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Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#11

Post by aroch »

paganel wrote: post #10
kaolinite wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel that the grid of icons works great for the TV but the problem is the unimaginative remote control. Instead of a plastic remote with arrow buttons, a better solution is using a phone or tablet which shows a UI based on what is on the screen. You tap through apps on the phone and pick what you want to watch. Then, you hit play and it starts showing on the screen. TVs aren't really great for interacting with - so…

> a better solution is using a phone or tablet which shows a UI based on what is on the screen. You tap through apps on the phone and pick what you want to watch. Then, you hit play and it starts showing on the screen. This might be the former TV-addict in me speaking, but would you be able to change channels and adjust the volume without taking your eyes off the TV screen? Because remote controls in their present fo…

You should be able to, at least volume and channel up/down; i.e. normal press of the volume keys when connected to the TV changes volume, long press changes channel. Much like how mediakeys are already implemented. Indeed, some remote apps for IRBlaster equipped Android devices support this.

That being said, I'd prefer my TV controls to be at least mostly tactile/physical. At least for the TV operations. I'd be thrilled if instead of menu arrow button hell I could just set things from my smartphone.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#12

Post by semi-extrinsic »

Brakenshire wrote: post #4

My flat screen TV seems to pick up about a second of latency every three months, it now takes about 12 seconds to load up the programme guide. I'd really like if it had proper OS that could be updated, reinstalled, and extended, rather than something cobbled together and frozen in time. Smart TVs are basically computers so they might as well have decent operating systems.

My 2012 Smart TV (Panasonic 50ST50) is just like it was when I bought it. Most apps like youtube etc. have been updated, and some apps are a bit slower in the newer versions due to more flashy animations, but overall it's been rock stable and I see no reason to upgrade.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#13

Post by anonymfus »

kaolinite wrote: post #6
martingordon wrote: post #2

I hope someone can save us from the "grid of icons" UI that pervades set-top boxes. The grid works fine for handheld/desktop applications where access is non-sequential, but when we're using just directional arrows, that's a lot of tedious button pressing. Traditional TV service has the advantage of shortcuts by way of being able to jump to a channel directly using the number pad, but the top set-top boxes don't have…

I feel that the grid of icons works great for the TV but the problem is the unimaginative remote control. Instead of a plastic remote with arrow buttons, a better solution is using a phone or tablet which shows a UI based on what is on the screen. You tap through apps on the phone and pick what you want to watch. Then, you hit play and it starts showing on the screen. TVs aren't really great for interacting with - so…

Smartglass for Xbox One can control television (USB TV tuner, HDMI CEC commands for set-top box on One's HDMI input or infrared commands via Kinect's IR blaster or separate IR blaster) as you describe.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#14

Post by untog »

kaolinite wrote: post #6
martingordon wrote: post #2

I hope someone can save us from the "grid of icons" UI that pervades set-top boxes. The grid works fine for handheld/desktop applications where access is non-sequential, but when we're using just directional arrows, that's a lot of tedious button pressing. Traditional TV service has the advantage of shortcuts by way of being able to jump to a channel directly using the number pad, but the top set-top boxes don't have…

I feel that the grid of icons works great for the TV but the problem is the unimaginative remote control. Instead of a plastic remote with arrow buttons, a better solution is using a phone or tablet which shows a UI based on what is on the screen. You tap through apps on the phone and pick what you want to watch. Then, you hit play and it starts showing on the screen. TVs aren't really great for interacting with - so…

The battery life on that would be awful, though. I can use my remote without looking at it or needing to charge it for months upon months on end.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#15

Post by DanBC »

mkesper wrote: post #3

Please do not include several images > 1MB in your posts. Ever thought of mobile users?

It's kind of surprising to see people at Mozilla make this mistake. They're targeting low end systems and so you'd think they are expert in image optimizing systems for all those people on limited 2g and 3g Internet.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#16

Post by the_mitsuhiko »

kaolinite wrote: post #7
Brakenshire wrote: post #4

My flat screen TV seems to pick up about a second of latency every three months, it now takes about 12 seconds to load up the programme guide. I'd really like if it had proper OS that could be updated, reinstalled, and extended, rather than something cobbled together and frozen in time. Smart TVs are basically computers so they might as well have decent operating systems.

I bought my TV just before smart TVs became popular and am dreading having to replace it, with - from what I can tell - all of the good, high end TVs now being "smart". I really wish the trend was TVs becoming less smart, more like a monitor than a computer, especially now that TV "pucks" like Apple TV, Roku, etc are gaining popularity.

