IF you're the sort of couch potato who regards pressing buttons on your remote control as strenuous activity, fret no more, your prayers have been answered.
A video recorder, unveiled yesterday, promises a zero-energy, interruption-free viewing future by fast-forwarding through TV advertisements for you.
In a move that has horrified the advertising industry, Hitachi has become the first manufacturer to install a "commercial advance" chip in new machines. By sensing the break in sound and vision between programmes and ads, the chip automatically triggers the fast-forward function when a recorded show is being replayed.
The Hitachi FX880, the first machine to use the technology, will go on sale in Ireland and throughout Europe this July, retailing at £350 to £400.
Mr Ian Fox, director of the Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland, said of the new technology: "It's something we abhor and regret. Obviously, we are not very keen on people zapping ads, although it's too early to say whether the practice would have a knock-on effect on advertising charges."
Research in the UK shows that only about 2 per cent of TV viewing is by video, or "delayed". While there is no corresponding figure for Ireland, ACNielsen, which conducts viewership surveys here, said it would be similar.
Ironically, the product is set to undermine Hitachi's own multimillion pound European TV marketing campaigns. A spokeswoman for the company joked: "We have yet to develop the technology to filter out all ads except our own."
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