CES 2012: Intel to push new ad-delivery technology

Just when you thought you could bypass advertising by fast-forwarding your DVR, new ad-delivery technologies are pushing products in ways you may not be able to avoid as easily. Samsung today joined LG in announcing that it would run ads on your TV's home screen. Now Intel is teaming with Delivery Agent, a company that says it powers "shopping-enabled entertainment."

Here's how it works. You're streaming a video through a laptop connected to your TV. What you see on your TV is a high-def movie. What you see on your laptop are products being shown in the movie, along with an easy way to purchase said products. In fact, Delivery Agent takes product placement in TV shows and movies to a whole new level. Love the sunglasses Tom Cruise is wearing in Mission: Impossible? Buy them then and there using a Delivery Agent product called TV Wallet.

Verizon FiOS, Delivery Agent, and the History Channel created an app earlier this year that works similarly, allowing viewers to purchase products they see on shows like Pawn Stars and Ice Road Truckers using their TV remotes.

Intel says it will build Delivery Agent technology into processors that support its Intel Insider technology, which include second-generation Intel Core processors. The company says Delivery Agent will be integrated into processors later this year.

—Donna L. Tapellini