September 7, 2009
New UI concept gives viewers fast and intuitive access to all kinds of media items
Zappware, the Belgian one-stop solution provider for interactive Digital TV (iDTV) on multiple TV platforms, is exhibiting at IBC, RAI Amsterdam, from 11 till 15 September 2009. At IBC09 Zappware will offically launch a new TV user interface dubbed 'Matrix'.
Visitors are invited to drop by at Zappware's booth 4.B51 for a demo showing how Matrix puts the viewer's comfort first in many ways and how it allows service providers to offer viewers a consistent and enriched media experience.
Matrix is a TV User Interface that is very easily operated, and that gives viewers a consistent and intuitive access to media content provided by the service provider, or content stored in the viewer's home network or on the Internet. The application is operated using only 6 buttons on the remote control (arrow keys, OK and Menu). It uses a fixed representation for media items such as TV programmes, Video-On-Demand assets, recorded TV programmes, home videos, family pictures, web videos etc. This allows these media items to be browsed and played using a single, consistent user interface, making it very easy and intuitive for viewers to access content. Fluid animations and moving backgrounds enhance the TV experience even more and provide the necessary comfort to access TV content. Combined with the power of iView Platform, which provides the required back-end support for personalisation, localisation and recommendations, Matrix facilitates fast access to content that matters for viewers.
Matrix is to be part of Zappware's iView Core product. iView Core (previously dubbed "iView for Operators") is a suite of services that are at the core of an operator's digital TV service offer. It bundles services such as Electronic Programme Guide, Video-On-Demand and Personal Video Recording. The Matrix user interface complements Zappware's existing user interface for these services, which is from now on called "Flux". With Matrix and Flux, operators now have two different user interface designs to choose from.
Koen Swings, CTO & Managing Partner Zappware: "We are very proud to introduce our new Matrix TV user interface here at IBC. We have been working on this product for over a year and have bundled a lot of Zappware's TV experience in its design. With Matrix we show that it is still possible to innovate the field of TV user interfaces. Matrix offers viewers a fast and intuitive access to a very large collection of media items. This is exactly what service providers need to offer to their viewers nowadays. In a world in which TV viewers are confronted with an increasing number of media choices, it becomes more and more important to properly guide viewers in their choices and to make access to TV content as easy as possible. This has been Matrix's design goal from the beginning and we firmly believe that it will become an indispensable instrument for TV viewers."
