Creative Brief /IPTVWhat is IPTV? / Competitive Landscape/ Where is it heading?/ The Concept Map/ Metaphor/The User Personas/ Directives/ Next Steps

November 2008

What is IPTV?

What is IPTV?

R e a l - T i m eP a r t i c i p a t i o n

P e r s o n a l i z e d i n t e r f a c e

I n t e r a c t i v e t e l e v i s i o n

V i d e o o n D e m a n d

I n t e r n e t s e r v i c e s

V o I P

T H E C O N T E X T

IPTV delivers television programming to households via a broadband connection using Internet protocols. It requires a subscription and IPTV set-top box, and offers key advantages over existing TV cable and satellite technologies.

IPTV is typically bundled with other services like Video on Demand (VOD), voice over IP (VOIP) or digital phone, and Web access, collectively referred to as Triple Play.

Competitive Landscape

I think TATA is best.It provides you the flexibility of choosing options at good rates. e.g. if you want to see 10 sports for 20 days u will pay for 20 days only.

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TATA Sky

Krishna, mouthshut.com

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Airtel iTV

Airtel's IPTV is superb and 100 times better than the local Cable. The service support is outstanding as the support will reach you in less than 2 hours. I hope that Airtel keeps the prices low when they commercially launch.Ravi, techtree.com

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Big TV

Customer service is awful, irrespective of when you call, you will have to be on hold for 10 - 15 mins. Really Bad.Madhu, digitalmediaasia.com

Our ViewsTATA SkyThe most popular Digital TV service provider as of today. With very simple interface it’s easy to navigate across channels. The design is very old school and they haven’t really experimented. It looks very cluttered, with very bold usage of colors and heavy text – it tends to intimidate the user.

If you’ve got some extra money TATA Sky is the way to go

BIG TVNot too popularly used but an upcoming provider with a good package deals. Very less features, Difficult to navigate, very slow in loading basic menu. Has a gaming look and feel which makes it look very heavy and doesn’t invite the user to explore the features.

Value for money , don’t expect much on the features and customer service

Airtel Very comprehensive features, very well categorized, makes the user indulge in TV. Grasping the concept is difficult at first, but intuitive none the less. It takes a little getting used to. the design is lighter, less intrusive, very premium, makes for richer TV viewing experience.

If you want more than a regular TV experience, and money isn’t a factor, then this is for you.

Key Features

Brand Character

Interface

Where is it heading?

Client- server interactionTelevision as a two-way interaction has been a comparatively new concept. This imitates the standard behavior and user interaction in Web as a media. The interactivity is soon going to get multinodal with mobile based access and remote access to your set top box and more...

TV as a Social mediaSocial Media on the internet is evolving into a paradigm that is all about creating communities to collaborate and co-create. This is rapidly extending into commerce and thus to the enterprise. Television with an interface and interactivity makes social media enter your living room. Every user is a part of the larger whole and not a lone silo in a closed room.

Focus on viewer generated content The peripheral supportive content that surrounds the programs are soon going to be 100% generated by viewers - ratings, reviews and more. It is not going to be long before any viewer can share home videos for review. This will be the birth of a new tube with a resolution better than youtube.

CollaborationA review or a rating helps another viewer to decide and that is how collaboration begins. Opinions, guidances, decision support and co-creation are viewer collaborative community activities that will strengthen interactive television as media.

The Concept Map

IPTV (Service Provider)

Catch Up TV

IPTVThe platform contains the users, functional modules and extensions to push content.

Content ProvidersThe enterprise is a set of business functions, representatives of which are present as users in the platform.

ClientContent collated from all the subscribers to populate the platform.

ViewersThe TV viewer across the service provider network using personalized content

User generated

content Client (Set Top Box)

Saved ContentProfiles

Recorded

Media Center

FavoritesGovernance

Content ProvidersOthers

Internet Channels

Web Portals

Third Party CP

TV Channels

Viewers/ Audience

Metaphor

‘Scrub’ faceTom Cruise ‘scrubbing’ time in Minority Report with the core idea to move in front and back on a timeline. This will be the information architecture metaphor.

