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Gizmodo remotely shutting LCDs at CES: banned

Posted on 12.01.2008 at 12:07 in Tech News by Martin

The editor of popular gadget website Gizmodo was banned from CES and Gawker Media, company behind that site, is most likely getting sued by CES organizers pretty soon. Reason? Gizmodo’s prank: shutting down tens and hundreds of TV, LCDs and plasma screens by a remote controller known as TV-B-Gone. They published a somehow funny video at their blog, but interrupting many presentations, press events and other important booth shows of many recognized brands wasn’t that great - may be if you were 17-year old nerdy teenager, but CES is visited mostly by real businessmen and such behaviour seems unacceptable to me. Anyway, enjoy the video.

Comments (107)

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  1. Blake staff member
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:11

    funny for us but not for the ppl running the show

  2. furk
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:11

    How do you come up with that :D

  3. Dave
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:13

    American’s would sue you for anything. Whenever they see a chance of winning a case, they’d sue you. It’s just stupid. Never a sport. Ret@rds!

  4. shadowdevil
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:14

    that is great lol who the hell thought of that idea should be greatly rewarded lol

  5. WujouMao
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:17

    thats classic. someone with a real sense of humour

  6. meh
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:20

    Banning them seems fair enough, but isn’t litigation a bit much? I mean most of Gizmodo’s readers would be the people paying money to go to CES right?

  7. guh
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:22

    HAHAHA, and all the superserial corporate guys go bonkers!

  8. MelC
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:24

    hehhe, big bad businessman got learnded (sic) a lesson..

    pathetic company for suing though :/

  9. f.filou6
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:25

    Either all these tv and screens use the same frequencies or the tv-b-gone remote handles a wide range of frequencies :-p
    Maybe it is possible to do more than turn on/shutdown a tv with a remote, but is there something to hack on a tv or screen, except switching channels or changing hue, brightness, contrast etc. ?

  10. chalky
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:26

    That’s not even funny. I don’t think some poeple realise how much it costs to have a stand at a show and for some plonker to go round turning off screens is just wrong

  11. james
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:27

    Reminds me of school when someone would turn the tv off when we were about to watch a class video using a casio remote tv watch and the teacher would fart around for about 30 minutes trying to figure out what was wrong with the tv.
    If companies have to pay to exhibit there product at the event then they should have exspected to be sued by the event organiser.

  12. Z3x
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:30

    but funny i guess, but not at the cost of time in prison and a fat ass law suit :). But yeah only extremely nerdy hackers would do this. Probably not something very hard to do but just stupid.

    hehe those gamers would of probably been the most annoyed if there screens went dead. :)

  13. Goobimama
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:36

    Screw Gizmodo. Engadget rocks! (Immature comment, I know.)

  14. Darth Arcon
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:38

    I cant say exactly which direction I am putting the blame…On one side, I see it as a rather funny joke. After all, business has got to lighten up a bit. Trying to impress people by acting completely formal is sore on the eyes and other sensory organs. However, business is also the foundation of this great capitalistic society, and causing such a large problem in such a large business meet is rather unpleasant.

    It may be childish to laugh, but I laughed…Honestly, if I was going to do something like that, Id just turn off one or two every so often. I wouldnt have brought everything to a screeching halt like that, it’s a little much…

  15. slovar2003
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:39

    Ggg very funny )

  16. Daemon
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:40

    To make the TVs explode is much more fun!

  17. that was funny
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:45

    What I dont understand how there was a lot of serious comments even in Fark about the story.
    People need to lighten up.
    If they dont they will end up in useless wars and stuff.
    And have.

  18. Mishkin
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:48

    LOL :)

    Poor Motorola guy…

  19. slapdash
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:49

    let’s sue them..anyway nice gadget..

  20. Benlro1
    January 12th, 2008 | 12:49

    The guy who shuts off the TV’s at all the pubs during the World Cup owns this guy. I hope the corps win and he is in debt for many years.

  21. m1dnight
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:04

    I dont find it funny at all..

  22. RickG
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:06

    That was really stupid and Gizmondo got what they deserve. This is the reason shows like CES have press passes and blogger passes as two separate things.

    This just further reinforces the idea that all bloggers think “ZOMG WE R JOURNALISTZ T0OZ!!!”

    My opinion of Gizmondo has dropped further down from the apple fanboys I had them pictured as.

  23. Me
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:13

    I have a TV-b-Gone, and it’s not that powerful - usually you have to hold still for up to 45 seconds until it hits the right frequency. They must have been using multiple ones as the range isn’t that great either.

