All those football fans on campus who love the computer-generated yellow line that indicates the first-down marker on their television screens can thank a fellow Princetonian.
And those who watched last weekend's Super Bowl telecast and might have been distracted by the virtual advertisements from Charles Schwab & Co., General Motors and Kodak can blame the same alum.
Dennis Wilkinson '70, chief executive officer and president of Princeton Video Image — a high-tech marketing firm based in Lawrenceville — has led the charge into virtual advertising. PVI (NASDAQ: PVII) has patented Live Video Insertion System (L-VIS), which enables PVI to make a virtual sign or advertisement on television.
Because the advertisements are not physically in their apparent locations, PVI has created a controversy over the ethics of using the technology.
During CBS's New Year's telecast from Times Square, the network used L-VIS technology to superimpose its logo over an actual billboard that advertised television network rival NBC. Some have complained that the use of this technology alters viewers' perceptions of reality.
For example, Harry Jessell, editor of Broadcasting and Cable Magazine, said he is worried about CBS's use of the technology in news broadcasts. "People have an expectation that a video will reflect reality," he said. "Changing it for commercial purposes is crossing the line. It creates the idea that you can no longer trust CBS video. When it comes to news, they should leave the live video alone."
In response to critics who say the use of PVI's technology is not a reflection of reality, Steve Friedman, the executive producer of the "Early Show" — which recently signed a multi-year deal with PVI — said, "We don't do it to distort the news. We do it to help brand our show."
He added that the controversy over the New Year's telecast is "one of the most phony issues raised by journalism people in a long time."
In addition to the virtual signs, which are also used in sports broadcasts, PVI provides virtual product placement in television and movies and enhancements for games and events. PVI's most famous product is the yellow line used by the NFL to help viewers see the first-down line.
Wilkinson describes the system behind his company's service as a proprietary technology that interrupts the broadcast feed and inserts electronic images in real time into any video stream. "We are able to digitally alter images to make it look and feel like it's really there," he said.
The technology was "designed to provide advertising where there isn't any advertising in the game itself," he said. He added, however, that any enhancements or advertising using L-VIS is done "so as not to intrude on the integrity" of the broadcast.
PVI has provided video insertion services for more than 1,200 live telecasts worldwide, including for Major League Baseball, the National Football League, motor sports, professional soccer and other live events. Among PVI's customers are FOX, CBS, ESPN, ABC and other worldwide broadcasting companies.
Wilkinson said although the company was founded in 1991, its "coming-out party" was in 1998.
L-VIS was the brain child of one of PVI's founders who thought of virtual advertising while watching tennis on television, Wilkinson said. He became frustrated when the commercial breaks caused him to miss part of the match, and he decided to develop another way to advertise without hurting viewer enjoyment. The result was virtual advertising.
Wilkinson said the Philadelphia Phillies are one of PVI's virtual sign customers. During Phillies telecasts, PVI changes the images seen by the viewer behind home plate every half-inning.
As part of its deal with CBS News and "The Early Show," PVI is working to place the program's logo on the New York skyline in "opens and closes of the show," Friedman said. "It enables us to brand our show in creative, fun and bigger ways," he said.
Despite his concern over CBS's use of L-VIS technology in news broadcasts, Jessell said he is impressed with PVI's system. "The technology is extraordinary," he said. "I think it does enhance football. I'm amazed how well it works and how unobtrusive it is."
Wilkinson said virtual signs "are commercials and are done in ways that don't intrude on the show itself. They're an extension of the new world of digital television that's coming fast and furious."
In addition, Wilkinson sees a largely interactive future for television. PVI's current products, virtual product placement and live sign placement will evolve with television, he said.
"Two to three years off, people will download advertisements and store them in their television's memory," he said. "The future of advertising will be individualized by information provided by the viewer."
"In the shorter term, we have developmental products for soccer, auto racing and basketball," Wilkinson added. "Our goal is to make viewing more enjoyable."
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