Analyses summary

 

Things most people have in common:

• Downloaden Films/muziek, streamen via online services

• Laptop of harddisk is the main media collection point

• Reasons to buy new media device:

    o Integration of possibilities/function

    o Better quality

    o Mobile

• More use of internet services

• TV usage mainly for traditional programming tv

• Users first read reviews before buying new stuff

• Laptop all-round media device

• Music is the top category of media

• Movies are less important than music

• Send photos of Home Media Environment interpretation showing only media devices

• Watching TV differs per person

 

Things that makes an individual unique:

• CD’s, DVD’s and vinyl are still wanted

• “I download more movie than music, since I can easily stream music nowadays”

• TV is almost superfluous

• All media is becoming digital vs combination physical media and digital media

• Home Media Environment is interpreted as the accessibility of media at home.

• Home Media Environment is interpreted as the place where you enjoy your media

• Watching TV is combined with other activities

• Reading the newspaper on Sunday morning

• Smartphone acts as a social media device

• Music combination with other activities

 

Question that I came up with during the analyses:

• Why do CD’s and vinyl stay important?

• Is the possibility of media services easier/better/more accessible/bigger?

• What is the access to people’s main media storage?

• Is your TV connected with your main media storage device?

• To what do you pay attention when watching reviews?

• Is watching movies a social experience?

• Why are movies getting less important?

• Is watching a movie location dependent to have a good experience?

• What is your opinion towards downloading?

• How would you describe your access of films and tv-shows?

Evaluation per wish

 

Collection:

 

1.

Ik wil een mooie en inzichtelijke media collectie (online en offline) kunnen bijhouden, waarin ik (of eventueel meedere gebruikers) media kan toevoegen

 

Translated:

I want to maintain a nice looking and insightful media collection (online and offline), in which I (or possible other users) simply have to add media.

 

Reflection

There is a lot of difference between users whether they think this is important. Only for a few users this is really important. These users expect a lot better then the current situation, but Smallplayer does provide a small improvement here. Yet on average it is perceived as neutral.

 

Conclusion

Whether people want an insightful media collection is very personal, also on how they want to arrange this. It seems that a home media environment show allow the freedom to do create this with your own requirements.

 

2.

Ik wil de media collectie van vrienden kunnen bekijken (en kunnen afspelen)

 

Translated:

I want to be able to view the media collection of friends (and play from this collection in my own system).

 

Reflection

People’s opinions are quite neutral on this topic. Notable is the decrease in experience score between past and current situation. Smallplayer does not provide this functionality and this explains probably why Smallplayer received minus points on this matter.

 

Conclusion

This wish came from one test subject and we can conclude that no others would care for this. Thus we can leave this wish out in the future.

 

3.

Ik wil een "nog te bekijken" collectie kunnen bijhouden via diensten of vrienden waarvan ik film/serie suggesties krijg. Een overzicht van hiervan is zichtbaar via mijn media systeem

 

Translation:

I want to collect media that I want to watch in the future through services or friends from who I get recommendations. An overview of this collection should be visible in my media system.

 

Reflection

Users see the benefits of this feature. Yet the assessment whether Smallplayer is an improvement in this case differs between each user. On average Smallplayer shows an improvement here, but maybe some users already had a better method on how to do this. This is interesting to find out. Still on average the situation before they used Smallplayer is perceived as negative.

 

Conclusions

Integrating this user wish into a media environment interface is a good idea. The question that remains is how to integrate this.

 

4.

Ik wil dat ik de media in mijn "nog te bekijken" collectie direct kan afspelen via mijn media systeem

 

Translation:

I want to play the media that I select in my “still to watch” collection directly from my media system.

 

Reflection

This wish is perceived as more important than the previous one. Also Smallplayer shows a larger improvement on this part. This larger improvement has probably to do with the fact that Smallplayer generally can play media quite directly compared to the previous home media environment of the users. This can be seen in a later topic of the evaluation. We can categorize this feature as the ease of use, which scores generally high already in the evaluation, obviously.

 

Conclusion

Although the ease of use is obviously perceived as very wanted by all users, it does show a specific direction how to integrate this within a home media environment. If users can collect media that they want to watch in the future through all kinds of channels, then this media should be available to play directly from your media system.

 

5.

