

George Orwell
I suppose its inevitable that in this ownership culture that they we find ourself in, to expect the heirs to the Estate of the late George Orwell will sue and to be fair I would suggest that his idea is as well formed and articulate as Microsoft's fiction so as to stand as prior art.

I understand there are courts in the USA where these concepts are not as incredulous as I may think and that they are actually given credence.

To think ones imagination can now just be patented as a working concept just to thwart and actual inventor down the track. Not even George saw that one coming.
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DogBreath, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:35pm

On the upside...
I have a feeling we will finally find out who has been running up the cable pay per view bill for shows that no one will admit to watching:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8rxXamfh5c
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:35pm

Re: So, it's begun in earnest.
Well, I for one am looking forward to the day when all "television watching" is done on a phone or computer. :-P

I'm sure the people who want to "charge admission" will love that. Most of these new devices already have a camera which faces outwards from the screen and already recognise faces.
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Chosen Reject (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:35pm

This is actually a good thing. Now, when my daughters keep coming back from their bedroom after we've sent them to bed for the 20th time that night, I won't have to hit pause; the movie will pause for me. This will translate to a massive savings in remote control batteries and an increase in productivity.

Also, teenagers watching their dirty movies in the family room won't have to scramble to find the remote with one hand while pulling up their pants with the other when mom walks in. Now they can use both hands to pull up their pants, thus avoiding unnecessary visits to the ER for zipper related injuries.
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Shmerl, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:35pm

Didn't they patent ones and zeros already?

On a serious note - let them patent all kind of spooky DRM stuff, and bully those who use it. May be it'll be an incentive to avoid this kind of stuff.
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Zakida Paul (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:36pm

Re: Re: "watches you back" = spies
I am convinced that he is suffering from dis-associative identity disorder. Surely this poster is proof to the psychology community that the condition does, in fact, exist.
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silverscarcat (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:36pm

Ceiling Cat was right!
Microsoft is watching you masturbate!
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Zakida Paul (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:38pm

I stopped caring about M$ years ago. Honestly, if it were not for Football Manager, I would have migrated to Linux permanently by now. Here's hoping Sports Interactive will port to Linux along with Steam.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:42pm

How did it go again? Something about the "Television watching you"
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Bob V (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:49pm

Re: Re: Re:
how bout just stuff that does stuff...could just break it down to stuff then get a trademark on stuff as well so you have all of your bases covered
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Space Pirate, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:50pm

I WIN!
I broke their system already, just angle the face counter such that only 1 face is counted. The rest of the room enjoys the show for free! Suck it M$
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:51pm

We used to use scotch tape on a cassette so that we could record on it. It looks like we'll be putting scotch tape over our Kinect sensor so it can't see us.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:53pm

Re: Re:
It will be a unique feature of Micro$oft operating systems, so that you have you buy Micro$oft to watch movies.
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PlagueSD (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 12:58pm

Re:
Isn't scotch tape clear??? I'd think masking tape, or electrical tape would be a better choice.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:05pm

So, how does it know who does and doesn't own a license? Does it keep a facial record of every person to have ever bought a Halo game?
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:06pm

I dunno, this smells like the new DIVX to me.
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:07pm

Re: Re:
Scotch Magic Tape is translucent.
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Zakida Paul (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:08pm

Re: I WIN!
Or, just don't buy their worthless technology and go with a competitor. Suck it even harder M$.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:08pm

Don't much care. Having done tv in years and years. Not planning on going back to it either. Stuff like this just makes it clear the choice was a wise one.
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Jeffrey Nonken (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:08pm

Re:
I'm awaiting Steam's migration to Linux with bated breath.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:15pm

Re: Re:
Opaque tape will be banned under the anti circumvention clause of the DMCA.
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weneedhelp (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:16pm

Re: "watches you back" = spies
Ya know OOTB, I thought you had a reasonable comment up until: And Monitoring Mike

Out of your fucking mind OOTB. Please seek medical attention, they have wonderful little pills that can help your condition.
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ChrisB (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:16pm

Re:
> power-hungry dictators

Notice that these dictators exist because of government granted monopoly. Get rid of the monopoly, you'll get rid of the dictators. Just another example of how the enemy isn't corporations, it is "well meaning" government.
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weneedhelp (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:19pm

Re:
"to monitor, count and in some cases identify the people in a room watching television, movies and other content."

"Does it keep a facial record of every person to have ever bought a Halo game?"

