Has anyone noticed this with thier bundled Internet/TV/Phone?

I do alot of internet surfing and internet video (relating to my job) while the tv is on in front of me. \

I started noticing when I type certain repeated words in search engines etc. A commercial containing that word would come on TV.

For instance, I always do a google search of "ats" to get here instead of using the address bar (idk why just a habit), and sure enough Cadillac ATS commercials come on.

I would shrug it off as coinsidence, but today it has been crazy!

While working today at my home, I was looking for a bigger media storage device. Sure enough I counted three commercials spanning two breaks. One for Barracuda, and the other Sandisk. All while I was doing the searches.

Anyone else noticed anything like this? Thanks! Keep looking!

reply to post by braveswin


It's just going to be one of those coincidences.

As far as I know, it is not possible to tailor advertisements on a TV channel to the individual viewer - Yes, you can do that on the net by using cookies and what have you, but to do so on the TV would require thousands of background channels to carry all the different ads ready for when a subscriber uses certain key words, not to mention the background network needed to translate your search results into corresponding TV adverts.

turn the t.v off then is the best answer i can give you that thing is not good for you it acts like a drug on your brain.

some people are hooked on it and cannot go to sleep without it being on .

and think of the electricity you will save from that piece of furniture

May want to think about about tailored advertisements, soon we'll be shown what items look like with us in or wearing or drinking or on them... in the tv, on radio, in store windows in our dreams.

But honestly, I wouldn't doubt it, sooner or later it's bound to happen, they do this with local so why not pocket groups?

Originally posted by braveswin
I do alot of internet surfing and internet video (relating to my job) while the tv is on in front of me. \

I started noticing when I type certain repeated words in search engines etc. A commercial containing that word would come on TV.

For instance, I always do a google search of "ats" to get here instead of using the address bar (idk why just a habit), and sure enough Cadillac ATS commercials come on.

I would shrug it off as coinsidence, but today it has been crazy!

While working today at my home, I was looking for a bigger media storage device. Sure enough I counted three commercials spanning two breaks. One for Barracuda, and the other Sandisk. All while I was doing the searches.

Anyone else noticed anything like this? Thanks! Keep looking!

Google is not my default search engine, nor do I wish it to be so. I only need to put an A into google search to get to ATS after intentionally using a muddle of acronyms for ATS before.

reply to post by smurfy


Mmmmm...Cookies....

That is how they make the autofill feature work, combined with known popular search terms they can make an educated guess from very few characters as to what you're searching for.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by braveswin

 

It's just going to be one of those coincidences.

As far as I know, it is not possible to tailor advertisements on a TV channel to the individual viewer - Yes, you can do that on the net by using cookies and what have you, but to do so on the TV would require thousands of background channels to carry all the different ads ready for when a subscriber uses certain key words, not to mention the background network needed to translate your search results into corresponding TV adverts.

Your right.

But today it is different. Mainstream channels DO have thier own advertisers and things like that.
BUT when the cable company is programming thier schedules, they leave open spaces in commercials spots for this.

IS what i read

reply to post by braveswin


I don't know how it works in the US, but here the cable/sat companies merely retransmit what is given to them by the TV channel.

I see no reason why this would be different in the US, only perhaps with syndication and tailoring adverts for specific regions, but there is no way that they can filter advertisements for each individual user - the bandwidth requirement for a single HD channel is quite a lot - uncompressed a single second of HD TV is around 60Mb of data.

Video compression can reduce this by quite a bit, but to have ad's waiting for each individual user in the background would require an extraordinary amount of bandwidth, which costs a lot of money and would otherwise block channel slots for other things which could generate far more revenue than the occasional ad.

In the future, when TV is delivered via the net and we can select our programming ourselves, yes I would imagine the ads would be tailored, but in today's TV transmission technology, it is simply not doable.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by smurfy

 

Mmmmm...Cookies....

That is how they make the autofill feature work, combined with known popular search terms they can make an educated guess from very few characters as to what you're searching for.

I'm betting on cookies put me down for $20.

Almost positive it's cookies or some other adware tracking software.

(it could be magic but i doubt it.)

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by braveswin

 

I don't know how it works in the US, but here the cable/sat companies merely retransmit what is given to them by the TV channel.