Ik wil kunnen zien welke films (of afleveringen van een serie) ik al eerder heb bekeken.

 

Translation

I want to be able to see which films or tv-shows I have already watched.

 

Reflection

The users find this feature important and Smallplayer provides an improvement in this context by a colored dot indicating whether you have watched the movie or not or have not yet seen all of it. It is known that for some users this feature didn’t work on their Smallplayer, hence the negative assessment of this experience.

 

Conclusions

This relatively simple feature is a good idea to integrate an a home media environment. Details such as for what kind of media is this needed and how should this work remain undiscovered.

 

 

Availability:

 

6.

Ik wil de meest recente films, series en muziek gelijk beschikbaar op mijn media systeem

 

Translation:

I want the most recent films, tv-shows and music immediately available on my media system.

 

Reflection

Availability scores highest between all categories of media use. There are not many reasons to think of why you would not want all media available, but the evaluation shows that the users actually value this very much. In this case the availability of recent media scores high as well. The experience without scores not so well, while the situation with Smallplayer scores well. Since media in general (especially music) becomes more and more available for every type of user, it seems logical that the availability of media for the television such as films is the next trend.

 

Conclusion

Smallplayer is on the good track, but can improve the availability still. Since the evaluation shows people find this important and since the trend of media development values availability much as well, it is good to focus on improving and integrating this in home media environments.

 

7.

In mijn systeem wil ik de mogelijkheid om direct te kunnen zoeken naar beschikbare online media (dus ook films/muziek) en om dit gelijk af te spelen

 

Translation:

I want the possibility to search for available online media on my media system and play this selection immediately.

 

Reflection

This wish is basically the most general form of total availability and the scores on this topic shows that this is indeed a trend. Users show that they really want access to whatever media they want and right at that moment. Since every single user suggested this wish it was no surprise this wish would score high in importance. It also shows that Smallplayer is on the right track here. We pushed the feature of searching for film or tv-shows online to the very front of the interface. The scores show that there is a lot of improved experience between the situation with and without Smallplayer. Some users downloaded films before, but think Smallplayer still provides a big improvement in how these films are available. Yet got comments that this feature should work faster and more consistent, since not every search worked.

 

Conclusion

Home media environment should have an easy accessible feature to find all kind of media online and on demand. This should be in the very front of the interface and it should work fast and well arranged. With Smallplayer we are on the right track, but we can pay more attentions to way this service works and offers content. In general this feature should be a requirement for every interaction device within a home media environment.

 

 

Integration

 

8.

Ik wil dat al mijn media apparaten (wanneer gewenst) draadloos aan elkaar verbonden kunnen zijn.

 

Translation:

I want that all my media devices can be connected wireless if needed.

 

Reflection

There are a lot of different opinions about this topic whether people find a wireless connection important or not. This is probably because everybody has a different home environment with therefore different needs. In some cases a wireless connection between devices can be really convenient while for some it doesn’t matter. Interesting already during the interviews was that some users didn’t mind much the extra action they had to undertake to connect for example their smartphone to a wire.

Smallplayer shows a small improvement here, which is logical since this device makes a lot of wireless connections possible. Again the judgment on this part depends on the home situation of the users.

 

Conclusion

It is a personal thing whether people specifically want all their devices connected wireless, while from a developer’s perspective this is often an open door. Yet, people do appreciate if the availability of a wireless connection is there.

 

9.

Ik wil via alle media apparaten die ik thuis gebruik (ook tv), toegang tot mijn gehele media collectie

 

Translation:

I want access to my complete media collection via all the media devices I use at home (also the TV).

 

Reflection

On average there is positive response on this topic, yet Smallplayer does not really improve the situation according to the test users. Although technically it is very well possible to achieve this wish with Smallplayer for the television, it might be that it is too hard for the users to actually do so in the interface.

 

Conclusion

The users do like this feature. Since Smallplayer wasn’t able to score a significant difference between the two tested situations, it is hard to say how an improvement in this context can be made. This can be clarified in a study to go into depth in this topic.

 

10.

Ik wil via alle media apparaten die ik thuis gebruik (ook tv), toegang tot de online media services waar ik gebruik van maak (zoals spotify, netflix, youtube, nu.nl)

 

Translation:

I want access to the online media service that I often use (like spotify, netflex, youtube, nu.nl) via all the media devices I use at home.

