| Interacting with third-party content: is a second screen enough? | | BIBA | Full-Text | 1-2 | |
| Dick C. A. Bulterman | |||
| Creating compelling multimedia content is a difficult task. It involves not
only the creative process of developing a compelling media-based story, but it
also requires significant technical support for content editing, management and
distribution. This has been true for printed, audio and visual presentations
for centuries. It is certainly true for broadcast media such as radio and
television.
A broadcast model of content distribution is based on maximizing the appeal of content while minimizing the "cost" per viewer. This "one size fits all" model has lost some of its appeal as more content distribution channels has developed and as an increased desire for content personalization has manifested itself. Simply put, modern content needs to be accompanied by an increased degree of personal interaction with that content. Several technologies have been developed to increase the degree of personal interaction with content. One of these is the secondary screen: a device that lets users select adjunct information or provide feedback to (and with) other content viewers. At present, the secondary screen helps viewers discuss content, but it provides only limited support for influencing content. This makes the secondary screen a transitional technology. | |||
| Companion apps for long arc TV series: supporting new viewers in complex storyworlds with tightly synchronized context-sensitive annotations | | BIBA | Full-Text | 3-10 | |
| Abhishek Nandakumar; Janet Murray | |||
| As television merges with digital technology, storytelling is becoming increasingly complex. Use of a second screen has become common, but academic research has focused on social applications and commercial applications have stressed community-building and trivia questions. Our survey of viewers reveals an unmet need for tightly synchronized second screen applications that can help them to enter and keep track of dramatic series with multiple recurring characters and multi-episode story arcs. We employed an iterative design process to create a second screen companion application for the critically acclaimed series Justified that was tightly synchronized, context-sensitive, and character-focused. Our usability testing indicated that use of the companion app enhanced comprehension for first-time viewers of a late season episode, and was especially effective in supporting understanding of character relationships, while also surfacing design considerations for future applications. | |||
| Enhancing interactive television news | | BIBA | Full-Text | 11-18 | |
| Dan Olsen; Benjamin Sellers; Trent Boulter | |||
| A prototype system for interactive television news is described. It supports the full production cycle for interactive news, including assembly of clips into stories and stories into newscasts. A variety of interactive techniques are offered to the viewer. These include expressing likes and dislikes of headlines, skipping out of stories, requesting additional content and selection of stories from a menu. This system was deployed into homes for two weeks using fresh television content. User control events were logged and evaluated to understand interactive viewing behavior. | |||
| RedTag: automatic content metadata capture for cameras | | BIBA | Full-Text | 19-22 | |
| Tom Bartindale; Daniel Jackson; Karim Ladha; Sebastian Mellor; Patrick Olivier; Peter Wright | |||
| RedTag is an optical tagging system that provides time based identification of objects, people or devices via small low cost infrared transmitters and receivers. We have developed RedTag as a cheap and flexible method of augmenting existing video capture equipment with an additional temporal metadata output of content based information. In this note, we describe the technology behind RedTag and demonstrate the interaction opportunities that arise through access to temporal metadata. | |||
| Playout delay of TV signals: measurement system design, validation and results | | BIBA | Full-Text | 23-30 | |
| Wouter J. Kooij; Hans M. Stokking; Ray van Brandenburg; Pieter-Tjerk de Boer | |||
| Due to new interactive TV services, synchronizing the playout of content on different TVs is becoming important. To synchronize, knowledge of delay differences is needed. In this study, a measurement system is developed to gain insight into the magnitude of delay differences of different TV setups in an automated fashion. This paper shows the measurement system, which is validated for precision and accuracy. Preliminary measurements results show that regular TV broadcasts differ up to 6 seconds in playout moment and that web based TV broadcasts can introduce more than a minute delay. Furthermore, we measured a broadcasting before encoding and modulation, which resulted in a time about 4 second before the fastest receiver. On a side note, while developing the measurement system we found out that GPS timing on consumer Android devices was inaccurate, with fluctuations of up to 1 second. | |||
| A large-scale exploration of group viewing patterns | | BIBA | Full-Text | 31-38 | |
| Allison J. B. Chaney; Mike Gartrell; Jake M. Hofman; John Guiver; Noam Koenigstein; Pushmeet Kohli; Ulrich Paquet | |||
| We present a large-scale study of television viewing habits, focusing on how individuals adapt their preferences when consuming content with others. While there has been a great deal of research on modeling individual preferences, there has been considerably less work studying the preferences of groups, due mostly to the difficulty of collecting group data. In contrast to most past work that has relied either on small-scale surveys, prototypes, or a relatively limited amount of group preference data, we explore more than 4 million logged household views paired with individual-level demographic and co-viewing information. Our analysis reveals how engagement in group viewing varies by viewer and content type, and how viewing patterns shift across various group contexts. Furthermore, we leverage this large-scale dataset to directly estimate how individual preferences are combined in group settings, finding subtle deviations from traditional models of preference aggregation. We present a simple model which captures these effects and discuss the impact of these findings on the design of group recommendation systems. | |||
