Welcome to Lowpass, a newsletter about AR, VR, streaming and more. This week: A new Roku patent hints at plans to take ads beyond its own devices, and web-based VR lands on the Vision Pro.

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Your Roku TV may one day show ads when you pause video on your Apple TV

Roku is exploring ways to show consumers ads on its TVs even when they are not using its streaming platform: The company has been looking into injecting ads into the video feeds of third-party devices connected to its TVs, according to a recent patent filing. 

This way, when an owner of a Roku TV takes a short break from playing a game on their Xbox, or streaming something on an Apple TV device connected to the TV set, Roku would use that break to show ads. Roku engineers have even explored ways to figure out what the consumer is doing with their TV-connected device in order to display relevant advertising.

Taking a break can be lucrative for Roku. The streaming device and smart TV company figured out some time ago that those times when consumers don’t do anything represent an advertising opportunity. One of the ways Roku monetizes inactivity is its somewhat iconic Roku City screensaver.