    My local Cinema has 5 LCDs displaying movie start times etc. All the same brand, yet only one turned off :|

  24. a
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:15

    they are r3tard3d

  25. RankoK
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:16

    Nobody killd, that’s meter, good joke…

  26. Mike staff member
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:18

    well done gizmodo

  27. wickido
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:20

    People still using IR for remote control telie? I homebuild my own bluetooth set for my whopping 48′ OLED display. Well, nah, not really, but if I were there with my company I’d know there are bunch of luna’s around with wristwatches that control ya telie. Just make the screen do what you want, and put a bit of tape over the optic receiver. Tada! Saves you lots of fuzz on lawsuits. I thought it was a good laugh, go whining about it only makes yourself look a bad sport towards the audience. Oh well. :D

  28. l.y
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:20

    im getting 1 and going to currys & comet for the day

    screw em,this will be as much fun as 2 girls 1 cup

  29. noone
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:23

    Youtube deleted the video! Is there another source???

  30. baks22
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:27

    http://gizmodo.com/343348/confessions-the-meanest-thing-gizmodo-did-at-ces

  31. Nick
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:28

    Click on the link that says “prank”, takes you to Gizmodo’s own post, with video.

  32. fluffy
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:35

    these snakeoil sellers get paid to make YOU buy their crap.

    Gizmodo made them work harder.. good on ‘em!

  33. lolz
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:36

    I would sue his ass, that could be huge losses for some companies..
    Not good for us consumers and some products might not even come out at all because of sutch sabotage.

  34. gizmowned
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:41

    I wouldn’t be messing with the big guys at CES, maybe down your local compUSA or something but not screwing with Intel at CES XD lol

  35. lolz
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:46

    btw some companies can only be at CES one time, their lucky and might not get there anymore.
    Thats harsh, think if some company is promoting the coolest thing ever and CES is their chance to shine, and someone ruines it for them.

    Not remotely funny, more crime like then prank this time..

  36. Johno
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:46

    Although it was cool to watch. Maybe doing it at a business meeting wasn’t the smartest of ideas?

  37. funkster
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:46

    LOL these guys are dumd. “duh, why is the screen turning off”. On a side note why don’t they just cover up the IR sensor on the screens.

  38. whoever
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:50

    lol.

    ownage!!!

  39. adam
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:51

    so awesome. gizmodo FTW

  40. ZeN
    January 12th, 2008 | 13:57

    I found it amusing somewhat and laughed a fair bit, more so that the guys who are suppose to have a bit of knowledge about electrical equipment (hell they are trying to sell the stuff) seemed puzzled as to what was going on… however I must agree with the majority of comments on the subject that they did cross the line a little :\

  41. Nathan
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:06

    doing it once around the whole show is funny, but doing it more than once is just lame and asking for it. I mean the humour dissappears and just incites anger basically.

  42. Ole
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:08

    That’s not funny at all.

  43. D
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:14

    What some of you aren’t aware of is that the remotes were being handed out as swag to CES attendees.

    It cracks me up that; A) There weren’t more people doing this simply because they were being handed out and B) It’s pretty sad that displays at CES, as in the show for all things new and fancy, are still using old ass IR tech.

    Whether you think it’s funny or not you have to admit that it was pretty stupid to hand these things out at a convention chalked full of displays with IR sensors.

  44. IoMan
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:24

    I always dreamt of doing that, i bought it right away :) Thanks for the news !

  45. Dean
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:27

    You are full of blablablas….

  46. audio
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:42

    Gizmodo getting sued would be funnier. Pranks that backfire are always hilarious.

  47. Exaltation
    January 12th, 2008 | 14:45

    Funny!

  48. iNCQRiT
    January 12th, 2008 | 15:10

    Unfunny and unacceptable.

  49. betlog
    January 12th, 2008 | 15:12

    Arrg…but during a product presentation? I don’t think so..

  50. Brian
    January 12th, 2008 | 15:24

    Check out ultra version

    http://www.instructables.com/id/Ultra-TV-B-Gone/

    With dozen plus LED’s.

  51. SeriousM
    January 12th, 2008 | 16:01

    hrhrhr, bad bad boy, dont do that at home ^^

  52. Dodgyc
    January 12th, 2008 | 16:03

    Do you mind telling me where it says they were actually banned? Or is this just a guess?

  53. Peter
    January 12th, 2008 | 16:27

    You know its funny to see a prank sometimes but people actually put in a lot of work preparing for CES. Fun to turn off a few tvs but to actually stop someones presentation makes you a very big kunt.

  54. janbrane
    January 12th, 2008 | 16:40

    that’s funny! BUT, its quite irritating! what’s going on inside the head of that prank?!

  55. tidalwave
    January 12th, 2008 | 16:43

    This could actually be the best way of protesting the mass consuming frenzy of our era, but its just being a stupid prank, is actually the funny thing for me. Not the prank itself.

