Issues faced by vision-impaired users of interactive TV search facilities

This paper reports two studies of digital television users. The first study investigates the behaviour of non-impaired users to understand typical usage patterns and problem-solving, attempting three representative tasks using a digital television terrestrial receiver. Videos were analysed to identify problem incidents and attempts at recovery. Patterns observed included misidentifying handset menu options leading to extended guessed action, repeated misspecification of task and repeated re-performance to confirm actions. The results show that interaction with Digital TV in its current handset-based form involves considerable reactive action specification and corrective action, suggesting that interaction endemically difficult for those with various levels of low vision. The second study, a less formal probe of users with visual impairments, suggests that even users with relatively mild visual impairments may struggle with current two-device interaction. However, suitable strategies for supporting vision impaired users may as much to do with user preferences rather than simply accessibility. We conclude by discussing the efficacy of current two-device interaction support and possible future directions.

© Copyright is held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM. (2017). This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive Version of Record was published in ACSW '17 Proceedings of the Australasian Computer Science Week Multiconference, http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3014812.3014824

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