FOCUS OF THE REPORT
THE NEED FOR THIS REPORT
DOCUMENT STRUCTURE
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
ELECTRONIC PROGRAMME GUIDES
1. THE VIEWER
2. USABILITY, NAVIGATION AND DESIGN
3. COMMERCIAL FACTORS
4. THE FUTURE
5. CASE STUDIES
AUTHORS
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Content 1
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WHAT IS AN EPG?
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DEFINITION
EXTENDING THE TRADITIONAL RAISON D'ETRE
THE EPG IN ITS VARIOUS GUISES
ZAP MODE
MOSAIC
DIGITAL TELETEXT
FULL MODE
INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE (IEG)
HOME GATEWAY
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Content 2
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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THE VIEWER
CONTENT
THE 80:20 RULE
KEY FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITIES
OTHER FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
SEVEN-DAY DISPLAY OF PROGRAMME LISTINGS
FAVOURITE CHANNELS
REMINDERS
SEARCH FACILITY
SETTINGS
HELP
PICTURES SELL PICTURES
ABILITY, NAVIGATION AND DESIGN
PRODUCING A USABLE EPG - THE FOUR KEY FACTORS
SIMPLICITY
NAVIGABILITY
FAMILIARITY
SPEED
GRAPHIC DESIGN
BE CONSISTENT
BE MINIMALIST
SUPPORT THE VIEWER
KEEP IT CLEAN
FOCUS ON THE PRESENT BUT CONSIDER THE FUTURE
COMMERCIAL FACTORS
PROJECT MANAGEMENT AND ORGANISATION
PROJECT PLANNING AND TIMESCALES
INCLUSION AND DISTRIBUTION OF CONTENT, FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITIES
COMPETITION
MULTI-PLATFORM OFFERINGS
DEVELOPING REVENUES FROM EPGS
CHANNEL ORGANISATION AS A NAVIGATIONAL AID
THE PROVISION OF SERVICE INFORMATION
PATENTS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR) AND COMPLIANCE
THE FUTURE
USAGE
BROAD BEHAVIOURAL PATTERNS
BROWSING VERSUS PLANNING
EPG USAGE BY TIME OF DAY AND DAY OF THE WEEK
APPLICATION ACROSS TERRESTRIAL CHANNELS AND MULTI-CHANNEL DTV BOUQUETS
BEHAVIOUR BY DEMOGRAPHIC
SOCIO-PSYCHOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS
THIS IS TV
TEXT BOX 1. DTV AS A DISCRETIONARY ENVIRONMENT
SOCIAL CONTEXT - PRESENCE OF OTHERS
LEARNED TV LISTINGS SEARCH BEHAVIOUR
ATTITUDE TO TECHNOLOGY AND EXPERIENCE WITH INTERACTIVE MEDIA
CROSS-PLATFORM BEHAVIOUR
KEY FEATURES & FUNCTIONALITY
TEXT BOX 2. THE 80:20 RULE
20% - PRIORITY FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
NOW/NEXT, SEARCH/SCAN BAR
PROGRAMME GRID
GENRE-BASED PROGRAMME INFORMATION
CASE STUDY - SURFSPACE, SONY, US
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
CAROUSEL-BASED CHANNEL BANDS
SURFSPACE - DYNAMIC 3D NAVIGATION
DYNAMICALLY GENERATED THEME STRIPS
THE 3D INTERFACE
ANALYSIS
THE VIEWER EXPERIENCE
MULTI-CULTURAL/ MULTI-LINGUAL AUDIENCES
COMMERCIAL
80% LOWER PRIORITY FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
FAVOURITE CHANNELS
SEVEN-DAY LISTINGS
REMINDERS
SEARCH FACILITY
SETTINGS
OTHER FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
HELP
PICTURE IN PICTURE/ RETENTION OF BROADCAST
MOSAIC EPG
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Content 4
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USABILITY, NAVIGATION AND DESIGN
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THE CORRELATION BETWEEN USABILITY AND FREQUENCY OF USE
ANALYSIS
PRODUCING A USABLE EPG - NAVIGATION
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT
TEXT BOX 3. CONSISTENCY VS ON-SCREEN CUES
VIEWER NAVIGATION PARADIGMS AND THE RCU
ACCESSING AND EXITING THE EPG
SPEED
ACCESSIBILITY - THE TWO-CLICK RULE
PROGRAMME INFORMATION AND THE INCLUSION OF CHANNELS WITHIN AN EPG.
