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With the looming government plans to turn off the nation's analogue television signal between 2006 and 2010 i-TV is rapidly becoming a major frontier of usability practice. If, as expected 99.4% of the population is within range of the new digital signals and 95% have access to digital receiving equipment, i-TV is set to become as integral to British life as the telephone. A simple comparison between i-TV and the Internet proves this beyond doubt.
In 2000, Internet penetration in the UK rose dramatically by 12% to 34%. Digital TV penetration is 30%, around 7 million, which could look unfavourable when compared to Internet penetration. However, in less than a year, digital television has been installed in about the same number of households as the Internet has in five years. By 2008, digital television is expected to reach 18.5m households.
With the established presence of just a handful of pioneering retailers offering their services or promoting their wares, this virgin market is bracing itself for an explosive migration of business to the medium. Imminent launches are expected from Virgin Trains, Orange and Egg on top of this, interactive adverts from the likes of Orange, Eurostar, Boots and Britannia will deepen the offering to viewers of ITV Digital.
What role is usability to play in this? Well the answer is quite simple Where the internet evolved from small and personal sites into global brands, the conventions of design evolved with usability. Of course there were mistakes along the way, but the medium could afford this as there were so many operators. i-TV however is a different prospect, where the internet was a village market of stalls and local traders, i-TV is an enormous Mall, where every major retailer will need to consider a presence and where the setup costs can be huge.
Usability in this climate of big names competing in users living rooms requires a service which is usable to every member of a family, and easy enough for those without the tools of a computer or knowledge of digital shopping to master at their first transaction.
Traditionally usability studies involve one user at a time, but as we all know, television is a social medium and debates can begin over something as simple as choosing between Eastenders and Brookside. For this reason the format of testing must be examined and honed quickly and effectively. The frontier is open, and there is a looming rush for the new market, Usability specialists will have a major say in the eventual profile of i-TV and it is up to them to make it as easy to navigate as possible.
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