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The Digital Switchover Help Scheme

The Digital Switchover Help Scheme. Nick Tanton BBC. The Switchover Help Scheme. In 2005 the UK Government asked the BBC to manage a scheme to ensure that older and disabled people are not left behind as the country switches to digital television.

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The Digital Switchover Help Scheme

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  1. The Digital Switchover Help Scheme Nick Tanton BBC

  2. The Switchover Help Scheme • In 2005 the UK Government asked the BBC to manage a scheme to ensure that older and disabled people are not left behind as the country switches to digital television. • UK is switching to digital television region by region between 2008 and 2012.

  3. Purpose of Scheme • To provide practical help to older and disabled people to make the switch to digital TV. • To make sure no eligible person is left with a blank screen after switchover.

  4. Who is eligible ? • People are eligible for help if : • they are aged 75 or over, • they have lived in a care home for 6 months or more, • they get “Disability Living Allowance”, “Attendance Allowance”, “Constant Attendance Allowance” or “Mobility Supplement”, • or • they are registered blind or partially sighted.

  5. What help do eligible people get ? • People who choose to take help get : • a choice of easy-to-use DTV equipment, • installation of the equipment and a demonstration of how to use it, • a new aerial or dish if necessary • and • free aftercare for 12 months.

  6. How much does it cost ? • Support from the Help Scheme costs £40 for the standard offer although this is free to eligible people who are on various forms of income benefit. • The Switchover Help Scheme is run by the BBC through an agreement with the UK Government . It is funded out of the BBC licence fee.

  7. Consultation • Understanding and fulfilling the needs of our eligible people • Code of Service Standards - a comprehensive range of 91 promises of the service eligible people might expect (eg. all calls handled by trained people, choice of formats for communications, face-to-face help if needed etc.) • Continual stakeholder consultation and user feedback • Regular market research • Understanding those hardest to reach

  8. The scale of the Scheme • commenced in 2007 • switchover in the UK runs from 2008 until 2012 • there are 15 regions (7 completed by May 2011) , • an estimated 7 million eligible people • so far over 5.5 million have been mailed • over 700,000 installations have been completed • we’re currently doing > 30,000 per week • we expect to have done a total of more • than >1.6 million by the end of 2012

  9. The Customer Journey

  10. The equipment (1) • designed with our eligible people in mind • the “Core Receiver Requirements”* specification sets a standard of user-experience without constraining innovation or commerce • straightforward and easy to use and to support post-installation • * developed in consultation with stakeholder groups such as RNIB, RNID, Age UK etc

  11. The equipment (2) • universal remote with a premium standard of useability • user-feedback (visual and audible) • clear, short and uncluttered menus • platform compliant • value for money

  12. Universal remote • high-contrast buttons with a positive feel • well-separated buttons • buttons grouped by function • one-touch subtitles • one-touch AD • a “home” button

  13. User-friendly service discovery (1) • Retuning is already a recognised challenge to all TV viewers. • A significant number of viewers get some DTT signals before their analogue TV signals are switched off. • Transmitter frequency & power changes, service moves and the addition of new services present an unaccustomed broadcast environment for the viewer, especially to our eligible people. • How do we make retuning easy ?

  14. User-friendly service discovery (2)

  15. User-friendly service discovery (3)

  16. User-friendly region selection (1) • DTT signals know no frontiers. • It has been estimated that over 600,000 households in London alone can see DTT signals from more than one transmitter. • Of these it is estimated that over 400,000 households can see DTT signals from more than one TV region. • How do we make it easy for you to choose your preferred version of a regional channel ?

  17. User-friendly region selection (2)

  18. Set-top boxes

  19. In summary • Accessibility and useability features don’t have to be expensive. • Although the Switchover Help Scheme focuses on part of the population, the features we have encouraged and developed suit everyone. • There is a wealth of experience in delivering an improved user-experience to the domestic TV environment. • nick.tanton@bbc.co.uk

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