TEXT BOX 4. USABILITY GUIDELINES - NAVIGATION
PRODUCING A USABLE EPG - GRAPHIC DESIGN
CONTEXT
VIEWING CONTEXT
BRAND
READING METHODS
GRAPHIC TOOLS
ANALYSIS: TRENDS AND COMMONALITIES
PALETTES
FONTS
LOGO POSITION
HIGHLIGHTER
ICONS
BACKGROUND
LAYOUT
TEXT BOX 5. TWO METHODS FOR THE DISPLAY OF PROGRAMME LISTINGS INFORMATION
REMOTE CONTROL BUTTONS
STILLS/MOSAIC
HELP
LOADING ADVICE
THE 19-POINT DESIGN PLAN
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Content 5
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COMMERCIAL FACTORS
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THE EPG AS A GATEWAY TO TV
THE DECISION TO DEVELOP AN IEG VS A BASIC EPG
TESTING
INCLUSION AND DISTRIBUTION OF SERVICES IN AN IEG
COMMERCIAL PRIORITIES AND VIEWER DEMAND
IEG SERVICE RANKINGS
PHYSICAL CONTEXTS
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTEXTS
REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT
AVAILABLE REAL ESTATE
TECHNICAL PARAMETERS
RETENTION OF LEGACY SERVICES
TEXT BOX 6. CONSIDERING THE EPG IN ZAP MODE AS A PUSH MECHANISM
AN ELEMENT OF FUTURE-PROOFING
CASE STUDY - OWNING THE NAVIGATIONAL LAYER, TiVo, US, PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDER
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
COMMERCIAL AIMS
TiVoLUTION MAGAZINE
NETWORK SHOWCASES - AN EPG WITHIN AN EPG
iPREVIEW - TRIGGERED RECORDINGS
TiVO TAKES - THE VIDEO MAGAZINE
ANALYSIS
COMMERCIAL APPROACH
PROJECT ORGANISATION & MANAGEMENT
COMPOSITION OF PROJECT TEAMS
PROJECT LEADER
ROLE OF THIRD PARTY AGENCIES
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
REGULATORY AFFAIRS/LEGAL AND MARKETING
OTHER
POST-PROJECT
FURTHER COMMENTARY
PROJECT PLANNING AND TIMESCALES
PROJECT SET-UP
INITIAL RESEARCH
DEVELOPMENT OF THE FUNCTIONAL SPECIFICATION
DESIGN
BUILD, TESTING AND ROLL OUT
REVIEW AND ON-GOING DEVELOPMENT
THE COMPETITIVE ENVIRONMENT
THE PROVISION OF TV LISTINGS ACROSS OTHER MEDIA CHANNELS AND PLATFORMS
DEVELOPING EPG REVENUE STREAMS
BRAND ADVERTISERS
CONTENT AND SERVICE PROVIDERS
PROVIDERS OF TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTS
VIEWERS
IS IT APPROPRIATE TO GENERATE REVENUE DIRECTLY VIA AN EPG?
CHANNEL ORGANISATION AS A NAVIGATIONAL AID
PROVISION OF SERVICE INFORMATION
PATENTS, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND COMPLIANCE
PROGRAMME LISTINGS
METADATA (TAGGED CONTENT)
DVB COMPLIANCE
PATENTS
Survey of patent issues
Staking out the territory
How patents can protect EPGs
Recent enforcement disputes
US 5 479 268
US 5 809 204
US 4 706 121
BANDWIDTH AND INTERACTIVE CAPABILITY
PAY PER VIEW (PPV), VIDEO ON DEMAND (VOD) AND THE EPG.
