Will Smell-O-Vision Replace Television?

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Fear not, though: ads won't disappear. Product placements will multiply--including digitally created insertions that can be changed with every rerun. And as your TV becomes more of a communications device than a broadcasting device, you'll subsidize your entertainment bill (as you will your phone bill, your Internet service bill and maybe your car payment) by sharing valuable demographic information and agreeing to receive precision-targeted ads.

So take a whiff of tomorrow's TV. You're unwinding with, say, a lively cooking show hosted by a hyperactive Louisianian. As you chat online with other home cooks and download a recipe (with click-to-buy ingredients list, compiled in consultation with your e-frigerator), your TV points out that your host's handsome, copper saute pan is 25% off at Williams-Sonoma. Meanwhile, as the dish comes to a tantalizing simmer--at about 6:45 p.m., just when your family of four usually gets serious about ordering takeout--the TV suggests clicking to order etouffee (and nonspicy chicken fingers for the kids) from a local restaurant. It's a creepy intrusion, sure. But that etouffee looks mighty tasty.

So buck up, Emeril. We may never get Smell-o-Vision to the viewers. Sell-o-Vision, though, is coming with a vengeance.