‘Touch’ ScreenThe interface should bring the viewer closer to the device. The idea is to create visually textured and multi-material surfaces that makes the interface optically tactile.

We can create a large palette of material, textures and color that can be used in well coordinated sets to create a compelling interface.

The User Persona

62, retired kannada teacher, stays in HubliPadmaja in general is a homebody with a retired husband (used to work with KEB). Now he spends most of his time in their community’s Residents Welfare Office. Their son used to work for CMC in Mumbai and moved to Isling, NJ about eight years back. Now he works on SAP as a Network Engineer for Linux for a consulting firm. Last year Padmaja visited her son where she once lost her way back from the grocery store.

Padmaja is what we would refer as traditional and conservative. Other than the yearly pilgrimage she goes to the nearby temple every friday. Reads magazines like Grah Shobha. On her 60th bday , her son got her a 42 inch Sony Bravia that sits peculiarly on a humble wall of their single bedroom apartment. She is always on the lookout for a suitable bride for her son.

Meet Padmaja

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Morning prayers on Local cable Channel Daily soap on ETV Kannada after lunch.

Watches KTV for cooking programs

Local news on Udaya News

TV programs on SUN TV, Asianet

Padmaja’s TV Day

Padmaja’s gadgets

Nokia 3310 Radio Panasonic 42” LCD TATA Sky

IPTV

Padmaja will be apprehensive and will find it tough to follow and will stick to normal television viewing patterns.

Meet Madhur

Madhur is a spoilt brat, always gets his way being the youngest of the two brothers. He gets dropped and picked from school by the driver in a Honda Accord. His elder brother is studying Management at USC. His latest demand is an iTouch. His father is the CEO of Orient Craft and mother volunteers with a lot of NGOs and shops at Ravissant. Madhur Eats, sleeps breathes football and dreams of playing for Manchester United. An average student, he ends up spending most of his evenings at tuitions(?).

He is hooked on to his Playstation and has been trying to get a copy of Fallout3. Madhur has 467 friends on facebook. He loves Linkin Park, Eminem, 50 Cents.Madhur is very brand conscious, only wears Nike gear and support the ManU Tee because his peer group does too. He went to Singapore with family on his last vacation and hated Sentosa

14, studies in Modern Barakhamba, New Delhi

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Catches a game on ESPN

Madhur’s TV Day

Watches action flicks on AXN, Star Movies

Ripley’s believe it or not, Fear Factor, Das ka Dum, Roadies

Madhur’s gadgets

HP Pavilion 15.4”

Home Theater

Play Station 2

iPod Nano

Sony Walkman Mobile Phone

IPTVWill spend more time on Television to figure out all the features, will use the gaming section most, will make his own profile. Will be able to teach parents when needed.

Meet Neha

Neha is personal secretary to the CEO of a garment export house in Rohtak, Haryana. She lives with her parents and one younger sister and an elder brother. Her father took an early retirement due to a heart problem; Elder brother and her are the only bread earners of the family. They are a part of a conservative family, middle class, pious and god-fearing. She rides a TVS scooty which she bought on EMI and pays 2613 per month for it. She is a hard working girl with excellent managerial skills and is not very ambitious. Her high point of any day is going for chaat after work.She has a very small circle of friends, whom she meets on weekends for picnics or a movie sometimes. She has not traveled beyond Delhi where she went to get her fathers check up done. Her last vacation was visiting her grandmother in Meerut

25, single, works as a personal Secretary in Rohtak

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Watches TV only during dinner time with family - Colors, Zee TV, Star Plus, Sony

Neha’s TV Day

Neha’s gadgets

She enjoys watching reality music and dance shows like SaReGaMa on Zee TV and Indian Idol on Sony. Nach Baliye on Star Plus.

