Web-based interactive TV services for older users

Abstract

20w w w . g e r o n t e c h j o u r n a l . n e t J a n u a r y 2 0 0 7 , V o l 6 , N o 1 O r i g i n a lTelevision and the Internet are converging at an ever increasing rate, to create a communication and information medium for the mass market. In Britain some 62% of households already have access to digital television, many using Freeview digital TV services delivered via a rooftop aerial. In September 2005, the UK Government confirmed that digital switchover will take place between 2008 and 2012 with a plan to steadily shut down all analogue TV signals by 20121 .Digital TV offers the opportunity to provide more than just a vast range of TV channels to consumers. Already interactive TV (iTV) services, including Electronic Programme Guides and information services such as BBCi, are widely available. A further extension of the iTV concept is the provision of Internet access alongside digital TV services. Web-based iTV is delivered via a set-top box (STB) connected to the Internet by a telephone line or broadband communication connection. The user is able to surf the World Wide Web (WWW) and send and receive email using a remote control or sometimes a wireless keyboard. As web-based iTV extends access to the Internet to households who have no personal computer (PC), the technology offers the opportunity to considerably widen access to digital information services, including on-line health services and e-government services to user groups currently reluctant or unable to invest in a PC. For example, Kaye 2 comments: "As the initial hardware costs are lower for a system that is more secure, and much easier to use, than the Internet (all you need is your existing TV, set-top box, telephone point and remote control), [one can] predict Britain's 8.6 million disabled people and their families are more likely to purchase interactive V. Mitchell, C. Nicolle, M. Maguire, H. Boyle. Web-based interactive TV services for older users. Gerontechnology 2007; 6(1):20-32. This article reports a study that explored user requirements for web-based interactive TV (iTV) services from the perspective of older users. Members of a University of the Third Age (U3A) group were recruited for the study in order to explore the potential for web-based iTV to be used as a tool for mediating social communities. Focus groups and user trials were used to explore participants' reactions to the concept of web-based iTV and to identify barriers to use. The study found that the web-based iTV service offered in some contexts several advantages to personal computer use that were valued by study participants. However, significant physical and cognitive barriers to use were identified, such as cost of services, lack of privacy, information overload and learning interface equipment. Recommendations for designing web-based iTV services for older users, generated in response to these concerns, include keeping the user interface simple, avoiding multi-modal keys on the keypad and providing information portals tailored to the interests of older users. Web-ba...

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