 

Reflection

The users responded basically the same on this wish as the wish before, but with more consistency in how much they find this wish important.

 

Conclusion

The users do like this feature. Since Smallplayer wasn’t able to score a significant difference between the two tested situations, it is hard to say how an improvement in this context can be made. This can be clarified in a study to go into depth in this topic.

 

11.

Ik wil alle online media services waar ik gebruik van maak aan elkaar verbinden. Zodat ik bijvoorbeeld rechtstreeks van IMDB kan een film starten, vanuit mijn film collectie gelijk een trailer kan bekijken via youtube of dat mijn muziek collectie automatisch wordt aangevult met muziek uit mijn Shazam tags.

 

Translation:

I want to connect all the online media services that I use. For example, so that I can start a movie directly from IMDB, that I can watch a trailer from Youtube from my media library or that my music collection automatically is filled with music from my Shazam tags.

 

Reflection

This wish seems to be very personal as well. Some find this really important to have, some do not. Since it also depends on which media services people use, the question how this can be integrated in a home media environment cannot be answered yet. What is visible, is that users do not have a good experience before they used Smallplayer in this context. The extend in which Smallplayer provides an improvement on whatsoever differs from user to user.

 

Conclusion

For some users this is a strong wish. It is also very difficult to integrate in a system because of the personal nature of the wish. That such a feature should be integrated is clear, because of the generally negative experience users are heaving now. So the question remain how. There seems to be two possible ways you can integrate such a feature. Either by making the system compatible with all possible known online services and connect them in some way, or choose a service in each category that you integrate well.

 

12.

Ik wil dat de media die ik online selecteer of heb afgespeeld ook zonder internet verbinding beschikbaar is

 

Translation:

I want that the media that I select online or already played before, is also available without internet connection.

 

Reflection

This topic reflects a not that important wish but still a practical issue that is wanted. Users want their content also offline available so that when they want to play their media outdoor, they shouldn’t have to rely on internet. With Smallplayer this is not possible, hence the more negative experience. This could also refer to the fact that many users had trouble in the speed of the internet, making the interaction with Smallplayer really slow. This could result in the need for offline media as well.

 

Conclusion

This wish is a feature that users would appreciate when this is integrated in their home media system. Spotify is an online music database that already have integrated this in its service. Integrating this for other types of media such as films at would more of a challenge because of the bigger storage that is needed (for current mobile devices).

 

13.

Ik wil dat mijn media systeem onthoudt waar ik ben gestopt met afspelen en daar later weer verder gaat als ik dat wil (of nog een klein stukje van wat ik eerder al gezien heb ter recapitulatie)

 

Translation:

I want that my media system remembers where I stopped watching/listening and continue at this point (or a few seconds back for recapitulation) when a want to continue watching/listening in time.

 

Reflection

Although only two participants of the interview had this wish, almost all users found this feature important. This wish was possible with Smallplayer, but unfortunately it didn’t work during the test period. Therefore there is not improved experience.

 

Conclusion

Since the technological simplicity of integrating this and the convenience it is for the users, we can conclude that every media system should provide such a feature.

 

14.

Ik wil altijd ondertiteling beschikbaar hebben, met de keuze of ik dit aanzet en in welke taal

 

Translation:

I always want subtitels available, with a choice whether I turn it on and in what language.

 

Reflection

This wish was suggested by only one person, yet again almost all users found this feature important. Smallplayer is quite unique in offering such a feature compared to other systems on the market and significance of this is clearly visible. Before users had Smallplayer they had not so good experience with integrating subtitels, while with the use of Smallplayer the users had a good experience. This makes it statistically one of the biggest improvements of all the wishes. We can also state that all these users must also have experience in downloaded movies or tv-shows, since all the “legal” services that nowadays offer movies already have subtitles integrated that you can choose.

 

Conclusion

Having subtitles available is something that you cannot leave out in a home media environment any more. This is not common for people who want to view their downloaded movies or tv-shows on tv and it get very much appreciated to offer a subtitle service also for those files.

 

15.

Ik wil mijn tv puur als beeldscherm voor media gebruiken en de interface/menu's/besturing alleen maar beschikbaar via mijn mobiele apparaten (tablet/smartphone)

 

Translation:

I want to use my television only as an output device for my media and let the interaction for controlling my media take place between me and my mobile devices.

