Latitude

Series Recap: 3 Emergent Trends for Device-Content Experiences

User “needs” are now growing expectations created by emerging solutions.

This post is part of a series which discusses three high-level themes we’ve deduced from emergent technologies like the ones showcased at CES last month.

Our first theme centered on seamlessly shifting media across devices: the user desires (“problems”) & current solutions, as well as the potential opportunity spaces, surrounding this increasingly desired experience.

Theme #2 – See Me, Hear Me, Touch Me: Growing Expectations for Immersive Content Experiences

Audiences get a multitude of options for deep interactions with content, from touchscreen tools to information-rich apps on connected TVs, to… yes, we’ll say it—3D.

Thus, mainstream adoption of new technologies faces the additional hurdle of converting a “wish” into a “need.”

User needs in this space aren’t “problems” per se, but rather growing expectations created by the emerging solutions. In other words, as possibilities for greater immersion with content increase, so too will user desires.

This means innovators in this space must understand that mainstream adoption of new technologies faces the additional hurdle of converting a “wish” into a “need.”

What Do Users Desire to Make Their Content Experiences More Immersive?

Information

• Problem (Growing): What song is in this commercial? Viewers increasingly crave in the moment details about content—currently engaging in multi-screen/gadget behavior to solve the need. But, as this expectation grows, the desire to eliminate a second device will too.
• Solution: Gracenote’s MediaLink provides in-the-moment program information about scenes, songs, actors and more, and goes the extra media-shifting mile with its “smart synchronization” feature, automatically shifting music and video mid-stream as users move across devices.

Play

• Problem (Growing): The desire to engage with characters and storylines in playful ways deepens, as does the expectation for “virtual couch” interactions with friends/family while viewing.
• Solution: Social viewing options expand with internet-connected TVs integrating Skype calling (though, for now, TV-viewing must halt when a Skype chat begins), online viewing room tools like Zorap, and content providers taking offline integrations to the next level (ex. Bravo recently announced a partnership with FourSquare).

Visceral

• Problem (Latent): While audiences aren’t necessarily screaming to get closer to content in a literal sense, the mainstreaming of touchscreen and motion control tools sets a new expectation for rich visceral interactions.
• Solution:
  • Touch was everywhere at CES this year, but especially impressive was Light Blue Optics’ Light Touch holographic laser projection (HLP) technology and its limitless possibilities to turn any flat surface into a touchscreen.
  • 3D – Also everywhere, with Panasonic leading the pack. But challenges persist, as 3D remains for now a solution to a much less immediate “problem.”

Read the follow-up post, which identifies opportunity spaces for immersive content experiences.

Latitude is a research-driven consultancy for technology and media companies. We work with clients to discover and develop opportunities for next-generation content, software, and communications technologies through a combination of web-based applications and innovative research methods. Email ischulte@latd.com to learn more about working with Latitude.

Header image courtesy of good-karma’s flickr, (cc) some rights reserved.