• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, February 10, 2009

TV in your contact lenses? Sure. But you need to answer the question: Are you far- or nearsighted?

Futurist TV scientists know one thing: TV viewers will want an ever-increasing connection with video content images. So let your imagination run wild -- and apparently screen-wise, much smaller.

Running alongside the NFL's LaDainian Tomlinson as he scores a touchdown? Helping spy Jason Bourne grab a new identity?  You can have it all.

In the U.K., one technology retailer says a "digital tattoo" fitted to the viewer would pick up on the feelings of characters on screen and create impulses causing them to feel the same way: so-called "emotional viewing."

Sure, I want the same impulses that "24"'s Jack Bauer has, for a day.  Look out, TV trade journalism competitors!

Forget about two, three, or even four screens. It seems as if external video images will be part of our identity, as in the movie "The Matrix."

How will marketers get involved?  Maybe buying consumer products won't matter, as long as some neuroscientist can figure out that your future intent will mean buying that Toyota air-fueled car in 2034.

But no matter where you think TV is going, you have to wonder if the measurement and analysis of those viewing habits will keep pace. History tells us it won't.

TV futurists had an iffy history as well with their big, crazy dreams in the past. Consider their track record back in 1980.

A future filled with VCRs? No. Creating your our own primet-ime schedules? With DVRs -- absolutely.  A cash-less society? Almost. Debt-filled society? Coming our way over the next couple of years.

A TV/video filled society? That's a no-brainer. Just tell me the size, shape, the delivery system. Plastic or paper?