 

Reflection

There is too much difference whether the users find this wish important or want the something else. Also the experience with and without Smallplayer integrated in their home media environment resulted in very diverse results.

 

Conclusion

Because for some users this was an important feature, we cannot just leave it out. We cannot draw any solid conclusions yet either, because the data is to diverse. A more specific study in this subject should bring a better light whether this is a feature that is needed in a home media environment and if so, how.

 

 

Suggestions

 

16.

Ik wil dat mijn media systeem de nieuwste afleveringen van programma's en series die ik volg of wil volgen, automatisch klaar zet om te bekijken, direct wanneer deze beschikbaar zijn.

 

Translation:

I want that my media system automatically shows me the newest episodes of the tv-shows I watch directly when they are available.

 

Reflection

Although this wish originally came from only two users, the majority found this feature very convenient. This feature is integrated into smallplayer, but the result show that the users did not used it, because it is way too complicated to command the system to do so.

 

Conclusion

It is clear that the users would like some intelligence from their home media system to find the content they like for them. Whether this should be on command or automatically, based on the content you already watched, is not yet clear, although the command for the system to do so should not be as hard as it is now on Smallplayer.

 

 

17.

Ik wil dat mijn media systeem mij per periode een kleine selectie films/series/tv-programmas/muziek kan laten zien als suggestie om af te spelen.

 

Translation

I want that my media system can show me a small selection of movies/tv-shows/songs as a suggestion to watch/listen to and which will refresh after a short period of time to show new content.

 

Reflection

The opinions on this topic differ between users, but most of them do prefer this wish. I a way Smallplayer does provide such a feature, since it can show you the newest releases of movies or tv-shows. Yet, there is no improvement in the experience in this context.

 

Conclusion

Although it should not be a priority to focus on this feature if you want to improve the general experience of home media environments, it can still be useful to find out how this feature should be implemented to create a better user experience.

 

18.

Ik wil dat mijn media systeem ontdekt in wat voor stemming ik ben en suggesties doet wat ik kan bekijken/luisteren

 

Translation:

I want that my system recognizes in what mood I am and suggest relevant media to watch or listen to.

 

Reflection

This is a technological advanced wish and has therefor a futuristic characteristic. This would explain the different opinion whether people would like this feature integrated in their system. On average people do not care about this wish or do not want to integrate this in their home environment that much. Since Smallplayer does not has such a feature, the evaluation of the experience is not valuable.

 

Conclusion

From an users perspective this feature is not interesting to continue on.

 

19.

Ik wil dat ik toegang heb tot een muziek stream (zoals radio) die automatisch wordt gevuld door muziek die ik leuk vind

 

Translation:

I want access to a music streaming function that is filled with music that I like.

 

Reflection

Most people think this feature is ok to integrate in their system. Most significant about this topic is that the experience on this matter is already good, but Smallplayer only decreases this experience. Especially some users already had an excellent experience in such a feature, so it is good to find out where and how they used this.

 

Conclusion

This is an interesting direction to do research on, since the users have already a lead in what sort of integration would provide a positive experience.

 

 

Quality of media

 

20.

Ik wil dat alle beschikbare media, online of offline, aan de hoogste vorm van kwaliteit dat mijn media systeem aan kan, moet voldoen.

 

Translation:

I want that all the available media, online and offline, meet the highest quality standards of my media devices.

 

Reflection

The users value high quality much, as the results of the evaluation show a high determined score here. How much users actually value quality is reflected in the media devices they have bought and is therefore hard to subjectively compare between each other. The average improvement in the experienced perception of quality per user is still useful and there is a small improvement to be found here. Yet Smallplayer actually does not offer better quality, compared to devices users have in their home media environment. The improvement must then come from the possibility to finally make use of a more optimal setting within each home media environment. For example, people who downloaded movie have with Smallplayer the possibility to watch this movie in full HD on their television, while before they had to watch it on their laptop.

 

Conclusion

Quality is a need that is always highly valued. Yet the objective value of quality is set by the devices we buy for our home media environment and is therefore technology driven. A good home media environment just has to make sure it uses the same “quality” at all the output devices so the experience of the user (in this context) is overall the same.

