A Set Top Box interface that, besides functioning as a normal Set Top Box, is also ‘smart and social’. The Concept gives the user experience of watching TV with friends while being alone at home. USP- Cheer/Jeer.

My social TV is a socially enabled STB solution. The Interface targets people's need to watch programs on TV that their friends are watching, to know which programs are popular without wasting time browsing, and the need to watch TV with people/company rather than alone. The Interface not just targets the common needs of regular TV watchers intuitively, but also targets the needs of business-class/busy people who go to work and do not watch TV a lot, but do like to pass the time watching TV whenever they are home and free. Bad TV UX has been frustrating to users, as it wastes a lot of time. Users end up switching channels endlessly without finding anything worthwhile, or find something worth watching but too late, while the user just wants to relax and unwind, and ends up feeling more drained.

Context (2011 Reality):
No mature smart TV or OTT ecosystem, STBs had limited processing power and input methods, the remote control was the primary interaction device, no means of Text input on TV, limited real-time connectivity, and no social infrastructure.

Main features that give this STB a competitive edge over the competition-

Alphabetical Search:
The interface makes channel browsing simpler with alphabetical search right there on the application. Based on user behaviour insight- People who watch TV a lot remember the numbers of their favorite channels, but people who watch less frequently have trouble finding the channel they want to watch. Normally, they know the name of a particular channel that they like but cannot remember the number. They know they want to see an English movie, and they could watch it on StarMovies, but then they have to search for it, which is cumbersome and frustrating.

Menu:
The user can see a spreadsheet of channels according to categories they belong to, like movies, music channels, Spiritual, etc., or according to patterns, or according to favorites, or recommendations by friends, or most viewed channels with live content on the preview panel. Based on the user behaviour insight - People want to know what else they could watch without leaving the current show/channel, but end up wasting time just browsing endlessly. If they leave the channel, then finding it again is also painful if it was a lucky find. This gives the user control and an easier way to browse, maintaining a connection with the current program, a peripheral watching.

Pattern Recognition and Creation:
The interface is Smart and learns the pattern of channel watching. Based on user behaviour insight - Generally, people can recall between 2 channels with a remote control, but people often watch three or four programs simultaneously. Usually, housewives who are accustomed to watching many serials, but because of the paucity of time, they have to juggle between telecasts and retelecasts of different programs at the same time. The STB learns the pattern and shifts the channels next to one another.

My Social TV:
The user can add people as friends who have subscribed to the same service, and are visible(enabled visibility) to be added in order to know what their friends recommend, their favorite channels, and what they view most. The user can recommend channels to friends and make the information visible to them. Based on user behaviour insight - Busy people don't have go to shows/channels but discover them generally through friends who have already watched them and recommend, so they don't end up wasting time watching something uninteresting and half-watched.

Cheer/Jeer(USP):
The user can comment/say something while a program is running to their friends, which will be visible on their screens. Based on User behaviour insight - In research I saw women talking constantly about what they are feeling about the serial they are watching, guys watching cricket matches together with friends going as far as arranging a room and TV so that they could watch it with friends and constantly shouting and showing excitement, Even on facebook itself people are updating scores and commenting what they feel about it as they watch while the match is still on. Cheer/Jeer lets people cheer for what they like and criticize what they don't,t and can feel like they are not watching TV alone but with their friends. The feature gives a sense of watching TV as a social and community bonding activity.

Preview plane:
The Interface provides a live preview of the next and previous channels. People want to stay on the same channel and want to know what else is there, so that if they do not find something else interesting to watch, they have not missed their current program. The user can see through peripheral vision and listen to what is going on while staying on the same channel, while browsing others through the preview plane, and can switch channels if found something else interesting.

The USP Cheer/Jeer is achieved by connecting a mobile phone with the STB with the help of a very simple Application, which includes just a textbox and a keypad, and whatever a user types in gets typed in the textbox for Cheer/Jeer on the TV screen.

The project was not just a UI solution, but a multi-device system:
TV: Content + display layer
Remote: Navigation control
Mobile: Input + interaction layer

In this context, I designed around real constraints, without ideal conditions. Introduced second-screen interaction before it became mainstream without overloading the system. Brought social behavior into a non-social platform, bringing real-life user behavior into a digital platform, effectively addressing needs. Balanced innovation with feasibility, without complicating the system, effectively reducing cognitive load and making the system usable.

The process:
Domain(Social media) Exploration, Primary research with in-depth interviews with the target users and Observations, Conceptualisation, ended with a low Fidelity Paper Prototype.