Nokia 2611 Onida 20” 2 in 1 Sony Cassette Player

IPTVinquisitive, reads the guide and gets familiar with the features, loves the added access to local info

Meet Prakash

Prakash was born in Berhrampur, Orissa. He studied in Ooty in a boarding school. He has worked as a consultant mechanical engineer across metros and now retired, settled in Delhi. His wife is also from Orissa. He has 2 daughters, both married. The elder one is settled in the US and the other married in Bangalore.He loves reading and his favorite author is Graham Green. he is an ardent fan of Krysztof Kieslowski. Extremely opinionated and difficult to stay with.He loves his afternoon beer with salad He loves red meat, lives to eat.He likes gadgets which are tactile, and is up to date with technology, He used to set up his VCR to record movies during the day when to catch what he misses while working.He prefers to have a Net book over a laptop to surf the internet, as it is less complicated.

61, retired, resides in New Delhi

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Prakash’s TV Day

Prakash’s gadgets

Watches Star Movies, HBO, World movies.

Start with scanning movies in the newspaper, cable booklet with movies listed

Passive watcher of serials during dinner with wife

Digital Radio Toshiba Satellite Sony Bravia 42” LCD

IP TV Once he is introduced to its features and technicalities, he is extremely comfortable with using it.

Directives

Programs over time is the basic unit.The timeline device will be the foundation over which live programs are played or still frames are shown.

NavigationThe primary navigation should be based on channel categories or timeline.

DashboardsThe profile home should be an intelligent dynamically collated personalized dashboard of favorites, response seeking devices like rating/review and user generated content , based on the selected user profile.

TimelinesView program schedule as a timeline.Be able to scroll over time across all channels. View video over a timeline to watch previews.

End content pagesEvery program will have an end content page from where the viewer can do specific tasks like rate, review, read synopsis (last episode) and more.

Mimic web portalsThe interactivity and the content architecture should mimic a web portal that has video content.

I N F O R M A T I O N A R C H I T E C T U R E

Definite brand look without being intrusive.The visual design as a unique brand expression should be useful in prioritizing, highlighting and effectively identifying content elements.

Neutral Typography?Type should define information hierarchy and should remain extremely functional. The type palette should adhere to on-screen readability set. This means that we need to do tests on television.

Visual DevicesWe understand that the product should be visually seductive and so sell-able. There should be definite set of colors with a hyper set to attract attention.

Icons and Info GraphicsThere is a need for communicative, yet non-intrusive icons to indicate status of entities and more. These icons will be done in a unifying style and will be intuitive post initial usage.

ConceptThe overall concept for the visual design should be based on tactility and should exploit textures. The design should also use multiple material palette in relief that creates a touch-able interface.

V I S U A L D E S I G N

Talk. Do not preach, prod or be overtly ‘informative’.No authoritative monologues or wimpish unintelligible banter.

Tone and VoiceThe key to understand content as a brand expression is to understand the motive.

The system should be largely silent and hear the users. The user generated content should get the place of pride.

Other instructional content should guide users and not really ‘instruct’. Importantly the IPTV interface should not assume that viewers are social media literate.

Labels should be easy, communicative and should not be self important. The platform should be proactive.

C O N T E N T

Leave them content.The user should leave fulfilled.

ClosuresThe overall user experience should focus on helping the user discover appropriate content.

It should not leave the user at a cul-de-sac not knowing what to do next. Of course the response from the provider/community is as important.

It is important that the technology supports the speed of the user. It should not be a let down on performance or functionality. The service provider should be ready to dole out incentives where needed.

The user experience will be the key winning factor here to help the users and the service provider to their respective closures.

U S E R E X P E R I E N C E

Design Constraints

- The screen size should be of PAL resolution (720*526)- Don’t use bright colors- Colors with RGB range of 20-200- Minimum thickness of lines to be 2 pixel- Font size to be above 16 pt- Use a Bold font like Arial- Transparent / Semi transparent images are not supported.- Anti-aliasing option has to be enabled- Apply Gaussian Blur of .3 to images with a lot of colors.- Images with gradient will not come properly on TV

Thank you.S I G N I N G O F F