EXPERIMENTS WITH ADVANCED INTERFACES
PERSONAL VIDEO RECORDERS & CONVERGENCE
USING TECHNOLOGY TO UNDERSTAND THE VIEWER AND PERSONALISATION
CASE STUDY - SKY GUIDE, SKY DIGITAL, UK DIGITAL SATELLITE
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
DESIGN
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
TV GUIDE
BOX OFFICE
SERVICES
INTERACTIVE
CHANNEL FUNCTIONALITY
SEARCH AND SCAN
ENABLING FUNCTIONALITY
CONDITIONAL ACCESS
BACK-CHANNEL
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT (RCU)
SCHEDULE INFORMATION
VIEWER EDUCATION
ANALYSIS
SUCCESS
COMMERCIAL APPROACH
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
THE MENU STRUCTURE
MENU HEIRARCHIES VS MENU LOOPS
ADHERENCE TO THE 80:20 AND 2-CLICK RULES
HOW ARE VIEWERS ACTUALLY USING SKY GUIDE?
PRESENTATION OF LISTINGS INFORMATION
ISSUES
DEVELOPMENT TIMELINE - AVOIDING SLIPPAGE
SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS
A-Z LISTINGS AND THE TWO CLICK RULE
PRESENTATION OF PPV LISTINGS INFORMATION
VIEWER EDUCATION
CASE STUDY GEMSTAR-TVGUIDE, GUIDE PLUS+ GOLD, EMBEDDED EPG PRODUCT
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
DESIGN CRITERIA
LISTINGS INFORMATION
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
PROGRAMME GRID
DISPLAY OF CHANNELS
BROADCAST WINDOW
DISPLAY OF PROGRAMME INFORMATION
ACTION MENU
ACTION BAR
MENU BAR
INTERACTIVE GRAPHIC PANEL ADVERTISING
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT (RCU)
VIEWER EDUCATION
ANALYSIS
SUCCESS
DIFFERENCES COMPARED TO THE DIGITAL CABLE IPG
COMMERCIAL
EPG IN FULL MODE
ADVERTISING
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
GLOBAL PRODUCT-LOCALISED DELIVERY
DISPLAY OF PROGRAMME LISTINGS
GRAPHICAL DEVICES
WHERE TO NEXT
CASE STUDY
- INTERACTIVE EPG (iEPG), ntl, LIBERATE 1.2, UK, CABLE
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
RESEARCH
DESIGN
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
LESSONS FROM PREVIOUS EPG USAGE
THE iEPG TOP-LEVEL LISTINGS
AT A GLANCE
TV ON DEMAND
SUBJECT SEARCH
CHANNEL FAVOURITES
SETTINGS
PARENTAL CONTROLS
DISPLAY SETTINGS
TV SCREEN SETTINGS
AUDIO SETTINGS
FURTHER SETTINGS
THE NOW/NEXT BAR
REMINDERS
DIARY
HELP
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT (RCU)
SCHEDULE INFORMATION
ANALYSIS
COMMERCIAL APPROACH
ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION
DEVELOPMENT
REGULATORY
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
SPEED
PLANNING VS BROWSING
PARENTAL CONTROL
CASE STUDY - MORE TV
INTRODUCTION
OBJECTIVES
COMMERCIAL
DESIGN
TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL DESIGN
"DUAL PIPE"
HEAD-END CACHING
PROCESSOR
"NEVER GET LOST COMPREHENSIBLE UNIVERSE"
"SINGLE FINGER INTERACTIVITY"
"VIEWER ELECTION"
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
APPROACH TO CHANNEL ORGANISATION
PRIMARY FEATURES
CHANNEL 0 - 'THE HOME CHANNEL' - UNIFIED NAVIGATION WITH VIDEO BARKER PROMOTIONS
THE CHANNEL I.D. BAR
'MORE' AND 'GRAB'
GRAB CHANNELS
ANALYSIS
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
COMMERCIAL
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT
PERSONALISATION
REALLOCATION OF CHANNEL NUMBERING
FINAL NOTE