  56. Yum
    January 12th, 2008 | 16:54

    Wow, how stupid have the guys at gizmodo made themselves look. Getting themselve banned from the biggest gadget show there is.

  57. Toni
    January 12th, 2008 | 17:00

    Highschool humour. Didn’t crack me up one bit. I’ve thought gizmodo people have been pretty idiotic for some while now, this only confirms my beliefs even more.

  58. freddy
    January 12th, 2008 | 17:00

    Funny as fook! Feel sorry for presentation guys from a business point of view. I bet Gizmondo regret that now!

  59. Mack
    January 12th, 2008 | 17:40

    I’ve just ordered one of those. I hope it’s working good. I really feel like pranking. You guys think the IR-code covers projectors too?

  60. RoFLCaKeS
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:02

    My 7 year old Remote Control Casio Watch can still do that stuff with ease, the problem is you have to input the codes for the manufacturer before it works, but once it does its pretty funny, done it a few times in a music store, the employees were baffled, but it was kinda cruel so i stopped doing it!

  61. PG
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:03

    Well, I think it was funny!

    And every true nerd knows about the TV-B-Gone gizmo so the companies ‘victimized’ here should know what had happened the very first time a screen of theirs shut off, but if their nerds aren’t good enough (or they don’t have any) they deserve what they get. Any company at CES should have good nerds or they have no business there.

    As many before me pointed out, a bit of gaffa or electrical tape over the IR receiver fixes this issue pretty efficiently.

  62. RoFLCaKeS
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:05

    Here’s the watch link itself:

    http://www.i4u.com/section-viewarticle-110.html

    But mines the older version

  63. Mr. X staff member
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:21

    Haha, so funny ! I need to get me one of those tv-b-gone and start pranking the world

  64. plasma
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:36

    WOuld have been funny if they did it once and took as many down as possible. But this was boring, and MAKE had to give them the gear.

  65. random guy
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:42

    aah prankster this day lol, talk about prank, i remember when bush came to sydney for APEC, there was a guy dressed up ala Osama bin laden trying to sneak in , this could get a shot, since snipers are all over the building.

  66. Rekrul
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:44

    Couple of things to note; As of yet there has been no formal announcement that they have been banned, or that they are being sued. That is just SPECULATION at this point. I’m sure that some companies weren’t too happy with them for turning off the displays, especially in the middle of a presentation, but I haven’t seen any formal responses to this prank yet.

  67. fosho
    January 12th, 2008 | 18:59

    as an organizer, i’d ban them for sure. they maybe sh.itty bloggers, but they’re still press. an exposition is a high-stress environment and for some duochebag to go around and p.iss on all the effort is just not cool. that sort of behaviour is what keeps the great majority out of such awesome events.

    i know how to take a joke, but that was just childish. it’s not even a novel hack, every id.iot can buy this remote.

  68. Jixx
    January 12th, 2008 | 19:07

    thank you gizmondo! i really enjoyed to see the CES presentation puppets look like idiots. I have been on so many exhibitions with smiling hosstes’s and motivation specialists telling me how much i need what they sell….that i just enjoyed seeing that none of them knows enough about the product to figure out hot to turn it back on again.

    I think not Gizmondo should be banned but companys that send untrained personal.

  69. mkeezay
    January 12th, 2008 | 19:22

    to me thats hilarious but I see why people with money invested in the space and presentations are pissed.

  70. fed mertz
    January 12th, 2008 | 19:33

    What an amazingly dumb stunt. Every profession has a few stupid individuals who should be weeded out. This guy’s a prime example. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He doesn’t need a lawsuit, he needs an asswhooping.

  71. smaugthewyrm
    January 12th, 2008 | 19:45

    excellent airtime for gizmodo, lawsuit or not. news coverage will be wide spread.

  72. sinister
    January 12th, 2008 | 20:44

    Seriously, only dumb kids would find that sh!t funny.
    If anyone pulled such a stunt at my expense, they would be INCREDIBLY sorry…

  73. daniel
    January 12th, 2008 | 20:53

    Idiotic. i used to like gizmodo but this was a new low.
    Grow up.
    Hope they sue their asses.
    d

  74. Hikimbi
    January 12th, 2008 | 20:57

    Awesome. I stopped liking Gizmodo after the whole Apple explosion thing, but this was pretty awesome. Oh noes, they turned off a few TV’s, irreplaceable damage.

    Bunch of babies over at CES, if you ask me.

  75. Miss Bell
    January 12th, 2008 | 21:06

    https://www.tvbgone.com/cfe_tvbg_buy.tvbgpro.php?PHPSESSID=1c6b7f9ef68ef32305b1123a10ec0a66

  76. nick
    January 12th, 2008 | 21:09

    where did you read that they got banned and that there is possible litigation? nowhere does it say that.

