Companies in IPTV value chain advise service providers on providing a multiscreen TV service; iOS named as best place to start when it comes to mobile screen.
There could be ominous signs for Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system if a session at IP&TV World Forum on Wednesday is anything to go by.
Panellists at a conference session that focused on delivering a compelling multiscreen experience were asked for their recommendations for service providers when it comes to developing a multiscreen strategy. And if operators adopt one of the answers given, Microsoft-powered smartphone users could find themselves left out in the cold.
"Think about your audience... All these devices are not created equally," said John Bishop, senior vice president, products and business development at Inlet Technologies, a provider of digital media processing platforms that was recently acquired by Cisco. His comments came after a straw poll showed that around half the delegates in the room used iPhones and half Android mobile devices – some both – while no one owned up to having a Windows-based phone.
"Pick your developments," Bishop advised, adding that a good starting point for service providers would be to extend TV services to Apple's iOS. "Start small," he suggested: Move from TV to iOS and then to Android.
However, he sounded a note of caution on the Google operating system. "Recognise that [Android]'s not a check box," Bishop said, referring to the myriad different devices using the Android platforms and the differences between them.
Meanwhile, Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist at Rovi Corporation, which is best known for its electronic programme guide software, recommended that service providers pay attention to the different customer segments they serve.
The ones to watch out for are not the cord-cutters, he said, referring to those consumers who abandon fixed pay TV services, but the "cord never getters", or the younger generation who graduate from university and join the workforce, but never sign up to a pay TV service.
"Bring them into the legal buying world as they learn to make money," he advised.
All the speakers in the multiscreen session agreed that a quality user experience is necessary to attract and retain customers, but there was disagreement over the importance of a totally consistent experience across multiple screens.
John Denton, managing editor of TV platforms at U.K. Broadcaster the BBC, spoke out in favour of the consistent user experience. The BBC's Web-based catch-up TV service iPlayer had to establish itself as a brand and that meant ensuring a consistent experience across all screens. "It had to have its own identity," Denton explained, noting that iPlayer works across 48 different devices in the U.K., including mobile devices, games consoles, TV screens, cable services and PCs.
"Consumers have to have a love affair with their user interfaces or they'll never find anything," said Bullwinkle. However, he added that Rovi's place in the value chain means it will do whatever its operator customers want: sometimes they are very keen on having a consistent experience, sometimes not.
"Consumers are much smarter than we thought they were," Bullwinkle said, noting that all the applications on an iPhone, for example, have different interfaces and consumers are used to dealing with those differences. Consistency is important, he said, but you have to think about the platform. "It's incredibly important that [the UIs] are relevant to the device they are on," he said.
