Videonet - news, blogs and analysis for the pay-tv industry

• 24-Jun-2010 by John Moulding
• The role of QWERTY keyboards in television
• Convergence TV

The User Interface is becoming an increasingly important part of any television platform, providing consumers with the gateway to what are likely to become much-expanded services during the next few years. In particular, the convergence of web entertainment and television is going to provide consumers with greater choice about where they find content, and will lead to the integration of popular applications like social networking on the TV screen.

Converged TV and web services are being made available by CE manufacturers via connected televisions, Blu-ray players and connected set-top boxes. Samsung is determined to lead the Connected TV market with its Internet@TV services and Sony has now teamed with Google TV to deliver its Sony Internet TV range of devices. And to compete with these offers, Pay TV operators will need to converge their broadcast and managed on-demand offers with content and applications from the web, as the US DTH provider DISH Network intends to do.

If consumers respond favourably to these converged TV and web experiences, whether they are coming from CE vendors or Pay TV providers, it is inevitable that they will have to interact more frequently with the television. Much thought is therefore going into how this interaction can be made easier and how the User Interface can be designed to encourage content discovery and more interactivity.

One important question is whether televisions will need to include keyboards and if so, what kinds of keyboards, in order to help consumers search for content and input their thoughts into services like Twitter. The Strategy Analytics Digital Home Observatory made a detailed study of how consumers want to interact with television last year, so we asked them recently what role they think there is for QWERTY keyboards in the television market. The answers are provided by Christopher Dodge, User Experience Analyst at Strategy Analytics.

Q: Is there a need for virtual QWERTY keyboards in the Pay TV market as well as the Connected TV environment? Are we likely to see QWERTY keyboards become part of the mass market TV experience?

A: Our observations of users utilizing virtual QWERTY keyboards have been that they are not so well-received by the users, due to the lengthy process of navigating to each key when entering text, such as the keyboard on AppleTV and the Sony PS3 web browser. While these keyboards may suffice for brief text entry, users feel limited to their capabilities and refrain from using more in-depth web-based features.

For Pay TV, they would be necessary, unless a physical QWERTY keyboard were implemented into the controller. Users do not prefer using the multi-tap method of a standard 10-key keypad to enter text. I wouldn't expect to see any QWERTY keyboards becoming part of the mass-market TV experience until the implementation of the full-web experience on TVs, which would require full QWERTY keyboards just the same as on a PC.

Q: For the Connected TV or Pay TV market, why do we need a QWERTY? Is web browsing a requirement when it looks as if most over-the-top content services will be presented as apps on a desktop so that people do not have to browse for content? Are there other web services in a Connected TV or connected Pay TV environment, that demand keyboard input?

A: In both instances, the QWERTY is needed to provide a better user experience overall, by making text input easier. Most users we have observed who use their gaming consoles, for example, to browse the web do not prefer to use this device to browse the web often, as it is lacking the QWERTY, which takes away from the intended real web experience.

With regards to desktop apps or widgets, such as Yahoo! widgets or a YouTube widget integrated into certain TV models, while a QWERTY may not be required, again it can enhance the experience by providing users with a simple tool for entering text. To summarize, essentially, QWERTY keyboards will enhance the usability aspect in any capacity, making the experience more compelling.

Q: To what extent will instant messaging around TV programmes or social media engagement drive the need for a QWERTY keyboard? Some middleware demonstrations for next-generation Pay TV User Interfaces point towards 'cut down' versions of social networking on TV, and possibly the ability to track feeds on TV but not input them (social media input goes through the PC). Is social media a factor in keyboard demand?

A: These are all features that we expect users to list as 'nice to have', but whether or not they would use them is questionable. Utilizing social networking on a TV removes that personal space by putting it in a living room-type area, which is public. The same could be said for email. This also prevents users from watching TV and others in the room from watching TV.

We have found that split-screen options would be best for this, allowing users to chat (IM) in one of the corners of the screen and still view their content. For any type of social interaction with others through the TVs, QWERTY keyboards are a must, or users are more prone to rejecting it, as it would be easier to use on their traditional devices, such as a PC or laptop.

Q: Is content discovery --search and recommendation - going to require keyboards?

A: The need for a keyboard regarding content discovery is relevant to the nature of the UI for discovering content. Unless the intent is to discover/view what is prominently displayed, there should be a need for a QWERTY. This simplifies the process, and the easier it is for the user to enter text and find content, the more likely they are to continue searching and finding new content, thus increasing frequency of use overall.

Strategy Analytics provides strategic and tactical support for business planners around the world.

Reports on Next Gen UIs & Any Screen, Anywhere

The latest edition of Videonet's e-magazine contains two reports. The first covers the next-generation user experience (UEX), looking at how the need to harness TV and web convergence and improve content discovery are making the user interface (UI) mission critical. The second considers how service providers can deliver content to any screen, anywhere and focuses on competing delivery scenarios: a home network centric approach that repurposes content for multiple screens in a media gateway, and a 'cloud-based', over-the-top delivery architecture. View the e-magazine here.

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