  77. jivetrky
    January 12th, 2008 | 21:13

    I really don’t see the humor. I don’t think it’s lawsuit worthy exactly as america is dumbphuck bent on suing anything and everything, but I think it’s really an asinine highschoolish thing to do. You have to be a dumbass to even think it’s funny in an environment like CES. As the poster said, this isn’t the place for a freshmen prank like this. Maybe if it was at defcon or something it could POSSIBLY be slightly funny if it was done once or on a large scale or something and everyone had a good “ha-ha”, but it would get old quick.

  78. kid
    January 12th, 2008 | 21:17

    wah wah wah, babies, funny joke. lighten up, you only live once learn to laugh yes even you fat cats lining your pockets with the green gold.

  79. busted
    January 12th, 2008 | 21:19

    Corporate guys and big business got owned? Are you idiots?

    The only people who got “owned” are common employees under a lot of stress. Maybe when you finish high school and get a real job, you will realize that.

  80. holy
    January 12th, 2008 | 22:37

    Besides being a lame apple fan site, they are even more stupid then i though…no one do such thing and goes around braging about it in their blog…..lol…sad.

  81. Lumberjack
    January 12th, 2008 | 23:41

    I think it’s wickedly funny and at the same time he should be banned from all future shows and have to pay for the time he wasted.

  82. kdh
    January 12th, 2008 | 23:44

    I just ordered one…lol I cant wait to goto best buy on a saturday….

  83. AlphA
    January 13th, 2008 | 00:36

    I agree with post #79 and 81.

    Funny, yet I think he is a total farkhead and should be sued and banned for life.

  84. AlphA
    January 13th, 2008 | 00:37

    testing… posts don’t seem to be working..

  85. joe
    January 13th, 2008 | 01:38

    I love speculation that’s reported as news.

  86. jdizzle1337
    January 13th, 2008 | 01:59

    OWNED ! Face = pwnd.

    OMGZ teh TVs tehy do not workz :(

  87. costa200
    January 13th, 2008 | 02:28

    I fail to find this pranks funny… If you’re an high tech company trying to sell your product imagine how anxious a guy can get if your gadgets suddenly stop working. That leaves clients wondering about the quality of your product. I would sue his ass too…

  88. Bobjoe
    January 13th, 2008 | 02:52

    It be funnier if it permanently messed up the tv instead of just turning them off. But it is pretty funny…. and yes I have long since finished high school.

  89. Re:
    January 13th, 2008 | 03:07

    Using a remote to turn out a couple of TVs? Friggin’ hilarious. Can’t…type…must stop…laughing……

  90. MichaelJackson
    January 13th, 2008 | 03:44

    Social Hack! You should be proud of these fine upstanding ladies and gentlemen. They did it out in the open. Any counter measures taken by affected companies will only strengthen the publicity for the meme. If you can’t be famous ; Be infamous.
    lawlz.

  91. Wankstar
    January 13th, 2008 | 05:32

    http://store.makezine.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MKTVBGOKIT

    Read the reviews - made me laugh.

  92. Bob
    January 13th, 2008 | 06:43

    this was pretty funny! although, i would be extremely pissed beyond all belief if I was one of those presenters or dudes playing the games. Funny how that works, its hilarious if you watch it on youtube but beyond annoying if your there when its happening LOL!

  93. crimson
    January 13th, 2008 | 07:58

    rather lame imo …

  94. Eron
    January 13th, 2008 | 08:28

    Who cares. Its just a bit of fun.. All those hokeys have money comin out their ying yang.. And if they don’t, just turn the damn tv back on.

    Geeeez

  95. DeepFreeze
    January 13th, 2008 | 13:07

    How old were those guys hold that remote???

  96. mr_teh_giant
    January 13th, 2008 | 14:38

    A lot of posts here say that gizmodo are stupid and dumb, yeah right! They knew what they where doing. I bet they got the most publicity (and as a result sales) out of all the companies that atended. Business is dog eat dog and I say bravo to gizmodo.

  97. Peter
    January 13th, 2008 | 14:48

    Seems like some of you guys haven’t even graduated yet. Once you start working you’ll realise that people actually put in hard work to earn a living.

  98. Rick
    January 13th, 2008 | 17:40

    Another remote stunt
    http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/01/11/tram_hack/

  99. meeeso
    January 13th, 2008 | 19:47

    I like it. Awesome tool to combat the average 3000 ads that a human sees in a DAY. I think exposing people to that trash should be illegal. The only reason the ppl behind the CES are pissed is because it might hurt their revenue. All’s fair in Class War.

  100. Duska
    January 13th, 2008 | 20:30

    young & dumb inc.

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