Phones

Man Hijacks Times Square Billboards With His iPhone?

Published

14 years ago

March 15, 2011

Here’s a video that’s gone viral on the web showing a man uses his iPhone, a video transmitter, and a repeater to “hack” video billboards in Times Square.

Starting off small, he exhibits how the device works on various video billboards on the street level. Then he takes things up a notch, taking over the giant CNN billboard in the middle of Times Square!

Pretty amazing stuff, right?

Not really. The guys at the Daily Mail point out a number of flaws in the video, proving that it was just a complicated hoax.

Times Square video screens are ethernet-based, not wireless (after all, there are so many screens in the square that wireless streams would be a nightmare).

Secondly, the transmitter device is plugged into the phone’s headphones jack, which does not transmit video.

Thirdly, the split-screen ‘hijacked’ in the clip (ie the second hijacked screen) shows the transmitted video being playing fractionally BEFORE the transmitting video on the iPhone.

But possibly the most damning evidence is when the guy emerges from a gift shop with his helium-filled red balloon. The shop he entered is Broadway Gifts on West 46th Street, and a call to the shop owner revealed that they don’t sell, and never have sold, helium balloons.

I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before the creator of the video comes forward and answers everybody’s questions..

Related Topics:iPhone Times Square Billboard Hijack

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Sujeet Patel

Sujeet Patel is the founder of Guys Gab, the definitive men's lifestyle blog, and he's one of the biggest car enthusiast you'll ever meet. He's been fortunate enough to turn his passion for cars into a full-time job. Like they say, "If you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life."