Waiting to be served in a pub will soon be marginally more fun—if watching adverts on a beer pump is your bag. Sound Leisure of Leeds is patenting a beer pump that shows a video instead of the brand label on the pump’s plaque (GB 2364818). A digital TV decoder under the bar feeds signals to an LCD colour screen on the pump. The video is stored on beer-proof smartcards that hold at least half an hour of footage and sound. By using touch-sensitive screens, Sound Leisure says people could also play bar games on the system.
Technology
Do not adjust your pub
By Barry Fox
20 April 2002
