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If frequency of use is a factor of usability then what are the key considerations for producing a usable EPG?

REMOTE CONTROL UNIT

“It's a one-handed device. I need to be able to navigate with a drink in my hand. It must be comfortable for me to hold for long periods of time. It's a 'handshake with a service'”

Navigation devices are continuing to evolve, moving from 'stand-up and change the channel' to remote control, to IR keyboard to personal device/shared device such as a PC-mouse-like interface. As options for navigation proliferate, the advice from experts is clear; 'design for the most common interface'. Globally, this is overwhelmingly the Remote Control Unit (RCU).

To map RCU buttons against the EPG, design agencies often start with the smallest subset of keys and define the maximum amount of area navigable using those keys alone. The selection of the initial subset is generally based on three key factors:

• Ergonomics - begin with the keys that are most efficient and comfortable for the viewer to use.



• Legacy – what is the viewer used to? If viewers are educated to use certain buttons linked to specific functions within the TV environment, then it is generally desirable to extend usage into the EPG environment. These will tend to be numeric and up/down arrow keys. In countries with a teletext heritage, the colour buttons may also be familiar to a majority of viewers.
  
  More technically proficient users (a generally small subset) will often demand that short-cut keys are included.



• Consistency – don't confuse viewers (see Text Box 3). Make the EPG comfortable and viewer-friendly by assigning RCU button functions consistently throughout the service and using the minimum amount of keys possible to meet viewer needs.
  
  For more on the allocation of RCU buttons to the EPG, see the MultiChoice Africa case study.

  TEXT BOX 3. CONSISTENCY VS ON-SCREEN CUES
  
  

  VIEWER NAVIGATION PARADIGMS AND THE RCU

  Viewers tend to look on-screen rather than look to their remote controls for clues about how to interact. They look at the remote control only when experiencing difficulties. This was demonstrated in usability studies in which it was observed that, on making a navigational mistake, viewers looked for an on-screen 'back' button (which was not present in many cases) without simply realising they had a button with backup functionality on the RCU.
  
  Operators need to ensure that, where possible, there is a clear correlation of navigation commands between screen and remote control and that the viewer need only look to the screen for clues as to how to interact e.g. via the use of iconography.

  ACCESSING AND EXITING THE EPG

  When using a remote control, it has been observed that users sometimes either press buttons accidentally or they encounter an unexpected result such as being thrust into the broadcast stream. In this case the viewer might wish to re-enter the EPG quickly, and ideally in the place they have just come from. Viewers might also find it hard to 'exit' EPGs if there is no specific way out except to change channel. Operators therefore need to allocate buttons that allow the viewer to enter the EPG directly or exit directly back into the broadcast stream. These may be simply 'GUIDE' and 'TV' buttons.
  
  In countries with a Teletext heritage, viewers are often confused if an EPG resides at a channel number. Viewers become used to the TEXT button toggling them between Teletext and TV. Hence they may not expect an EPG (considered a 'text' application) to reside at a channel number.
  
  A Menu-Sub-menu approach, as adopted by Sky in the UK, means that the viewer navigates the EPG in a linear manner i.e. they enter, find what they are looking for and then exit into the broadcast stream or launch the application selected. This creates a fundamental problem; viewers cannot navigate back into the EPG directly from the broadcast stream. They have to re-enter the EPG application from the first level. Although technical restrictions prevent Sky from doing this, it has commented that it would be preferable for viewers to press 'BACK-UP' from the broadcast stream and re-enter the EPG application in the place that they had just exited.

  SPEED

  It is important to bear in mind that EPGs are part of the television environment and viewers expect TV to act like TV; if they press a button, they expect something to happen. Studies show that in countries with no heritage of textual applications on TV platforms viewers will be prepared to wait from two to five seconds for something to happen before they begin to navigate elsewhere or even turn the TV off. In countries with a heritage of textual applications, viewers are prepared to wait a little longer, between three and seven seconds.
  