> I really wish the trend was TVs becoming less smart

How so? Ever since I switched to a Smart TV I pretty much removed all other boxes that were standing around. My Samsung solves all the problems I had separate boxes for before. The only thing that is still connected is a PS4.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#17

Post by DanBC »

the_mitsuhiko wrote: post #16
kaolinite wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought my TV just before smart TVs became popular and am dreading having to replace it, with - from what I can tell - all of the good, high end TVs now being "smart". I really wish the trend was TVs becoming less smart, more like a monitor than a computer, especially now that TV "pucks" like Apple TV, Roku, etc are gaining popularity.

> I really wish the trend was TVs becoming less smart How so? Ever since I switched to a Smart TV I pretty much removed all other boxes that were standing around. My Samsung solves all the problems I had separate boxes for before. The only thing that is still connected is a PS4.

Witha smart tv I have to fight that tech, and all the other tech, to get it to do the reasonably simple task of "display the image".

Let me chose the smart box I want, and be the best dumb display for that box you can be, rather than giving me a bunch of poorly engineered over-expensive cruft that I neither want nor need.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#18

Post by striking »

The UI is (almost) just like any other on a Smart TV. Okay. Strikes me as somewhat unimaginative.

Also, the Dashboard is a separate app. Like, um, in a car, right? Just like the radio and temperature controls are away from the user, so they have to look away from the road (their focus) to access it, right? Right.

What this UX actually needs, instead of being an app menu that can access TV or whatever, is TV-centric design. It needs a focus. Provide a viewport that apps can draw to, and allow switching of apps without having to "look away" from the content.

Folder tabs? Search? (Please don't add a) favorites menu? They're all acceptable ways to provide apps to users, but this is none of them.

You must be forgetting that most people use TVs for the video content. I'm not saying "oh, get rid of YouTube and Netflix," I'm saying "constrain yourself to video output because no one really cares about the web on a TV box." Yeah, cool, you can go to webpages that have totally broken design and are totally illegible on TV (hi, HN!). I mean, an RSS reader makes sense, because then the TV (and thus, the user) has control of how the content's displayed. But "FF on TV" sounds like a really bad idea to me, because the Web sucks on anything that isn't a computer.

> The usage of applications on smart TV is getting huge, and it needs an re-framing of the UI structure to make the application as important as TV channels, and as input sources.

No, it isn't. No, it doesn't. Unless you mean you're going to make my Netflix another channel just like Fox News, which would be pretty nice. But that differs in the fact that Netflix is a video focused application that acts a lot like a channel or something. But that means you had better add a unified UI for video playback. Netflix and YouTube and everything should share the same UI widgets.

A dashboard that can be activated on command is cute and can possibly be a good idea. Like, maybe show it for a moment during that period where the TV is adjusting to a new signal or something to allow the user to peek at it by default so they can see alerts ("hey, Hillary Clinton's running for Pres! I need to pull up the CNN Channel!"), and then allow them to later press a button to show a dashboard that doesn't force them out of their content. But if you push them out of the content, the illusion is broken. It's no longer a TV, it's a computer. A big, complicated computer, with lots of little nodes in its huge and complex menu. And only us nerds want that, because us nerds like intricate and complex things. (there's nothing wrong with catering to nerds, but I don't think that this is supposed to be directed towards them, because they could just as easily grab a Raspberry Pi and load up XBMC on it without having to invent their own new flavor of Linux)

PS: adding a focus means your UI will be necessarily shallow. It will force you to get creative when you want to get complex in writing a good UI. Snapchat, for example, has a focus on the camera. Swipe from the left, you get your incoming Snaps. Swipe from the right, you get your Stories. Swipe from the top to see stuff about you and your settings. And that's the extent to which anyone uses Snapchat.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#19

Post by roxmon »

jonathansizz wrote: post #5

While it wasn't difficult to understand what the author was trying to say, I found this post jarring to read. Surely Mozilla have native English speakers who can at least edit their blog posts? Anything that goes out to the public affects Mozilla's reputation, and should therefore be taken seriously.

Agree 100%. The first line:

> Firefox OS for TV is a new direction that base on the vision of Connected Home from Mozilla.

I mean, c'mon. It's hard to take the post seriously when they didn't even bother to proof-read.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#20

Post by pcardoso »

untog wrote: post #14
kaolinite wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel that the grid of icons works great for the TV but the problem is the unimaginative remote control. Instead of a plastic remote with arrow buttons, a better solution is using a phone or tablet which shows a UI based on what is on the screen. You tap through apps on the phone and pick what you want to watch. Then, you hit play and it starts showing on the screen. TVs aren't really great for interacting with - so…

The battery life on that would be awful, though. I can use my remote without looking at it or needing to charge it for months upon months on end.

You could have a e-ink based remote with some hardware buttons for the most common functions. The battery life could be good enough. I have a small project based on this.
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