CASE STUDY - DSTV GUIDE, MULTICHOICE AFRICA, SOUTH AFRICA, DIGITAL SATELLITE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
DESIGN
PARAMETERS
DESIGN PRINCIPLES
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NFD
PROJECT TEAM
TIMESCALES
APPROACH
FEATURES AND MENU STRUCTURES (BUILDINGS & ROADS)
CONTENT GROUPINGS
GROUP 1 - TV GUIDE
GROUP 2 - INTERACTIVE
GROUP 3 - SERVICES
Group 4 - MY DSTV (working title)
ON-SCREEN LAYOUT OF CONTENT GROUPINGS
TREATMENT OF THE MULTIPLE BOUQUETS
REMOTE CONTROL UNIT (RCU)
THE MAPPING OF RCU BUTTONS (SIGNPOSTS)
DESIGN GUIDELINES
1. NAVIGATIONAL INTERFACE
2. ERGONOMICS
3. VIEWER TYPES
TECHNOPHILE
TECHNOPHOBE
CHANNEL-HOPPER - BUSY
COUCH POTATO
4. MINIMISE THE NUMBER OF KEYS/FUNCTIONS
5. LEGACY
KEY DESIGNATIONS
SHORTCUTS
ANALYSIS
COMMERCIAL APPROACH
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
DISPLAY OF DATA CHANNELS WITHIN TV GUIDE LISTINGS
THE I-PLATE
INCLUSION OF DATA CHANNELS
FAVOURITE CHANNELS
NEXT STEPS
CASE STUDY - DIGITURK, OPENTV EN2, TURKEY, DIGITAL SATELLITE
INTRODUCTION
DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
EPG IN FULL MODE
ZAP-MODE
MAIN MENU
FAVOURITES
PAY PER VIEW (PPV)
ANALYSIS
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
VIEWER EDUCATION
CASE STUDY - HOME PORTAL, AUSTAR, AUSTRALIA, DIGITAL SATELLITE EPG
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
DESIGN
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
ROLL-OUT
SCHEDULE INFORMATION
VIEWER EDUCATION
ANALYSIS
COMMERCIAL APPROACH
VIEWER EXPERIENCE
THE GRID STRUCTURE
NAVIGATION
ROLL-OUT
WHERE TO NEXT?
APPENDIX 1 - MHP - A STUDY OF THE FINNISH EXPERIENCE
WHAT IS MHP?
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
TV IN FINLAND
TEXTBOX 7. MILESTONES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DTV IN FINLAND
GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH TO DTV
MULTIPLEXES
TEXTBOX 8. FINNISH DIGITAL TV CHANNELS BY MULTIPLEX
APPROACH TO HARDWARE, SOFTWARE AND CONTENT
TEXT BOX 9. TARGETED TECHNICAL ENVIRONMENT IN FINLAND
CONDITIONAL ACCESS (CA)/ ENCRYPTION
RETURN PATH
MHP-COMPLIANT INTERACTIVE SERVICES
EPG
APPROACH
SERVICE INFORMATION
DEVELOPMENT
TEXT BOX 10. THE FINNISH NATIONAL EPG
ISSUES
ANALYSIS
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
COMMERCIAL
EDUCATION
RETURN PATH
OTHER INTERACTIVE AND ENHANCED SERVICES
FUTURE
APPENDIX 2 - THE ITC CODE OF CONDUCT ON ELECTRONIC PROGRAMME GUIDES - UK2
STATUTORY FRAMEWORK
DEFINITIONS IN THE CODE
SCOPE OF THE CODE
UNDERLYING PRINCIPLES OF THE CODE
PROVISIONS OF THE CODE
FURTHER GUIDANCE
ENFORCEMENT OF THE CODE
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Content
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TABLES AND CHARTS
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FIG 1. EPG IN ZAP MODE, ntl, UK
FIG 2. MOSAIC EPG, CANAL SATELLITE, FRANCE
FIG 3. EPG IN FULL MODE, DIGITURK, TURKEY
FIG 4. INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE, TVGUIDE, US
FIG 5. SKY DIGITAL - EPG USAGE BY TIME OF DAY
FIG 6. SKY EPG, WEEKLY USAGE
FIG 7. PERCENTAGE OF AUDIENCE ARRIVING AT TERRESTRIAL AND SKY CHANNELS FROM THE EPG.
