Telus TV+ app UX is poor for easy viewing

[jrods]

Recently switched from Shaw to Telus for TV, while I personally don't have any problems with using the Telus provided hardware (TELUS TV Digital Box) and TV+ app, my grandfather cannot reliably use it by himself (his tech skill is inept).

He has constant problems with the UX and falls into a state where he cannot recover from on his own and I have to intervene so he can go back to only watching TV channels.

The main issue for him is when turning on the TV. The TV+ app always shows the home page. He doesn't use or need this screen when wanting to watch TV channels. This screen confuses him and is difficult/impossible for him to dismiss it on his own. I've provided written instructions for him but he's not able to follow it consistently. I have not been able to find any option in the TV+ app to not display the home screen on startup.

Another issue for him is any accidental button presses and navigation to screens outside of watching TV channels. I'm not exactly sure how he is getting to these screen (tv show info, on demand, etc.), but he's not able to by himself get out out of such spots and needs my assistance. I believe this mostly occurs when he's just starting to watch TV. I've tried my best to limit the buttons on the remote control by taping over buttons not necessary, to prevent confusion when looking it, but this doesn't help.

To improve the UX overall for those that only want TV channels, I would like to see some sort of cut down version that is strictly only TV channel watching, without all the app fluff. Having options such as not showing the TV+ app home screen when starting, and restricting/disabling screens that are not related to TV viewing, this includes: show/movie info, timeline scrubbing, option menus.

Unfortunately I think I will be switching the TV back to Shaw since it has been an easier experience for him with watching TV compared to Telus' offering. Unless there is a solution that offers a pure TV experience in some other matter (or any community suggestion) with different hardware, I'm all ears but I have not been able to find alternative that would be suitable.

[Fabylous]

Hi @jrods I understand the challenge you may have when it comes to the options of the TV or TVapp.  Did you look into presetting the channels on the guide!  Whould this be easier to help your granfather navigate on the TV?  

[jrods]

No I've explained to him the guide but it's rather confusing for him to paying attention to the tv when using the remote outside of the channel change buttons and number pad.

[Optik-Kate]

Hi @jrods, thank you for taking the time and outlining the challenges and frustrations, your feedback is sincerely appreciated. I can take this back to the team for review. In the meantime, I was wondering if it will be easier to ask Grandpa to use the "guide" button immediately upon opening TTV+. For example, instead of trying to navigate out of the home screen by selecting the "Live TV" tab (which requires several buttons to be pressed), simply press the guide button and select any program that is airing. This takes Grandpa to a "TV view", and he can use the channel number pad and surf buttons (CH up and down arrow) like regular TV. Any time Grandpa accidentally presses a button on the remote that prompts home screen, apps, show info, etc, press the guide button to essentially dismiss the screen and click a program to bring up live TV. If he gets really deep into certain info pages, he might need to press the guide twice to bring it up.

Another option that might be helpful is using the Google Voice Assistance (the colorful button around the middle), upon pressing, Grandpa can directly ask to be taken to the guide by saying "guide". I do recommend always defaulting to the guide view since that's the path that would most likely prompt the live TV view. Hope that helps!

[jrods]

Thank you for your suggestions but using the guide is too complicated for him and has a really hard time remembering what steps and buttons to use in relation to what's going on the tv, so using the guide confuses him. He is capable of using the number pad and channel change buttons when only the tv channel is displayed.

The assistance button doesn't seem like it would work either and would pose further confusion. At least when i used it, it wasn't very good getting where i wanted it to go with tv channels, although i didn't play around with it too much.

[Optik-Kate]

I double checked the interface, and I believe the best combo of buttons to get to Live TV would be "guide" + "ok", and then he can use the channel surf button and number pad. He doesn't need to navigate channels within the guide at all if he doesn't want to.