VRT-medialab

How did users experience the second screen application VillaSquare that was launched specifically for the popular één programme Villa Vanthilt? Do they consider it a successful tool for interactive television and community-building? These and other research issues were examined by IBBT-SMIT in the study on VillaSquare that IBBT-SMIT has carried out for VRT-medialab. The results suggest that differentiation towards specific target groups will be needed when further developing such services.

Authors: Koen Willaert, Ike Picone & Bram Lievens

The study is only available in Dutch and can be downloaded here.

With smartphones and tablets becoming more prevalent, VRT-medialab and VRT’s user research department have entrusted Synovate with a study on the interest of the Flemish consumer for these devices and the role they will play in the multi screen story. Moreover, the Synovate researchers have investigated the Flemish viewing habits in the context of digital TV and Internet. The results of the survey are based on the input of 303 Internet users and 255 tablet users.

The presentation is only available in Dutch, but for the English speakers we have listed the most important conclusions below:

Smartphones
The smartphone is no longer a must for only business people and politicians. The number of Flemings that own a smartphone is constantly rising. One out of four of the interviewees has such a device, which he mainly uses for calling, sending smses, managing his agenda, surfing on the Internet, listening to music and e-mailing. Only a minority of the smartphone owners has downloaded apps on his device.

Tablets
One and a half year after the first iPad was launched, the tablet PC still is a niche product. Only 2,5% of the users that took part in the survey owns a tablet. Remarkable is that almost all the tablet owners are happy or even very happy with their device. One out of three owners even wouldn’t want to live without it anymore.

Apps and second screen applications
While apps seem to be inextricably linked to the tablet PC, the smartphone users that took part in the survey are not yet convinced of their use. The latter rather consider apps as “gadgets”. The tablet users more easily download apps, even if they have to pay for them. The general population has little knowledge of second screen applications.

One out of five interviewees is aware of the existence of second screen applications, but cannot explain what they really are about. The tablet users are more familiar with and interested in second screen applications. Due to the little supply of second screen apps so far, the use of second screen applications still is restricted. However, about half of the interviewees are open to using them in the future.

Digital TV, online video and Facebook
Three quarters of the participants in the survey have digital TV. Thanks to the pause and rewind buttons and the ease with which programmes are recorded, digital TV is growing. Two thirds of the interviewees sometimes use their laptop, smartphone or tablet while watching TV or are reading a magazine or news paper. About half of the interviewees sometimes watch videos on the Internet while not more than 5% of them watch TV programmes online. Almost 80% is signed up to a social network site, however mostly passively. Facebook is the leader here.

VillaSquare, one of the latest exploits of the VRT-medialab MediaSquare and MediaCRM teams, is a purpose-built platform for the popular live één-television program “Villa Vanthilt”. This platform is in many ways a pioneering project and has received numerous positive feedback. VRT-medialab was therefore very proud to present this project at IBC.

After signing up, TV-viewers could join the conversation and comment on the topics brought up during the program. The viewers could also join the VillaSquare forum and leave questions for the guests, upload pictures and movies and voice their opinion by means of a poll. Furthermore, the 360° camera offered them a look around the Villa.

Furthermore, VillaSquare is the place for TV-producers to get an insight in the TV-audience: Who is posting comments on which topic? Which province debates a live performance the most? Does Thor Hushovd stir up more reactions from the female TV-audience than the male viewers?

View an extract of the demo that was shown at IBC:

Broadcasters and production companies are facing new technological challenges after the transition from tape- to file-based workflows. New business opportunities invite programme makers to tell their stories on multiple distribution platforms, but they lack the tools and platforms to do so efficiently. Furthermore, production platforms should exert the flexibility offered by consumerization and cloud models.

At IBC VRT-medialab demonstrated the pilot of the CHAMP platform, which has been designed, implemented and tested iteratively in cooperation with the Belgian production company Sputnik TV. CHAMP is a technology platform which offers programme makers fit-for-purpose cloud web apps. These web apps enable programme makers to collaborate anywhere anytime by using consumer devices such as the tablet.

A set of innovative platform web apps was developed in the framework of a real-life VRT documentary “Tournée Générale”, produced in cooperation with production house Sputnik TV. In essence, the goal of the applications is to capture information when and where it is available so it can be shared with other members of the team and repurposed in different applications and production steps.

During IBC, the CHAMP pilot platform has generated lots of positive feedback from programme makers. Some even suggested additional apps for the platform. Furthermore CHAMP seems to be complementary with the innovative “Portable Production Tools” BBC project.

View the demo on the use case “Tournée Générale” that was shown at IBC:

During IBC, project leader Peter Defreyne was interviewed
by Broadcast Engineering.

*Also tested on humans

A well-deserved pat on the back for VRT-medialab! The VRT live-programme “Ook getest op Mensen”  (VRT - Het Televisiehuis) won a lot of praise for its contemporary and innovative format during the EBU Creative Forum in Berlin on 12 September 2011. The jury was extremely impressed with some of the innovative applications which resulted from the successful cooperation between the programme makers and VRT-medialab’s internet team.

The exceptional strength of this application consists in the fact that it is developed in HTML5 thus making it compatible with different types of tablet-PCs and smartphones. These and similar applications are often defined as second screen applications because of their compatibility with PC-tablets and smartphones – devices which are more and more often being used as “second screen” whilst watching TV.

For the live TV-programme “Ook getest op mensen”, VRT-medialab developed two second screen applications. The first application, (diabetes test), aimed at determining the risk of developing diabetes type 2. As much as 30.307 TV-viewers participated in the test, of which 10% used a smartphone or a PC-tablet. The second application test developed by VRT-medialab focused on the power of perception and the reliability of eyewitnesses.  Alike the diabetes test, this eyewitness test could be carried out on both a smartphone and a PC-tablet as well as on a PC. 

These applications enabled the programme makers to disclose the test results in a quick and easily accessible way. In this context, a dozen members of the audience acquired a tablet-PC to carry out the test.  Furthermore, the viewers at home could also take part in the test by means of a URL which was announced during the programme. The test results of both the studio audience as the viewers at home were processed in real-time and discussed during the TV-programme.

An extract of the “Ook getest op mensen” episode featuring the eyewitness test can be viewed here:

Additional information on both the diabetes and eyewitness test is available in the paper “Social Network Platform” (published in the framework of the 2011 IBC Conference of 8 to 13 September in Amsterdam ). Download this paper.