Appears to be the plan.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:25pm

I give it a day before it's hacked to oblivion.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:37pm

Re: Re: Re: Re:
Sounds like "A method and device for pissing off customers" to me.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:40pm

Re: Re: Re: "watches you back" = spies
I thought it was some kind of performance art.
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Todd E, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:41pm

Re: Re:
The problem with this trick is that a light bright enough to render the viewers behind the screen opaque will generally also prevent them from being able to view a TV screen with any reliability.

Having worked with this sort of device myself in stage performances, while it allows for "see through" walls, it's not in any useful detail.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:42pm

Re:
I'd say this is more of a symptom of the demise of consoles. They're desperately looking for new things to use consoles for.
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Zakida Paul (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:44pm

Re: Re:
My PS3 is pretty exclusively a DVD/Netflix player these days.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 1:44pm

Re:
Having the internet go down would make watching streaming video difficult....
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btr1701 (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:04pm

Re: "watches you back" = spies
> But there we run again into the
> sheer fact that masses of dolts
> will happily go along with being
> spied on...

http://tinyurl.com/brzhrw
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The Groove Tiger (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:09pm

Initial Step: Get a bunch of mannequins in front of your TV.
(Part Deuce) Pay to watch a program for whatever amount of people the TV detects.
Stage Three.- Sue Microsoft/whatever Media company for overcharging or fraud or something.
Phase D) Profit
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ldne, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:14pm

Re:
Actually, according to the patent office a patent is one of these three:

"1) Utility patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof;

2) Design patents may be granted to anyone who invents a new, original, and ornamental design for an article of manufacture; and

3) Plant patents may be granted to anyone who invents or discovers and asexually reproduces any distinct and new variety of plant."

AND must comply with this:

"In order for an invention to be patentable it must be new as defined in the patent law, which provides that an invention cannot be patented if: �(a) the invention was known or used by others in this country, or patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country, before the invention thereof by the applicant for patent,� or �(b) the invention was patented or described in a printed publication in this or a foreign country or in public use or on sale in this country more than one year prior to the application for patent in the United States . . .�

If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere in the world, or if it was known or used by others in this country before the date that the applicant made his/her invention, a patent cannot be obtained. If the invention has been described in a printed publication anywhere, or has been in public use or on sale in this country more than one year before the date on which an application for patent is filed in this country, a patent cannot be obtained. In this connection it is immaterial when the invention was made, or whether the printed publication or public use was by the inventor himself/herself or by someone else. If the inventor describes the invention in a printed publication or uses the invention publicly, or places it on sale, he/she must apply for a patent before one year has gone by, otherwise any right to a patent will be lost. The inventor must file on the date of public use or disclosure, however, in order to preserve patent rights in many foreign countries.

Even if the subject matter sought to be patented is not exactly shown by the prior art, and involves one or more differences over the most nearly similar thing already known, a patent may still be refused if the differences would be obvious. The subject matter sought to be patented must be sufficiently different from what has been used or described before that it may be said to be nonobvious to a person having ordinary skill in the area of technology related to the invention. For example, the substitution of one color for another, or changes in size, are ordinarily not patentable."

Hmm, what the heck happened to THAT? I guess they don't make patent examiners actually read these? According to this, half of the recent patent litigation I've read about was concluded incorrectly because the patents issued don't fit the criteria, they shouldn't have been issued in the first place.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:15pm

Home Invasion
Seems to me that it's nothing more than a sophisticated form of a home invasion robbery.

I can't imagine that anything like this will get past the courts...they'll be sued out of existence.
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Mike Dee, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:15pm

Re:
oh sooo close then you cant help yourself and take a shot at Mike.
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ldne, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:18pm

Re: Why not just
Only works when you don't want to watch TV. The thing is supposed to monitor usage, not play to an empty room, and would be set up to turn itself off when no one was in it's sight. I'll bet it'll watch to see if you're holding a camcorder too.
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That One Guy (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:21pm

If this was ever rolled out, it wouldn't be a case of shooting yourself in the foot, this would be like strapping a block of C4 to your leg, and offering the detonator to all of your competitors.

As soon as the 'you get charged depending on how many people are in the room, and by the way for the tech to work, it requires a camera to be watching the inside of your living room/bedroom' thing was rolled out, the first competitor who made it a point of adding that they didn't have that feature would see a deluge of people abandoning ship to their products.

Wouldn't even take much effort for the sales pitch either, something as simple as 'Brand X: For when you want to watch a movie, without someone watching you.' would work just fine.
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OldGeezer (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:23pm

Next step: fit it with facial recognition and of course sound monitoring. This would be enough to make any cybersecurity proponent cream himself!
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gorehound (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:24pm

Re: George Orwell
The whole idea of a TV that watches you is right from 1984.I will be making sure that while I live I buy Devices that are not Connected to some Internet.I want my TV and other things NOT CONNECTED AT ALL.

