As part of the development of the functionalities of the Hbb TV offer, SRG wanted to integrate functionalities for hearing-impaired users. In addition, the SRG wanted to better understand the television habits of the blind population in Switzerland in order to explore how interactive television could bring them added value.

We conducted qualitative interviews with about 10 blind users in the German and French-speaking parts of Switzerland in their homes. We also conducted user tests of an Hbb TV prototype integrating new functionalities related to subtitling with 16 hearing impaired users in French and German-speaking Switzerland.  

The results allowed us to identify the most effective and attractive solutions for the display and configuration of subtitles. In addition, our observations with blind users helped us to better understand how television is used by blind people (with or without audio description and voice synthesis) and to open up new paths of reflection for the development of new functionalities for SRG teams.