I have not owned any Philips products in years but after reading the news today that they are trying to patent a method which would prevent you from changing channels during commercials, and will limit fast forwards during commercials has me thinking that this must be a joke but sadly it is not. It is likely if implemented would cause grown men to go into fits and smash any box with Philips on the outside that tries to dictate this functionality.

Philips you would be smart to never ever introduce this technology in the United States. Imagine stopping us from channel surfing during commercials. I can see dvr's and similar devices being thrown from 50 story buildings.

But on the other hand what if they are doing this to get a patent to prevent another company from doing this, I highly doubt it. Did Philips get purchased by a major studio or the MPAA recently? [Engadget]