My Dumb Fliptop Phone makes calls.
My Really Fast Desktop goes Online and is also on a VPN and it runs a bunch of Privacy Stuff including a Firewall that only allows me to go online thru my VPN I pay for.
And the Service I use for VPN is not in USA nor does it keep any Logs.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:25pm

I would ask, "Why would anybody want such a thing in his house?", but then, look how people have gobbled up with gusto the Kinect and its facial recognition technology. Hey, if people are that stupid...
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:26pm

Re: Re: Re:
Last time I was working on stage I could see the audience just fine. It is the same thing as Lace curtains for daylight privacy in a house, they fail totally at night.
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ShellMG, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:30pm

I'm having nasty flashbacks of those creepy "Your TV is lonely" ads that freaked everyone out (myself included). The giant eyeball with feet was pretty memorable.
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fb39ca4, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:32pm

To everyone saying just stick a picture in front of the Kinect, it can sense depth so when it sees a flat plane six inches away it will know something is fishy.
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John Fenderson (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:43pm

Re:
The hack seems pretty easy, actually. A small, cheap computer-on-a-stick could emulate a kinect without problems and send a prerecorded stream of one person sitting in from of the TV.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:53pm

Re: Re:
Won't have to wait long. The beta has already begun for Ubuntu.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 2:55pm

Re: Re:
http://store.steampowered.com/news/9289/
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silverscarcat (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 3:02pm

Re: Re: Re:
That'll get the Mythbusters upset.

Ducttape isn't clear.
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Anonymoose, 9 Nov 2012 @ 3:04pm

Black market electrical tape?
No. Just no.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 3:33pm

I can't believe that someone, somewhere read 1984 and thought, "Hey, this all sounds great!"
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JMT (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 4:56pm

Re: "watches you back" = spies
"And Monitoring Mike will say there's "no evidence of real harm", that it's all just for your benefit to deliver the best possible services!"

You might need to explain who this particular "Mike" you refer to is, because it's not someone that anybody on this site is familiar with.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 4:57pm

Am I being really stupid? Or could the answer just be to unplug the Kinect when you rent the films or shows? Or, if that isn't an option, everyone but one persons leaves the room, pay for the film, then everyone comes back in.
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SIlverBlade, 9 Nov 2012 @ 4:57pm

Simple workarounds:
- hang a picture of an empty room in front of the camera.
- disconnect the camera or disable it within the system settings.
- block the camera entirely by something black.
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Rich, 9 Nov 2012 @ 5:30pm

I'll be DAMNED before they put one of those in MY house.
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CK20XX, 9 Nov 2012 @ 6:16pm

Given how the Kinect wants to be bigger than Nintendo and Windows 8 wants to be bigger than Apple, it seems that Microsoft's modern business strategy is just to make everything bigger than their competitors do. They want to be large and in charge, and that's the full extent to which they've thought things through. They basically have no idea what they are doing whatsoever.
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 6:43pm

The solution
Doesn't apple have a patent on something to make cameras stop working?
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 8:35pm

Re: Re: Re: Re: "watches you back" = spies
that's the ticket
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 8:38pm

Re: Re:
Not well meaning, kowtowing to the money.
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velox (profile), 9 Nov 2012 @ 8:45pm

Re: Re:
A new TV in 3 easy steps:
1) Unbox
2) Plug in/connect
3) Cover that little lens with black electrical tape [matches the TV trim]
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Anonymous Coward, 9 Nov 2012 @ 9:22pm

Tape, photo, coat hanger
Voila! Instant hacked audience of ONE..IF they insisted on occasional movement then place an oscillating fan nearby..Dumb tech ideas have the best lo-tech hacks!
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 10 Nov 2012 @ 1:11am

So Biden and the Copyright Czar will be having a nice generic meeting with TV makers in the next 3 weeks where they suggest that doing this on their own would be easier than having to deal with making laws that would be less nice to the makers of the TVs?
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anon, 10 Nov 2012 @ 3:38am

Re:
Seriously this is the most stupid thing I have ever read, if they think implementing something like this is going to happen they are very very mistaken, in fact I would go so far as to say this would destroy the industry.
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btrussell (profile), 10 Nov 2012 @ 6:12am

Think of the vertically challenged!
"Unfortunately, this will prevent pornstar midgets from viewing porn, but please, let's think of the children, each of whom represents a potential income stream."

