Archive TOULOUSE Archive

OATAO is an open access repository that collects the work of Toulouse researchers and makes it freely available over the web where possible. To cite this version : Bernhaupt, Regina and Pirker, Michael User interface guidelines for the control of interactive television systems via smart phone applications. There are a growing number of smart phone applications allowing the user to control their television, set-top box or other entertainment devices. The success of these applications is limited. Based on findings from media studies in Austria and France focusing on how people currently use their TV and iTV systems and associated devices, this article describes recommendations for the design of a smart phone application enabling users to control Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) systems including all connected entertainment devices. Recommendations include the need to allow users to control devices that are related to the IPTV experience (not only the set-top box or television set) and the focus on scenarios of usage like supporting listening to music, enjoying a movie or controlling the connected home. Based on similarities and differences found in the two samples, future smart phone applications for controlling TV will only succeed if they provide meaningful functionalities that satisfy the (varying) user needs, support personalisation and personal usage and respect the limitations of mobile phones with respect to possible parallel activities performed. Introduction Watching TV is still enjoying great popularity as a leisure time activity. While there have been claims that the Internet, personal computers (PCs) and mobile devices will replace traditional TV, the current trend is rather to (still) watch TV while using other devices at the same time. What we found in a series of studies, focusing on the domains of TV, interactive TV and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), is that although people use an additional device during 60% of the TV watching time, the majority (60%) of the TV watching is still a social activity (Bernhaupt et al. 2008, 2011). Given this high percentage of parallel usage, secondary devices – and especially mobile devices – seem to be a good candidate to enhance the current TV and entertainment-related activities in the living room. One of the central problems for enjoying TV in the living room is that the activity of simply watching TV, selecting some kind of media content or setting up any form of entertainment devices has become more complicated than ever before due to the ever-increasing …