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Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

blog.mozilla.org

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Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#41

Post by zippergz »

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…

I think this is something that's better on paper than in practice. I have apps for controlling almost everything that happens on my TV, and the only time I prefer it is when I need to type in some long string of text. Otherwise I'll pick up the hardware remote every time.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#42

Post by dangrossman »

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…

Samsung and LG smart TVs both come with what's essentially a Wiimote as a remote control. It's a motion sensor that controls a pointer on the screen like a mouse.

http://i.imgur.com/XEn3vBk.jpg

Note the overlay over the TV image, and the salmon colored pointer near the vudu icon. No grid and no directional arrows.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#43

Post by danudey »

dangrossman wrote: post #42
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…

Samsung and LG smart TVs both come with what's essentially a Wiimote as a remote control. It's a motion sensor that controls a pointer on the screen like a mouse. http://i.imgur.com/XEn3vBk.jpg Note the overlay over the TV image, and the salmon colored pointer near the vudu icon. No grid and no directional arrows.

A friend of mine has an LG Smart TV with one of these things, and it's completely awful. When he was staying with us for a week and realized that my remote would control his TV, he immediately went and bought one off the internet so he wouldn't have to use it.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#44

Post by callahad »

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.

> Surely Mozilla have native English speakers who can at least edit their blog posts?

Certainly, but we also try to let teams and individuals operate fairly autonomously, and I believe our open, honest humanity is one of our greatest strengths as both a global community and as a company.

Let's put this in context, though: This isn't a press release, nor is https://blog.mozilla.org/ux/ a press channel. Rather, it's someone openly sharing the UX team's ongoing work on their team blog, much the same as you'll find at https://blog.mozilla.org/creative/ or https://blog.mozilla.org/services/. Could Shiqi's posts have used a pass by a native English speaker? Certainly. But I'm happy to be part of an organization that shares openly at the occasional cost of mistranslations.

Plus, I'm sure the UX team will learn from this and adjust their review process accordingly. :)

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#46

Post by cpeterso »

dangrossman wrote: post #42
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…

Samsung and LG smart TVs both come with what's essentially a Wiimote as a remote control. It's a motion sensor that controls a pointer on the screen like a mouse. http://i.imgur.com/XEn3vBk.jpg Note the overlay over the TV image, and the salmon colored pointer near the vudu icon. No grid and no directional arrows.

I read (but can't find the article now) about the internal fights about LG smart TV UI. The webOS team created the simple UI that shipped. LG's design teams hated it because they had bonus incentives such that managers would get bigger bonuses the more widgets their teams shipped. The webOS design won mostly because it was done in time for CES. I think there are some good product lessons there. :)

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#47

Post by danudey »

zippergz wrote: post #41
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…

I think this is something that's better on paper than in practice. I have apps for controlling almost everything that happens on my TV, and the only time I prefer it is when I need to type in some long string of text. Otherwise I'll pick up the hardware remote every time.

Having an entire app to do this would be a huge pain in the ass. Having an iOS widget thingie would be nice, at least for play/pause/up/down/left/right, would be handy for when I don't want to reach for the remote, but switching away from Two Dots just to choose an input is a hassle if the app takes more than a second or two to load.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#48

Post by jonathansizz »

callahad wrote: post #44
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.

> Surely Mozilla have native English speakers who can at least edit their blog posts? Certainly, but we also try to let teams and individuals operate fairly autonomously, and I believe our open, honest humanity is one of our greatest strengths as both a global community and as a company. Let's put this in context, though: This isn't a press release, nor is https://blog.mozilla.org/ux/ a press channel. Rather, it's so…

It's great that you encourage your team to communicate with the outside world, but that communication would be more effective in this case if it had been edited (and I mean edited - thanks for keeping the marketing department out of it). It looks like all your blogs combined have only a few posts per month, so this shouldn't be a particularly onerous task.

Keep up the good work.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#49

Post by listic »

I wonder if Mozilla is in communication with Matchstick.tv developers? http://www.matchstick.tv/ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/matchstick/matchstick-t...

Matchstick developers have gathered quite a lot of support for their croudfunding campaign, by promising an open software and hardware TV streaming stick due this February, and for a low price ($16+). Then, come February, they pissed off the vast majority of their supporters by suddenly announcing the 6-month delay in favor of things like hardware upgrade and DRM support, which none of their backers actually asked for. If it turns out that they were not in communication with Mozilla and their vision for Firefox OS TV's is incoherent with Mozilla's, then this project will truly end up a poor application of users' money and trust, bordering on a scam. Actually, a lot of supporters have lost faith in crowdfunding, and, presumably, Firefox OS, as it is; demanding their money back - not that Kickstarter supports it, after the project's been funded.

Re: Firefox OS for TV: UX Overview

#50

Post by lighthawk »

It looks good, and don't want to shoot down the UI, but here are some suggestions:

In regard to pictures 4 and 5, Roku tried the fully horizontal menu for a while, but wasn't great. It's too limiting. Think about using a vertical left and a grid right like they do. It fits more and given the right control, works pretty well to navigate, even if it isn't the prettiest.

And, if you only do one thing, remember the rule of simplification and reduce the number of visual elements required to convey the same information. Examples...

In picture 6, you shouldn't need icons strawn about the window left, right, and bottom. All kinds of space wasted for no apparent reason.

In picture 7, just say no to the advertisement looking things in the top bar and the useless title and description at top. If you must get their attention, make them go through a screen to have full attention on your singular announcement. Don't make noise.

In picture 8, having the blue under each black and white icon is a little distracting, and the text and icons have features too small to read or recognize easily.

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