  Waiting time can be alleviated or extended by the presence of some sort of indicative loading device such as a loading bar. Waiting time can be masked with devices such as loading screens e.g. interstitial graphic images, usually static.
  
  Response time itself involves a trade-off at the design and development stage between the decoder device, the broadcast stream, the head-end and the return path if present.
  
  As response times improve, so viewer expectations increase. If the service is 'sped up' at some point, then the operator should ensure that speed is consistent throughout the service otherwise viewers quickly become frustrated.

  ACCESSIBILITY - THE TWO-CLICK RULE

  “If viewers can't find out what they need to know within two presses of the remote control buttons, then forget it”

  Nick James, Head Of New Product Development, Sky Digital

  
  
  Viewers should never be more than two clicks away from where they need to be. For example, if they wish to find out what time a programme starts, they should be able to do so within two clicks from the broadcast stream. If they need extended information on that programme, it should be within two clicks of that programme listing and if they want to get back to broadcast stream, this should similarly never be more than two clicks away.
  
  This rule is really a guideline for designers and should be considered in the context of the 80:20 rule. (see Text Box 2)

  PROGRAMME INFORMATION AND THE INCLUSION OF CHANNELS WITHIN AN EPG.

  In terms of the display of programme information, viewers want to know what is being broadcast across a range of channels. Therefore the EPG in full mode should allow viewers to see more than one channel at a glance. The industry standard for operators of multi-channel bouquets is six to ten channels per screen. Any more and the operator risks overwhelming the viewer with too much information. Any less and the operator risks either providing too little information or missing the opportunity to expose viewers to the wider bouquet.
  
  Regarding the total number of channels included within an EPG and the number of EPGs on a single platform, Achim Kram, European EPG product manager, Gemstar Development Ltd, says that the viewer experience needs to be “seamless”:
  
  ”Viewers want to see all channels no matter what source you receive them from.”
  
  This means one service – one EPG. It implies that EPGs that include only a certain subset of the channels on a service, as seen on ITVDigital (see Text Box 1) in the UK and on ARD in Germany, are not optimal from a viewer perspective.
  
  Note: for more on the organisation and inclusion of channels within a multi-channel environment, refer to the MORE TV case study
  
  In terms of the amount of information provided about a programme, viewers generally feel that EPGs provide sufficient information about regularly scheduled programmes like news. However with one-off programmes or those with constantly changing content, more explanation is generally needed e.g. for feature film listings, viewers at least want to know what kind of film it is and who stars in it.

  TEXT BOX 4. USABILITY GUIDELINES – NAVIGATION
  
  
  
   

INTRODUCTION

NTL is a UK-based communications company and (cable) DTV platform provider. It has pursued a strategy that has seen it acquire a number of other cable companies. One result of this is that NTL operates multiple EPGs, each fulfilling the basic remit of a programme guide; providing schedules and programme synopses for all the channels that the viewer is subscribed to, albeit with different designs and navigation strategies.

The different EPGs are:

• Embedded EPG - legacy NTL franchise areas
• Embedded EPG - legacy CWC franchise areas (ntl acquired the communications arm of Cable & Wireless in 2000)
• Embedded EPG - Republic of Ireland (NTL acquired Cablelink in 1999)
• PC EPG on www.ntlworld.com

DEVELOPMENT

The new iEPG will be rolled out to all franchises in 2002, concurrent with the download of Liberate 1.2 middleware onto legacy NTL and CWC set-top boxes. This will bring together previously divergent delivery systems for service information.

RESEARCH

EPG research has been conducted throughout the delivery of the new application. Serco Usabality Studies Ltd was engaged to run qualitative research for the new iEPG with 20 existing subscribers, spread by geo-demographics, who had 45 minutes to familiarise themselves with the product and all of their comments were fed into the final stages of the product development.

DESIGN

NTL considers the EPG to be a mass market application. The iEPG was designed to two key guiding principles:

1. It needs to be quick

"Viewers mind waiting...10-15 seconds is too long. The EPG should make finding out what is on TV quicker than using a paper guide”

2. It needs to be simple – easy to use

The 80:20 rule is adopted by NTL and was applied throughout the design process.

