Design of an App for Internet-Enabled TVs

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Designing applications for Internet-Enabled TVs is much different than designing for the desktop or mobile web. Here I explain the process we used at ConTV to design LIVO, a video on demand service.



What is LIVO?

LIVO is an application that runs -so far- on Samsung TVs. Users can install the application for free directly from their TV using the Samusng App store. LIVO provides an interface to browse and play video on demand from different partners offering different shows.




Problems

We wanted to design a great application, something easy and fun to use. On the way we found several problems:

  • Distance: you have to test your concepts and designs on a real TV and a few meters away from it.
  • The TV is mostly a passive medium, the app had to start playing video as soon as possible.
  • Usability: managing an app with a remote control is incredibly limiting.
  • Text must be big.
  • A very common problem in many TV apps: navigation. It’s difficult to highlight interface elements to tell users in which part of the app she is.
  • Important trade-offs: usability against beautiful interface.



    • Users

    We decided we had to know more about how people use TVs at home, so we organized interviews with target users. We talked to them and made a lot of questions in order to discover how they choose shows, how they share what they see, their motivations and general behavior around the TV. With all the information we created personas that proved to be extremely valuable during the first part of the design process.



    LIVO TV App Menus and Interface



    The design

    After a strategy session supported by the user research we decided which features this video on demand service should provide to satisfy the target users. These are the mean aspects from the LIVO app:

  • It provides fast access to videos.
  • Easy navigation.
  • Great content.
  • Easy to read text.
  • Simple but with a few additional features.
  • Recommendation engine is transparent to the user.



    • Links

    If you want additional information about LIVO, you can visit the Samsung Smart TV Contest website. Additionally you can find information about the Internet-Enabled TV business on the ConTV website.