| Detection of predictability ratings of live events on TV by use of second screens | | BIBA | Full-Text | 39-46 | |
| Kiraz Candan Herdem | |||
| Event predictability, one dimension of human emotion description, indicates to what extent sequences of events in videos are predictable for viewers. This study adopts second screening style of Social TV viewing model, where viewers text about live events on TV via social media app on mobile second screen. 14 instances from different TV content types are presented to 19 viewers on TV-like screen. While texting, custom Twitter application collects touch and inertial sensors' data of which features are extracted to model viewers' physical interaction with mobile screens. Viewers self-reported their predictability ratings via a slider with 9 scales, which later are divided equally into three levels indicating whether viewers describe events in videos as unpredictable, medium or predictable. Bayesian networking classifier is created to recognize the three predictability labels from features described in physical interaction model. The study result shows that the predictability labels are recognized with 85.7% average accuracy. | |||
| Parasocial relationship via reality TV and social media: its implications for celebrity endorsement | | BIBA | Full-Text | 47-54 | |
| SiYoung Chung; Hichang Cho | |||
| The purpose of this study was to explore the ways in which audiences build parasocial relationships with media characters via reality TV and social media, and its implications for celebrity endorsement and purchase intentions. Using an online survey, this study collected 401 responses from the Korean Wave fans in Singapore. The results showed that reality TV viewing and SNS use to interact with media characters were positively associated with parasocial relationships between media characters and viewers. Parasocial relationships, in turn, were positively associated with the viewers' perception of endorser and brand credibility, and purchase intention of the brand endorsed by favorite media characters. The results also indicated that self-disclosure played an important role in forming parasocial relationships and in mediating the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement. This study specifies the links between an emerging media genre, a communication technology, and audiences' interaction with the mediated world. | |||
| Disinhibited abuse of othered communities by second-screening audiences | | BIBA | Full-Text | 55-62 | |
| Mark Doughty; Shaun Lawson; Conor Linehan; Duncan Rowland; Lucy Bennett | |||
| Second-screening and live-tweeting alongside broadcast television generates new concerns with respect to online abuse. We present an investigation into the nature of Twitter-facilitated second-screening posts relating to Thelma's Gypsy Girls, one of a series of controversial documentary programmes portraying the Irish Traveller community that have recently been aired by the UK public-service television broadcaster Channel 4. Sentiment analysis highlighted the general negativity of these posts whilst a detailed thematic inquiry revealed the often abusive and aggressive messages aimed directly at the community and individuals portrayed in the broadcast material. We discuss why users might be susceptible to exhibiting these behaviours, and the implications for the broadcast industry, and social TV designers and developers. | |||
| TV discovery & enjoy: a new approach to help users finding the right TV program to watch | | BIBA | Full-Text | 63-70 | |
| Jorge Abreu; Pedro Almeida; Bruno Teles | |||
| This paper presents the development and evaluation cycle of an interactive television (iTV) prototype that aims to improve the way users discover and select their TV content, bearing in mind the cognitive model that the viewer typically uses in mindless zapping situations. The development of the iTV application was supported by a study of the habits and behaviours of TV viewers (namely the ones related to the referred cognitive process), followed by the specification of its conceptual model and features, interface mock-ups and its integration in the filtering engine of the iTV application. Additionally, an indexing and cataloging system interconnected with the filtering engine was designed. The developed prototype was evaluated by a group of users, with the results revealing to be very positive, both in what relates with the interest on the application and its usability. In parallel to the development of the iTV application, a tablet version was conceptualized and evaluated with the aim of studying the suitability of the extension of the same conceptual model to a secondary screen approach. | |||
| MyChannel: exploring city-based multimedia news presentations on the living room TV | | BIBA | Full-Text | 71-78 | |
| Frank Bentley; Karolina Buchner; Joseph 'Jofish' Kaye | |||
| We see the television as a primary device to connect viewers with the information and people that matter most in their lives. Televisions, as central places where the family gathers, provide a unique location to elevate news and social updates that can connect family and friends across a distance. Through creating the MyChannel service, a TV-based personalized news program, we have explored the types of content that work best in this format. We have also gained a detailed understanding of how television content can inspire feelings of connection and communication with friends and family at a distance through an 8-day in-home field evaluation. We describe the system and findings from our studies and close with a discussion on the future of personalized television news. | |||
| Design and evaluation of a children's tablet video application | | BIBA | Full-Text | 79-86 | |
| David J. Wheatley | |||
