A Comparative Study of Remote Controls for Digital TV Receivers

This study was designed to explore the usability of three remote controls that operate a specific digital set top box (Logik LDR V3) amongst consumers who may have more difficulty than most in accessing and using digital television equipment. Participants were UK consumers (a) aged over 75 years with various sensory, physical and/or cognitive impairment, (b) aged under 45 years with learning difficulties, and (c) aged under 45 years without any sensory, physical or cognitive impairment. Using a repeated measures design, participants were asked to perform a series of everyday tasks using remote controls with digital television equipment. Subjective and objective data were collected to explore how intuitive and desirable the remote controls were, and how well subjective preferences related to objective performance data. The study provides evidence that user interfaces that meet the UK Digital TV receiver recommendations (V1.3) for digital terrestrial television (section 5: remote controls) better meet the needs of consumers likely to face difficulty using digital television equipment.