Google Smart TV patent

According to Mobileblab, Google are filing patents for Smart TV left right and centre. The latest to come out of this foray include an Android powered software application for the Smart TV which allows users to develop custom overlays for any type of content that can be run through the TV. More specifically, the patent refers to a “network media player with user-generated playback control.”

“User-generated overlays can be used to create custom playback of content. For example, a user could overlay a frame image, add a ticket bar, place a logo in the corner of the screen, add a sound track, or perform any other overlay function.”

I have spent a little while looking at the associated images to this patent and to be honest, cannot really make heads or tails of what I’m looking at. The images remind me of something you would find in an old manual on how to put together your home cinema system. Either way, I’m not sure how this relates to the more general concept of Smart TV (which is expected to bring together media from a multitude of sources such as Cable, Digital and Satellite, into one manageable interface), but I like the sound of anything customisable, so we’ll be watching this space in the months to come.