| Video consumption is moving from the TV to other, portable wireless platforms and from linear to on-demand viewing. This paper describes a series of user experience studies carried out to define the end user requirements for a targeted (1-10 yrs) children's tablet video application. Other studies (not reported here) were also carried out to define parents' needs for parental control functionality. The process consisted of three phases. Phase 1 consisted of an online survey of parents to understand children's current viewing patterns and behaviors. This data, and secondary research, was then used to develop some initial design concepts for the application, and some key design and interaction elements were evaluated with children using paper & card mock-ups in phase 2. Children also evaluated an early application prototype in this second phase. Results suggested that three different levels of interface complexity would likely be necessary for the target age range. The third phase consisted of field trials of 3 prototype interfaces carried out with 25 children in 11 families. A primary objective of the field trials was to evaluate any impact on individual and family viewing patterns and behaviors. Results indicated that interface preferences broadly aligned with the expected age targets, and other major benefits of the application included the strong feelings of ownership, control and independence engendered in children which reduced the need for parental monitoring and direct involvement in content selection and device control. This paper focuses on the iterative design process and the impact of the application on content selection and control. | |||
| Mirror, mirror, on the wall: collaborative screen-mirroring for small groups | | BIBA | Full-Text | 87-94 | |
| Mark McGill; John Williamson; Stephen A. Brewster | |||
| Screen mirroring has been available to consumers for some time, however if every mobile device in the room supports screen mirroring to the main display (e.g. a shared TV), this necessitates a mechanism for managing its use. As such, this paper investigates allowing users in small intimacy groups (friends, family etc.) to self-manage mirrored use of the display, through passing/taking/requesting the display from whomever is currently mirroring to it. We examine the collaborative benefits this scheme could provide for the home, compared to existing multi-device use and existing screen mirroring implementations. Results indicate shared screen mirroring improves perceived collaboration, decreases dominance, preserves independence and has a positive effect on a group's activity awareness. | |||
| In front of and behind the second screen: viewer and producer perspectives on a companion app | | BIBA | Full-Text | 95-102 | |
| David Geerts; Rinze Leenheer; Dirk De Grooff; Joost Negenman; Susanne Heijstraten | |||
| The growing success of tablets and smartphones has shifted the focus of the interactive TV industry to the introduction of second screen applications. One example is second screen companion apps that offer extra information about a television program, often synchronized with what happens on screen. In this paper, we investigate a second screen companion app, from the perspective of the viewers and producers of such apps. Based on observations and interviews with viewers and producers, and actual usage data of a companion app from Google Analytics, we present several insights and recommendations for how to design companion apps related to ease of use, timing, social interaction, attention and added value. | |||
| Many-screen viewing: evaluating an Olympics companion application | | BIBA | Full-Text | 103-110 | |
| Edward Anstead; Steve Benford; Robert J. Houghton | |||
| The trend of users integrating second screen behaviours in their viewing habits, and practitioners' interest in designing systems to support them has evolved a strong research agenda. In this paper we extend these ideas to explore many-screen interaction, investigating how users, gathered around the television with multiple second screen devices, share, control and coordinate their interactions. We report on a formative evaluation into behaviours with a many-screen prototype app for watching sport programming. The Olympics Second Screen application allows users to watch, share and control highlight programmes in a collocated group. We discuss our findings through recommendations to designers and HCI practitioners. Our results suggest the importance of supporting parallel viewing between collocated viewers, and sharing and queuing of programming between devices. Additionally, results highlight the significance of the television in a viewing ecology, and user awareness of control and interaction. | |||
| Visual attention measures for multi-screen TV | | BIBA | Full-Text | 111-118 | |
| Radu-Daniel Vatavu; Matei Mancas | |||
| We introduce a set of nine measures to characterize viewers' visual attention patterns for multi-screen TV. We apply our measures during an experiment involving nine screen layouts with two, three, and four TV screens, for which we report new findings on visual attention. For example, we found that viewers need an average discovery time up to 4.5 seconds to visually fixate four screens, and their perceptions of how long they watched each screen are substantially accurate, i.e., we report Pearson correlations up to .892 with measured eye tracking data. We hope our set of new measures (and the companion toolkit to compute them automatically) will benefit the community as a first step toward understanding visual attention for emerging multi-screen TV applications. | |||
| The effect of cinematic cuts on human attention | | BIBA | Full-Text | 119-122 | |
| Christian Valuch; Ulrich Ansorge; Shelley Buchinger; Aniello Raffaele Patrone; Otmar Scherzer | |||
| Understanding the factors that determine human attention in videos is important for many applications, such as user interface design in interactive television (iTV), continuity editing, or data compression techniques. In this article, we identify the demands that cinematic cuts impose on human attention. We hypothesize, test, and confirm that after cuts the viewers' attention is quickly attracted by repeated visual content. We conclude with a recommendation for future models of visual attention in videos and make suggestions how the present results could inspire designers of second screen iTV applications to optimise their interfaces with regard to a maximally smooth viewing experience. | |||
