I dont know of any major benefits that could flow in immediately but one is very clear. I wont have to go hunting for the doggone remote control everytime I want to catch my favorite shows. A simple flick of the head or some weird facial gesture thats between me and my telly. A UCSD computer science student has done a proof-of-concept demonstration showing that you can use your face to slow down or speed up video playback.
Channel surfings going to get all the more easier if you could just say nod to the right or left for a channel to be flicked in the appropriate direction. It could be quite uncomfortable though if the TV isnt smart enough to recognise when you dont intend to talk to it but are just involved in a conversation with someone else. Perhaps all it would take is not looking at the telly for those few moments? I really dont know, but this breakthrough is also going to help robots to understand what we are really feeling. Since human communication isnt just about languages but has its own subtle nuances which can be very confusing for robots.
See the video