I see no reason why this would be different in the US, only perhaps with syndication and tailoring adverts for specific regions, but there is no way that they can filter advertisements for each individual user - the bandwidth requirement for a single HD channel is quite a lot - uncompressed a single second of HD TV is around 60Mb of data.

Video compression can reduce this by quite a bit, but to have ad's waiting for each individual user in the background would require an extraordinary amount of bandwidth, which costs a lot of money and would otherwise block channel slots for other things which could generate far more revenue than the occasional ad.

In the future, when TV is delivered via the net and we can select our programming ourselves, yes I would imagine the ads would be tailored, but in today's TV transmission technology, it is simply not doable.

Excellent response! You are very educated in workings of video.

But, I must say, that television in the two countries are VERY different. Your familiar with the PAL NTSC format correct?

Originally posted by braveswin
Excellent response! You are very educated in workings of video.

Thanks, but I wouldn't go so far as to say that, but I do work alongside colleagues which do the BBC transmission in the UK...

Originally posted by TopsyTurvyOne
But, I must say, that television in the two countries are VERY different. Your familiar with the PAL NTSC format correct?

PAL and NTSC are just standards to determine the frame rate and resolution, with NTSC generally being a poorer quality. That said, both are legacy systems with the switchover to digital broadcasts, and HDTV uses another different technology.

The NTSC and PAL are just that. Standards. But more than than the technical aspect, such as framerate,ratio etc.

They are filtered to the larger cable companies such as Time Warner. Using these same "standards" local level cable companies can then manipulate local programming.

reply to post by smurfy


Perhaps the tv is influencing what you search for.

Originally posted by stumason
reply to post by smurfy

 

Mmmmm...Cookies....

That is how they make the autofill feature work, combined with known popular search terms they can make an educated guess from very few characters as to what you're searching for.

I know, yet with all that it's not all that good a search engine. IX-Quick is among the best. Google is quick to load pages though.

Originally posted by ZetaRediculian
reply to post by smurfy

 

Perhaps the tv is influencing what you search for.

It's not the TV, there is no tv near me. It's probably closer to say that these NSA guys and affiliates are making a bit on the side, selling your info back to the servers who are aiding them, or anyone else for that matter.

Originally posted by geobro
turn the t.v off then is the best answer i can give you that thing is not good for you it acts like a drug on your brain.

some people are hooked on it and cannot go to sleep without it being on .

and think of the electricity you will save from that piece of furniture

The same would apply to your pc/internet.

reply to post by stumason

PAL and NTSC are just standards to determine the frame rate and resolution, with NTSC generally being a poorer quality. That said, both are legacy systems with the switchover to digital broadcasts, and HDTV uses another different technology.

Which is why you can always tell if you are watching an American show because it looks fuzzy compared to British TV. I assume this is because it's filmed NTSC but broadcast in/over PAL right? 60Hz Vs 50Hz.

It's taken me years to work that out

If the OP uses internet TV then it is possible cookies are determining the ads but if it is a live broadcast from the TV channel then it has to be simply coincidence. Maybe you are noticing relevant ads more and if you didn't happen to be thinking about them at the time they would go by unnoticed?

Another member had the same experience, although his set-up is a bit different:

Computer searches reflected in my cable commercials?

I used to work for an advertising agency, though it has been a few years. We used to buy time slots for our commercials on cable TV. We would purchase time slots for certain regions of the country on specific channels, and so many days per week, and during specific time frames, i.e., 10am-12noon (or something similar to that). We would buy the spots at least 6 weeks in advance. I suppose working within that schedule, a cable TV company could play a specific spot according to one person's internet search - but I think it's highly unlikely.

It's probably a pilot program, something they are testing out before wider deployment in the near future. You could call your cable company and ask about it.

A modern TV or a digital cable box is a computer. The 'cable' connection is an internet connection. Of course it's possible. And specific, individual targeting is very much something that is supposed to be coming soon, because there's a huge economic incentive for cable companies to offer it to their advertisers. It's not far off in the distant future, it's right around the corner.

I've never even SEEN a TV commercial for a hard drive, come on, that's crazy. And a search for ATS pulling up a car commercial makes sense because car companies as an industry are one of the biggest advertisers out there.