| Storied numbers: supporting media-rich data storytelling for television | | BIBA | Full-Text | 123-130 | |
| Susan J. Robinson; Graceline Williams; Aman Parnami; Jinhyun Kim; Emmett McGregor; Dana Chandler; Ali Mazalek | |||
| The digital convergence of broadcast television, user-generated content from online and mobile sources, and interactive surfaces brings an opportunity for the development of platforms to support media-rich data storytelling for television audiences. In this paper, we report on a production model and system featuring a multi-touch interactive table with tangibles in the broadcast studio, on which performers use information visualizations to access and present media-rich content from viewers. The system uses content generated from a mobile application that couples close-ended survey items with rich media, such as video. The app is designed to increase opportunities for public debate on civic issues, but is also suitable for pure entertainment topics, such as sports and lifestyle. We present the results of an evaluation of our production model and the studio prototype in a lab setting with television production experts and on-air talent. Our results indicate that such systems must be designed with a flexible user profile in mind to accommodate performer capabilities and preferences, operational variations, program formats, and changing conventions in touch interaction. | |||
| Leap gestures for TV: insights from an elicitation study | | BIBA | Full-Text | 131-138 | |
| Radu-Daniel Vatavu; Ionut-Alexandru Zaiti | |||
| We present insights from a gesture elicitation study in the context of interacting with TV, during which 18 participants contributed and rated the execution difficulty and recall likeliness of free-hand gestures for 21 distinct TV tasks. Our study complements previous work on gesture interaction design for the TV set with the first exploration of fine-grained resolution 3-D finger movements and hand pose gestures. We report lower agreement rates (.20) than previous gesture studies and 72.8% recall rate and 15.8% false positive recall, results that are explained by the complexity and variability of unconstrained finger gestures. Nevertheless, we report a large 82% preference for gesture commands versus TV remote controls. We also confirm previous findings, such as people's preferences for related gestures for dichotomous tasks, and we report low agreement rates for abstract tasks, such as "open browser" or "show channels list" in our specific TV scenario. In the end, we contribute a set of design guidelines for practitioners interested in free-hand finger and hand pose gestures for interactive TV scenarios, and we release a dataset of 378 Leap Motion gesture records consisting in finger position, direction, and velocity coordinates for further studies in the community. We see this exploration as a first step toward designing low-effort high-resolution finger gestures and hand poses for lean-back interaction with the TV set. | |||
| Tablet, gestures, remote control?: influence of age on performance and user experience with iTV applications | | BIBA | Full-Text | 139-146 | |
| Jan Bobeth; Johann Schrammel; Stephanie Deutsch; Michael Klein; Mario Drobics; Christina Hochleitner; Manfred Tscheligi | |||
| Due to recent development of TVs in the direction of highly interactive multimedia platforms, interactive TV (iTV) applications gain popularity. In terms of control possibilities a variety of input modalities have become available, though effects on performance and user experience of different age groups when controlling different iTV applications remain unclear. We present an empirical investigation comparing three input modalities (tablet, freehand gestures, remote) for controlling two iTV applications (Photo Browser, Nutrition Tracker) used by older and younger adults. Results show that all three independent variables had significant influence on performance, while we did not find influence of age or application on user experience. Overall tablet input based on a mirrored TV screen showed the best performance and was preferred by both age groups. Older adults were overall slower and showed a particularly large performance gap with the remote in comparison to younger adults. | |||
| How to lose friends & alienate people: sharing control of a single-user TV system | | BIBA | Full-Text | 147-154 | |
| Mark McGill; John Williamson; Stephen A. Brewster | |||
| The single physical remote control, paired to a media system, is no longer necessarily the only (or indeed primary) mechanism of control, with new input modalities (e.g. gesture) and mechanisms (e.g. mobile devices) allowing anyone to contribute to the input and control. This paper investigates the potential for extending single-user interfaces in order to support multi-user use, as a means of utilizing new inputs without having to abandon the familiar interfaces, control management behaviours and mental models that users have established. A survey was conducted investigating existing behaviours for managing control in terms of prevalence and acceptability. These behaviours and potential new ones were then incorporated into a multi-user system where management of control was virtualized, using mobile devices for input. We found that behaviours derived from existing ones (e.g. passing/taking control) were at worst functionally equivalent to, and in some cases superior to, managing a single physical remote control. We suggest that sharing single-user TV systems implementing these behaviours offers a viable alternative to concurrent use TV systems. | |||
| Off-screen media: spatial display and interaction in augmented television | | BIBA | Full-Text | 155-156 | |
| Dale A. Herigstad | |||
| A study in the evolution of spatial considerations in media, looking at how we navigate and design for more complex media consumption. A new model will be presented for pairing information in the TV viewing space. | |||