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10-foot user interface

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XBMC Media Center (PM3.HD skin) home screen user interface, showing an example of a 10-foot user interface design

In computing a 10-foot user interface (also sometimes referred to as "10-foot UI", "10-foot interface", "10-foot experience", or "10-foot design") is a software GUI (graphical user interface) designed for display on a large television (or similar sized screen) with interaction using a regular television-style remote control.[1][2][3]

"10-foot" refers to the fact that the GUI's elements—i.e. menus, buttons, text fonts, and so on—are theoretically ergonomically large enough to read easily at a distance of 10 feet (3 m) from the display (which in this context is normally a large-screen television). To avoid distractions and to be more clear, 10 foot UIs also tend to be very simple and usually only have the minimum core buttons.[4][5]

Typical examples of popular 10-foot user interfaces are HTPC (Home theater PC) media center software applications such as Google TV, MediaPortal, XBMC, Windows Media Center and Front Row / Apple TV interfaces, but most other Smart TV and set-top boxes devices and software with interactive television interfaces also belong in this category.[6][7][8][9] In 2010, Hillcrest Labs released the Kylo browser, which is a web browser optimized for television use, which features a 10-foot user interface.[10][11]

Overview

Common setting for the 10-foot user interface is a home theater or living room with surround sound speaker setup. The distance between viewer and TV varies, but is typically 10-feet with a 32" or larger big-screen television display.

10-foot user interfaces are used by devices or software applications dedicated to its user interface being displayed on a television. Television here is defined to be a typical living room television experience, meaning displayed on a big screen, where the user is sitting far away from it, and the dominant form of input will be something like a D-pad on a remote control, (with only up, down, left, and right buttons), not through touch or mouse.[12]

"Ten foot" is used to differentiate the GUI style from those used on desktop computer screens, which typically assume the user's eyes are less than two feet (60 cm) from the display. The 10-foot GUI is almost always designed to be operated by a hand-held remote control. The 10-foot user interface has extra large buttons with menu fonts that are easily read and navigated.[13][14]

This difference in distance has a huge impact on the interface design compared to typical desktop computer interaction when the user is sitting at a desk with a computer monitor, and using a mouse and keyboard (or perhaps a joystick device for video games) which is sometimes referred to as a "2-foot user interface". Ten-foot interfaces may resemble other post-WIMP systems graphically, due to a similar paucity of pixels, but do not assume the use of a touch screen.[15][16]

The goal of 10-foot user interface design is to make the user's interaction as simple and efficient as possible, with as few button presses as possible while still having an intuitive layout, in terms of accomplishing user goals—what is often called user-centered design. Good user interface design facilitates finishing the task at hand without drawing unnecessary attention to itself. Graphic design may be utilized to support its usability, however the design process must balance technical functionality and visual elements (e.g., mental model) to create a system that is not only operational but also usable and adaptable to changing user needs.[17]

Common design guidelines

Here are a few user interface engineering design guidelines which should be considered when designing an interactive 10-foot user interface for a more lean back television experience, compared to a 2-foot user interface for a computer screen.[5][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28]

Utilize industrial design concepts and a engineering design process to combine applied art and applied science in order improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of the product, which will also improve the product's marketability and functionality. As the role of an industrial designer is to create and execute design solutions for problems of form, usability, physical ergonomics, marketing, brand development, and sales.

  • Platform appropriateness - Be able to appropriate match limitations of CPU-speed, RAM-size, and Disk Load Times of the system running the software, as well as the Contrast, Font Size, Scalability, and Color of the display screen that the GUI will be shown on.
  • User input and Navigation – Support for a standard remote, which is the generally preferred input device for a 10-foot GUI. Alternatively, if the GUI is for a video game console, then the user should be able to control the menus via the primary game input device. Object-oriented user interface design with Post-WIMP and WIMP (WIMP stands for "window, icon, menu, pointing device") are used for general representation of objects that can be interacted with, and context menu and on screen virtual keyboard are used as a deeper level of UI elements when more verbose input is needed , instead of requiring an external keyboard or mouse.
  • Display and Design – Regardless of the video output device, at a range of 10 feet skin it is very important that the look and feel of all fonts and UI graphics are large enough for comfortable readability (anti-aliased fonts will generally offer better readability). Check size of all graphical user interface elements, avoid single-pixel thick horizontal lines or static UI elements with single-pixel detail as older televisions and low-resolution displays may simply not display such fine detail, and content will flicker if running on an interlaced display mode since a single row of pixels will be visible only half the time.[29]
  • Installation and Miscellaneous – The 10-foot experience places the display across the room from the user, and therefore anything that requires the user to physically interact with the interface and forces the user to get up and cross the room should be avoided.

