IPTV provider sees motion control interface as key to customer retention
Editor ©RapidTVNews | 04-01-2011
Trying to plug what many see as a growing gap in the complexity of IPTV services and the ability to interact effectively with them, Free, who claims to be the world's leading IPTV service provider, is deploying Movea's MotionIC technologies in next generation remote controls that will come with the new Freebox set-top box (STB).
The new technologies are designed to combine motion control and gesture recognition to provide a more immersive, intuitive user experience that puts users in the driver's seat for new interactive IPTV services.
Movea's MotionIC motion sensing technology is designed to enables remotes that detect hand movements and use motion to control the position of the pointer on screen. This is designed to enhance user experiences, making them more interactive, intuitive and, hopefully says Free, fun. The MotionIC platform also supports gesture recognition; such as a flick up to increase volume, a flick down to decrease volume, a flick to the right to change channel etc. Such gestures could potentially enable manufacturers to reduce the number of buttons on the remote.
"We saw very early on that smart TVs need smart remotes," explained Maxime Lombardini, CEO of ILIAD, Free’s parent, explaining the need to improve the customer interface. "Traditional remote designs with button-based navigation quickly become limiting and insufficient as we move towards the richer and more complex entertainment experience that IPTV enables. Movea's MotionIC technology makes this complex entertainment experience as simple and intuitive to navigate on a TV as it is on a computer. Motion opens up a whole new way of interacting with content, drives adoption of new value added services, such as games delivered through the STB, and will provide an enhanced customer experience that drives subscriber loyalty."
Such loyalty is increasingly vital for IPTV providers. Free quotes a Strategy Analytics survey calculating that 13% of current pay-TV are "somewhat" or "very" likely to cancel their current subscription in the next twelve months with no intention of moving to another provider. The driving force for this trend is that more and more consumers are accessing digital entertainment online by streaming high definition content to their Internet connected TV and providing easier access to varied content could well be an important response by providers.
"High-quality digital entertainment content is exploding online," added Sam Guilaume, CEO of Movea. "In parallel, we also see a high growth in shipments of new Internet-enabled, connected TVs. These two trends will work together to change the way people access content and use remote controls. TV manufacturers and service providers are realising that the remote control is more important than ever as a means to touch the customer. "
