ABSTRACT

This work was developed within a project of the Master’s Degree in Multimedia Communication at the University of Aveiro. Platforms for supporting UGC got very popular during the last decade. However, due to the large amount of content available, solutions to support the categorization and personalization of the content by means of channels have been introduced. These improvements allow not only organizing the UCG but also, in some platforms, to promote live broadcasts of audiovisual content. Interactive Television (iTV) platforms are also providing means to access UGC, but the capabilities for self-broadcasting are still lacking. In this context, MyChannel presents a proposal for an interactive application to create and share personal channels in an iTV service. The proposed model was prototyped and tested in a typical TV usage environment. MyChannel allows its users to create personalized channels right from their TV sets gathering and combining audiovisual content from different sources: web video platforms; regular TV channels and; live content, created by the user, through a webcam. It also includes a set of social features around TV content. This model was evaluated in the lab by two groups of users with different levels of experience with iTV platforms. The results show that users are willing to have the ability to create and share their own channels. Based on these results, one can consider that an iTV application that reflects the proposed model may be relevant when a more personalized TV offer is at stake.