FIG 8. CROSS-PLATFORM VIEWER BEHAVIOUR
FIG 9. FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY BY POPULARITY AND VIEWER PRIORITY
FIG 10. PROGRAMME GRID, SKY DIGITAL, UK
FIG 11. GENRE-BASED MENU STRUCTURE, SKY DIGITAL, UK
FIG 12. HORIZONTAL CHANNEL BAND
FIG 13. VERTICAL CHANNEL BAND WITH THEMED STRIPES
FIG 14. THE 3D INTERFACE
FIG 15. EPG WITH BROADCAST WINDOW, ntl, UK
FIG 16. CABLE INTERACTIVE MOSAIC EPG, CANAL PLUS, USA
FIG 17. FREQUENCY OF USING THE EPG
FIG 18. EASE OF USING THE EPG
FIG 19. SKY GUIDE, SKY DIGITAL, UK
FIG 20. ITVDIGITAL, UK
FIG 21. DIGITURK, TURKEY
FIG 22. TVGUIDE IPG, US
FIG 23. HONG KONG TELECOM CONCEPT, HONG KONG
FIG 24. CABLEVISION, US
FIG 25. MORE TV, PROTOTYPE, HOME CHANNEL, US
FIG 26. Ntl, UK
FIG 27. EMBOLDENED YELLOW TEXT, AUSTAR, AUSTRALIA
FIG 28. YELLOW OUTLINE, Ntl, UK
FIG 29. GEMSTAR-TVGUIDE GUIDE PLUS+ GOLD, US
FIG 30. SUMMARY BOX - DESIGN FEATURES
FIG 31. ICONOGRAPHY, DIGITURK, TURKEY
FIG 32. CANAL PLUS, US
FIG 33. PAGE METAPHOR, DIGITAL TELETEXT, UK
FIG 34. LITERAL ON-SCREEN REPRESENTATION OF RCU BUTTONS, HONG KONG TELECOM
FIG 35. HELP AND GUIDANCE FEATURES, CABLEVISION, US
FIG 36. PORTAL, AUSTAR, AUSTRALIA
FIG 37. MENU STRUCTURE, CABLEVISION, US
FIG 38 NAVIGATION BAR, SKYGUIDE, UK
FIG 39. TiVoLUTION MAGAZINE
FIG 40. TiVo NETWORK SHOWCASES
FIG 41. TiVo iPREVIEW
FIG 42. TiVo VIDEO MAGAZINE
FIG 43. EPG PROJECT TEAM
FIG 44a. DESIGN AGENCY GENERIC CREATIVE PROCESS
FIG 44b. DESIGN AGENCY GENERIC CREATIVE PROCESS
FIG 45. PC-INTERNET BASED DIGIGUIDE
FIG 46. REVENUE STREAMS BY TV INDUSTRY SUPPLY CHAIN
FIG 47. INTERACTIVE CHANNEL CLASSIFICATION, TPS, FRANCE
FIG 48. SKY SCHEDULE INFORMATION DELIVERY CHAIN
FIG 49. TV GUIDE MAIN MENU
FIG 50. ALL CHANNELS LISTING
FIG 51. BOX OFFICE MAIN MENU
FIG 52. SERVICES MAIN MENU
FIG 53. INTERACTIVE MAIN MENU
FIG 54. SKY DIGITAL RCU
FIG 55. GUIDE PLUS+ GOLD- FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY
FIG 56. DIGITAL CABLE IPG
FIG 57. Ntl FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS BY POPULARITY
FIG 58. Ntl IEPG TOP-LEVEL LISTINGS
FIG 59. Ntl AT A GLANCE - MAIN SCREEN
FIG 60. Ntl TV ON DEMAND - MAIN SCREEN
FIG 61. Ntl SUBJECT SEARCH - MAIN SCREEN
FIG 62. Ntl CHANNEL FAVOURITES LIST
FIG 63. Ntl EDIT CHANNEL LIST
FIG 64. Ntl SETTINGS - MAIN SCREEN
FIG 65. Ntl NOW/NEXT BAR
FIG 66. Ntl DIARY
FIG 67. Ntl HELP
FIG 68. MORE TV SAMPLE CHANNEL ALLOCATION TABLE
FIG 69. THE CHANNEL ID BAR
FIG 70. GRAB CHANNEL
FIG 71. THE DIGITURK REMOTE CONTROL UNIT
FIG 72. DIGITURK EPG IN FULL MODE
FIG 73. DIGITURK EPG IN ZAP MODE
FIG 74. DIGITURK EPG - MAIN MENU
FIG 75. AUSTAR - HOME INITIAL SCREEN
FIG 76. AUSTAR INFORMATION BAR
FIG 77. AUSTAR EXTENDED INFORMATION BAR
FIG 78. FINNISH NATIONAL EPG, MAIN MENU
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