Watch out Toronto, we have a leading edge user experience design studio in town. Teehan+Lax are proving that they are one of the leading user experience design firms. Teehan+Lax have released their PVR Report which looks at the user experience of the Bell ExpressVu and the Rogers PVR.
The report is beautiful. The design and presentation of information is concise and easy to read. They clearly layout out the rationale for the report, including what the report is not. The report covers:
- Getting Started
- Guide
- Reponsiveness
- Common PVR Tasks:
- Search
- Scheduling Recordings
- Recording a Program While Watching It
- Controlling Television
- Managing your Hard Drive
- Conflict Resolution (aka Error Handling)
- The Remotes
- The User Interface
The final section of the report proposes a Teehan+Lax PVR, ala 37 Signals Better Project which includes Better Bank, Better Fedex and others. The Teehan+Lax PVR has some interesting design features. I love the multi-function buttons, however I can imagine trying to teach my Mom how to use them, or someone with a physical/motor impairment. The Program Info display is very clean and elegant. They’ve done a good job at providing improvements for the PVR user experience. Hopefully companies like TiVo are watching.