 

 

Live Media

 

21.

Bij live streams (zoals radio) wil ik kunnen zien welk nummer/film/programma ik nu luister/bekijk of zojuist heb beluisterd/bekeken

 

Translation

I want to see which song/tv-show I am listening/watching or have listened/watched earlier during live feed (like radio).

 

Reflection

Users find it important to know what song they listen to or show they watch and to be able to see their history of media use. The experience of this feature differs a lot between all the users and it is unclear whether people interpreted the wish differently or they really have such a diverse opinion on this subject.

 

Conclusion

Besides that users agree that this is important we cannot draw any further conclusions on how this should be implemented in the system. A more specific study in this subject should bring a better light how this feature is needed in a home media environment.

 

22.

Ik wil met hetzelfde gemak als bij traditioneel tv kijken, een verrassende selectie van programma's kunnen aanzetten, gebaseerd op mijn interesses. (Zoals bijvoorbeeld actualiteiten, nieuws, reality tv, soaps, etc.)

 

Translation:

I want the option of having a surprising selection of tv-shows based on my interests, with the same ease of use as with watching traditional television. (Interests can be news-shows, reality tv, etc.)

 

Reflection

Almost all users would like to have such an option since they still value the easiness of watching TV. Just a few discard this wish, because they do not value TV. The experience in this context is quite neutral. The values that this wish as based upon come from watching traditional TV. Since watching television is still an available option, it is logical that the experience of these values is neutral as well.

 

Conclusion

The value of TV cannot be underestimated and should not be left out in the development of home media environment. Watching things on demand has a different experience then simply turning on your television. There is no feature on the market that replaces the traditional way of the television yet, but this wish gives valuable direction to explore.

 

 

Other wishes

 

23.

Ik wil geen reclames waarop ik moet wachten om verder te kunnen luisteren/kijken

 

Translation:

I want no commercials on which I have to wait before I can continue to use my media.

 

Reflection

From a user perspective, commercials seem to be the evil that we simply accepted in our experience of using media, since we have no other choice. Every user would rather do without any commercial (that he have to wait for). The experience of Smallplayer (which has no commercials at all) compared with before only confirms this, since it has the highest improvement in experience from all the wishes.

 

Conclusions

Purely for the user experience it would be better not to include commercials in home media environment, at least not the way it is include nowadays. From a business perspective commercials can be an essential money stream. The challenge is to find way of marketing that are not experienced as something negative.

 

 

24.

Ik wil de tijd kunnen zien van wanneer de film/serie die ik afspeel is afgelopen

 

Translation

I want to see the time of when the movie or tv-show I watch is finished.

 

Reflection

User would like this feature, but do not found it that important. Smallplayer has this feature clearly integrated and the users found this a good experience.

 

Conclusion

This feature is simple, but appreciated by users. It will not be a crucial aspect that will convince a user to buy such a system, but it will better the overall experience. Therefore it is advisable to integrate this feature in a home media environment.

 

25.

Ik wil de media die ik nog analoog in mijn collectie heb, kunnen integreren met de mogelijkheden van digitale media en online media services. Zoals bijvoorbeeld de mogelijkheid om deze media ook via smartphone te kunnen beluisteren of te kunnen afspelen via een draadloze verbinding naar mijn media systeem.

 

Translation:

I want to be able to integrate all my physical media with the possibilities of digital media and online media services. For example being able to listing to songs on my smartphone that originally came from my music record collection.

 

Reflection

Remarkable is that the users who still use these types of media, including the one who suggested this wish, do not find this feature that important. Still for a view users who still use physical media, it would be convenient to be able to play this content within their home media environment. Having this media fully integrated in the possibilities of digital media nowadays doesn’t seem so necessary.

 

Conclusion

People with physical media should just be able to play their records or other media within their home media environment. Extra features for these media do not seem necessary.

 

26.

Ik wil films of muziek kunnen aanraden aan mijn vrienden via mijn media system.

 

Translation:

I want to recommend films or music to my friends through my media system.

 

Reflection

It is clearly visible that this is a wish from one person since only he found this feature important. Yet other users do like is as well, but considering the experience scores they do not really care whether this feature exists or not.

 

Conclusion

This feature is optional to integrate within a home media environment, but is currently not a crucial element that has some influence on the general experience of the system.