Video hyperlinking and other technologies occupy the thoughts of developers and engineers in Microsoft’s new Beijing-based adLab, a digital advertising research facility.
Redmond hasn’t given up on television yet, despite the less-than-stellar success of the MSN TV platform. Their newest efforts do seem to go beyond that, as demonstrated at Microsoft’s adCenter Demo Fest in Redmond.
Microsoft discussed the new adLab in a statement. “The Microsoft team of top researchers in this field is unsurpassed and certain to produce compelling advances that will impact and ultimately change the game in online advertising,” said Tarek Najm, general manager of adCenter at Microsoft.
One of the 15 prototype efforts demonstrated the video hyperlinking technology created by adLab:
One of the innovative technologies highlighted at the event was video hyperlink ads, which can detect product items displayed on a television screen during a show or commercial, allowing consumers to zoom into products featured on the television screen and click through to detailed product descriptions and information on where the products can be bought.
That seems to tie in with Microsoft’s desire to be a bigger part of a household’s media consumption. It’s easy to imagine the video hyperlinking technology being slipped into future versions of the company’s Media Center software, and possibly even as a firmware update to broadband-connected Xbox 360 consoles.
—
Email the author here.
Add to document.write(“Del.icio.us”) | DiggThis | Yahoo! My Web
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business.