“When delivering a mass market application, focus on satisfying the majority, not the few.”

FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY

LESSONS FROM PREVIOUS EPG USAGE

FIG 57. NTL FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS BY POPULARITY

THE iEPG TOP-LEVEL LISTINGS

FIG 58. NTL IEPG TOP-LEVEL LISTINGS

AT A GLANCE

At a Glance displays TV listings for six channels, for an hour and a half at a time. There is a bar dedicated to programme start and finish times and the full programme title (useful for titles too long to fit in the restricted grid display).

There are three drop-down options for the viewer to change genre, date and time.

The green colour button 'Mini view' is enabled if the highlighter box is over a programme that is currently showing. If selected, the mini TV in the top right corner will tune to that programme. The viewer can preview the programme without having to tune away from the display.

FIG 59. NTL AT A GLANCE – MAIN SCREEN

TV ON DEMAND

NTL provides scheduled movies, sports events and adult programming which viewers are able to purchase as regularly as every 15 minutes. There are four steps which a viewer has to complete to order an event – SELECT EVENT, SELECT START TIME (if there are options), CONFIRM, ENTER PIN. The purchasing process can take place before the event is due, in which case an on-screen reminder is displayed when the event is due to start. NTL customer research and past experience suggests that this number of steps minimises drop-out during booking while ensuring that movies are not ordered accidentally.

FIG 60. NTL TV ON DEMAND – MAIN SCREEN

SUBJECT SEARCH

By genre or detailed search; this is a niche need and caters for the 20%.

FIG 61. NTL SUBJECT SEARCH – MAIN SCREEN

CHANNEL FAVOURITES

The Favourites concept allows viewers to rearrange the order in which channels are displayed when channel surfing (pressing Channel +/- on the remote control) or viewing the 'At a Glance' pages. To make a change to the channel line-up, the viewer presses Favourites, and selects the Edit Channel List option. In a future release, this will also be provided as a Settings menu option.

FIG 62. NTL CHANNEL FAVOURITES LIST

FIG 63. NTL EDIT CHANNEL LIST

SETTINGS

FIG 64. NTL SETTINGS – MAIN SCREEN

PARENTAL CONTROLS
Allows the viewer to PIN protect viewing by channel, by time and by rating display.

DISPLAY SETTINGS
Allows the viewer alter the display duration of the Now/Next bar.

TV SCREEN SETTINGS
Allows the viewer to change from Letterbox to Widescreen, and RGB to Composite.

AUDIO SETTINGS
This is a fun area where the viewer can change the sound that is made whenever a reminder is announced.

FURTHER SETTINGS
This is the home for the Optimised Now/Next bar on/off setting and Subtitles.

THE NOW/NEXT BAR

The iEPG has a Now/Next bar from which provides the viewer with the following options:

• To view channel schedules for every channel until 6.00am the following day
• Set or remove reminders
• Access various options including the diary (where all reminders and TV on Demand bookings are displayed), subtitles and alternative audio languages (if this is offered by individual broadcasts)

FIG 65. NTL NOW/NEXT BAR

In response to call centre information, NTL has catered for the partially sighted by producing an alternate Now/Next bar designed in colours recommended by the Royal National Soceity for the Blind (rather than corporate NTL colours) A larger font size is used. From focus group testing, customers who are colour blind or short sighted found this alternative display easier to view.

The viewer can change Now/Next options from those set in the default design via the Settings menu.

REMINDERS

Reminders can be set from the Now/Next bar, Channel favourites, Search Results, At a Glance and the TV on Demand booking area. An on-screen reminder is displayed immediately before the programme begins, allowing the viewer to tune to that channel or ignore the reminder. If ignored for a few minutes (possibly because the viewer is not watching TV), the set top box will tune to that channel to enable video recording of multiple channels.

DIARY

The diary displays reminders for programmes and TV on Demand bookings.

FIG 66. NTL DIARY

HELP

An overlay Help feature is accessible from anywhere in the service, via the HELP button on the remote control or keyboard. It is context-sensitive, which means that the viewer is taken to the relevant Help page directly, rather than having to navigate through Help menus.

