Consumers continue to learn just how intelligent Samsung's SmartTVs are. After learning that the SmartTVs could be recording living room conversations, some consumers are now finding out that the TVs could be injected with ads into locally stored video.
A Pepsi ad is being injected about 20 to 30 minutes into any locally stored video delivered via the Plex server, according to reports from several Redditors.
The Pepsi ad is said to be silent, displaying only video. What's especially peculiar about the ad is that it only appears on Samsung SmartTVs, though Plex is available on other platforms.
"I watch most of my TV shows on a Samsung SmartTV and it has been fantastic for the past year," states a post started by redditor beans90. "Recently it has been stopping half way through a show or a movie and has played a pepsi ad that is muted. It does not do this on any other platform (PC, PS4, tablet) has anyone else experienced this?"
The issue with the Pepsi ad isn't isolated to Plex, as the muted ad is appearing on Foxtel's streaming TV service. A representative from the Australian company says that the ad injection appears to be a "Samsung related issue," one that Foxtel has escalated to the SmartTV manufacturer with the "highest priority."
The Pepsi ad injection isn't the first time Samsung has been blamed for sticking promotions inside of its users' video. Not so long ago, back in January of 2014, a report emerged stating that ads for the Yahoo Broadcast Interactivity app begin to pop-up in video played back on Samsung SmartTVs.
Samsung confirmed the pop-ups, stating that they were trials and that the "interactive experiences" were opt-in. However, the ability to opt out of the interactive experiences, ads, was to Select the Terms & Policy option from the Smart Hub and then check the "I disagree with the Yahoo Privacy Notice" option in the Yahoo Privacy Policy section.
"Samsung has been working with consumers and with strategic partners since 2011 to explore and develop more interactive SmartTV features that will allow consumers the choice to experience a new generation of home entertainment," stated Samsung, adding a bit later: "We are working with Yahoo to create an opt-in screen prompt specific to their service as soon as possible."
The reports of the unwanted Pepsi ads are just the blight on Samsung's SmartTVs. Recently, watchdogs noticed that Samsung's privacy policy stated that the SmartTVs could record user conversations and transmit them to third parties.
"Please be aware that if your spoken words include personal or other sensitive information, that information will be among the data captured and transmitted to a third party through your use of Voice Recognition," Samsung stated in its privacy policy.