Software and devices

Examples of a few common and popular 10-foot user interfaces are dedicated video media players such as for example Apple TV and Google TV, set-top boxes such as TiVo, and the main application launchers menu of video game console systems such as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii, as well as most other Smart TV and set-top boxes devices and software with interactive television interfaces also belong in this category. Also HTPC (Home theater PC) media center software applications XBMC, Windows Media Center, and MythTV interfaces.

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/11/03/eight-reasons-to-get-a-google-tv-and-four-reasons-not-too/ Eight Reasons To Get a Google TV and Four Reasons Not To
  2. ^ http://www.trenderresearch.com/profiles/blogs/youtubes-10foot-user-interface YouTube's 10-Foot User Interface: The Elephant in the Room Just Got Bigger
  3. ^ http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/MIX/MIX06/BTB029 The Digital Home: Designing for the Ten-Foot User Interface
  4. ^ http://www.easyclasspage.de/mac/seite-16.html 10-foot Style / Graphical User Interface (GUI) for Growl
  5. ^ a b https://developers.google.com/tv/web/docs/design_for_tv Designing For TV
  6. ^ http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/guides/2010/12/htpc-guide-1 Ars Technica HTPC Guide: December 2010
  7. ^ http://www.techbuoy.com/2009/06/boxee-10-foot-user-interface-for-your.html Boxee – A 10 Foot User Interface for Your Media
  8. ^ http://deviceguru.com/boxee-vs-zinc-vs-hulu/ Boxee vs. Zinc vs. Hulu
  9. ^ http://thedigitallifestyle.com/w/index.php/2010/07/08/google-introduces-leanback-for-youtube/ Google Introduces Leanback for Youtube
  10. ^ http://www.tuaw.com/2010/12/17/beta-beat-kylo-browser-featuring-10-foot-interface/ Beta Beat: Kylo Browser featuring 10-foot interface
  11. ^ Fast Company October 4, 2010. Austin Carr. Kylo offer Alternative to Google TV.
  12. ^ http://developer.android.com/reference/android/content/pm/PackageManager.html#FEATURE_TELEVISION Android API Level 16 Public Abstract Class String: FEATURE_TELEVISION
  13. ^ http://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia_term/0,2542,t=10-foot+user+interface&i=36892,00.asp#fbid=8WN9yzOrfhM PC Magazine Definition of: 10-foot user interface
  14. ^ http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/10-foot+user+interface "10-foot user interface" definition according to The Free Dictionary by Farlex
  15. ^ http://www.avermedia.com/avertv/upload/avermediatvsoftware/index.html AVerMedia TV Software
  16. ^ http://appdevconf.engagedigital.com/sessions/keys-to-successfully-building-a-10-ft-ui/ Building a 10 Foot UI: Dealing With Platform Diversity
  17. ^ http://www.quora.com/Why-is-the-10-foot-home-TV-experience-so-hard-to-get-right Why is the "10 foot" home TV experience so hard to get right?
  18. ^ https://developers.google.com/tv/web/ Optimize your website for Google TV
  19. ^ http://code.google.com/tv/web/docs/design_for_tv.html Designing For TV – Google TV Web Developer's Guide
  20. ^ http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2004/10/10-foot-interface-showdown.html Coding Horror – 10 Foot Interface Showdown
  21. ^ http://jasonlbaptiste.com/featured-articles/bringing-the-ten-foot-user-interface-to-the-web/ Bringing The Ten Foot User Interface To The Web
  22. ^ http://googlecode.blogspot.com/2011/02/optimizing-your-site-for-tv-is-now.html Optimizing your site for TV is now easier – The official Google Code Blog
  23. ^ http://code.google.com/tv/web/docs/optimization_list.html Google TV Web Site Optimization Checklist
  24. ^ http://factoryjoe.com/blog/2009/11/16/the-death-of-the-url/ FactoryCity – The death of the URL
  25. ^ http://my.safaribooksonline.com/book/web-development/9781449307998 Building Web Apps for Google TV
  26. ^ http://www.livedigitally.com/2012/02/03/why-smart-tv-user-interfaces-suck/ Why Smart TV User Interfaces Suck
  27. ^ http://www.livedigitally.com/2010/09/17/how-to-make-a-better-boxee-box-app/ How-to: Make a Better Boxee Box App
  28. ^ http://www.livedigitally.com/2010/09/16/how-to-make-a-better-google-tv-site-experience/ How-To: Make a Better Google TV Site Experience
  29. ^ http://www.w3.org/TR/CSS2/syndata.html#length-units W3 Standard Syntax and basic data types - Lengths refer to distance measurements

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