FIG 67. NTL HELP

REMOTE CONTROL UNIT (RCU)

The Now/Next bar is launched via the TV button or whenever the viewer changes channel or returns to full screen broadcast TV (from an application). The Guide in full mode is launched via the GUIDE button.

SCHEDULE INFORMATION

The iEG supports Schedule Information seven days in advance.

Listings are supplied by the listings company, BDS. NTL previously had an employee whose job it was to check listings but this role was dropped because the person was finding only "a couple" of errors per week.

Schedule Information is auto-updated every 24 hrs (overnight) and manual changes can be run if required.

ANALYSIS

COMMERCIAL APPROACH

NTL has adopted a convergent approach to the iEPG. The benefits of a convergent strategy are two-fold:

1. NTL's development costs can be reduced allowing resources to be focused on moving one, rather than several, products forward.

2. Marketing costs can be reduced since there will be fewer products to promote, reducing the need for customer education.

ADVERTISING AND PROMOTION

The iEPG contains advertising inventory; a dynamic ad banner on all pages which can link through to a microsite. It also has a more generic space (datagem), featured on the top-level menu only, which is reserved for in-house promotions of content within the Interactive menu.

The ad banner is positioned at the top centre of the iEPG screen in full-mode. There is a yellow button on every page that allows the viewer to click through to a microsite from the banner.

It is generally accepted that 'push content' should demonstrably aid the viewer in fulfilling a need. The NTL embedded EPG had a Video Window, which was available for promotional opportunities in legacy EPGs. This has been replaced by a broadcast window in the iEPG. Viewers like to feel in control of their TVs and they need to feel comfortable moving into an interactive or enhanced environment: “They like to see when the ads are finished or keep watching a programme as they interact”, says NTL's EPG manager, Michele Seisun,

The iEPG Broadcast Window changes to a Video Window featuring movie promos when the viewer moves into the on-demand area. Viewers have reacted positively to this in studies.

DEVELOPMENT

All development work can be undertaken in-house as NTL has developed and retained the necessary expertise. With the embedded product this was not possible, as resource was required from set-top box manufacturer, Pace. The iEPG does not make changes to the Pace layer, which should lead to time and cost efficiencies.

NTL has assigned an iEPG product manager whose primary role is to develop EPG strategy. Supported by designers and coders, the size of the actual EPG team is likely to vary depending on the relative priority assigned to EPG-related projects (NTL is a project-based organisation).

REGULATORY

EPGs need to span a service or support a wider application e.g. BBC Text. Regulators in the UK believe that there should be a 'free market' for EPGs, but too many EPGs on a service obviously confuses the viewer. This has been demonstrated on the ITVDigital platform, where a plethora of EPGs is available to viewers. With usage of an EPG split between different providers, the incentive for the EPG owners to maintain and enhance the product is reduced as the viewer base is fragmented.

VIEWER EXPERIENCE

Speed

Download times are a factor that NTL feel has limited usage of the EPG in full mode compared to the Now/Next bar. This was because, when a separate interactive application was launched, the EPG application needed to be replaced with the new application in the set-top box. With the launch of Liberate 1.2, this is no longer the case as the EPG can run simultaneously with other interactive applications. This has significant implications for speed, for example, making the switch between the EPG and the separate interactive menu "seamless". The EPG is effectively 'always' on.

Planning Vs browsing

NTL EPG usage figures highlight the fact that viewers tend not to plan their viewing. The popularity of the reminders facility seems to be an anomaly in light of these figures. At launch iEPG searches will be run from NTL's servers, which will add to the quantitative data that NTL is able to collect, and should provide some data to help answer this question.

Parental control

The low level of usage of Parental controls suggests that parents do not worry as much as platform owners sometimes assume about restricting the viewing habits of children. The TV is usually positioned in a very central, open place in the family home – so viewing habits can be monitored by parents. The relative complexity of parental controls could be another contributing factor.

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