How about non-pornstar midgets? Will the less endowed look more proportionate and be able to watch porn?

Can I by-pass the license fee if I dress her up as a, umm, hand warmer? Ventriloquists side-kick?
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avideogameplayer, 10 Nov 2012 @ 6:15am

There goes the Fourth Amendment...
If this gets going. I'm sure that M$ would never record their users or just hand over the recordings to law enforcement willy nilly...
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The Real Michael, 10 Nov 2012 @ 6:48am

Good luck to MS in marketing this 1984 spying device. It would take an extremely dumb person to pay a corporation for the "privilege" of setting up a camera/mic in their living quarters, let alone one which could potentially jack up costs. This reminds me of Progressive 'Snapshot' where they try to lure auto insurance customers into letting the company track their every move (all the while draining their vehicle's battery).

I'll stick with the TVs, monitors and consoles which don't have cameras and tracking devices built into them, thank you very much.
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yall_in_my_house_now, 10 Nov 2012 @ 7:15pm

So many things wrong with this idea; from privacy to price gouging and I think most well informed customers agree that artificially limiting tech abilities is just plain insulting in the first place.

It just reminds me of that terrible 'feature' of Windows 7 Starter that only allowed 3 apps to run consecutively - only this time they are happy to screw you over to better attract content providers come the next gen of lounge room tech.
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George, 10 Nov 2012 @ 7:25pm

microsoft is becoming monsanto
Microsoft is becoming monsanto poisoning everything it touches.
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2012 @ 2:45pm

This would be a good idea to prevent the kiddies from watching porn, (lol!) but couldn't everyone just move out of range of the kinect while their friend buys the movie? This is why I don't see this making MS more money...people will abuse the shit out of this. Don't expect your costumers to follow the honor rule. xD
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Anonymous Coward, 11 Nov 2012 @ 6:34pm

"Or, if the number of viewers exceeds the limits laid out by a particular content license, the system would halt playback unless additional viewing rights were purchased."

So the important question what limits are there on the DVD you are trying to play??? "I'm sorry this DVD is only licensed for four viewers please buy an additional license"

I'm not sure this should even be patent worthy as I went to a Cory Doctorow talk years ago where he was saying big content wanted to start doing exactly this...
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Niall (profile), 12 Nov 2012 @ 6:04am

Re: Re: So, it's begun in earnest.
Camera, meet thumb...
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Niall (profile), 12 Nov 2012 @ 6:06am

Re: Re: "watches you back" = spies
No hypocrisy, just a compulsive need to criticise Mike and whatever the article is about...
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Niall (profile), 12 Nov 2012 @ 6:10am

Re: Re:
A spoken like a good right-wing corporation shill. The enemy IS the corporations, especially as they have bought the government. Both, out of control, are bad. Both have their uses when properly regulated.

Honestly, I've never seen so many people fantasising for the "Old Wild West that Wasn't" as American right-wingers, Confederates and Libertarians.
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Niall (profile), 12 Nov 2012 @ 9:18am

Re:
Don't watch the first Matt Smith Doctor Who episode then ;) (Season 5 Ep 1)
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arman, 13 Mar 2013 @ 6:27am

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kenjones (profile), 11 May 2013 @ 9:39pm

Patent it yourself
My advice is if you think you have something worth patenting have a go at patenting it yourself, at the very least you will learn and save yourself many thousands. These days you can do the whole patenting process online, internationally. Even applying for a US Provisional patent is not the cheapest way to go, apply for a UK patent and you get a year to pay any fees and your UK Filing Date is good for your Non-Provisional US Patent. Therefore if nobody is interested in a year, just abandon your patent and it has cost you nothing. If someone is interested the royalty advance can pay the fees. A great cheap Amazon ebook which explains all this is DIY Patent Online - you can read some of it free. They also have a website but aren't trying to sell their services, just telling you how to patent without an attorney who must love them!
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kenjones (profile), 11 May 2013 @ 9:39pm

Patent it yourself
My advice is if you think you have something worth patenting have a go at patenting it yourself, at the very least you will learn and save yourself many thousands. These days you can do the whole patenting process online, internationally. Even applying for a US Provisional patent is not the cheapest way to go, apply for a UK patent and you get a year to pay any fees and your UK Filing Date is good for your Non-Provisional US Patent. Therefore if nobody is interested in a year, just abandon your patent and it has cost you nothing. If someone is interested the royalty advance can pay the fees. A great cheap Amazon ebook which explains all this is DIY Patent Online - you can read some of it free. They also have a website but aren't trying to sell their services, just telling you how to patent without an attorney who must love them!
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