This App was tested on 6 March 2013.
This review has been written by Khafsa Ghulam.
Background
I am in my early twenties and I have no light perception, I therefore rely on speech or tactile information when accessing technology. I have been using Apple products for approximately 18 months so it was only a matter of time before I started to use my iPhone as a portable TV. I downloaded the 4oD player from the App store and I wanted to share my thoughts on the accessibility of the App using VoiceOver because I found it a really difficult product to use.
Information about the App
This App was tested on an iPhone 5, running iOS 6.1.1. At the time of testing the App version was 2.6
The 4oD player for iOS enables the user to access their favourite channel 4 programmes that they have missed in the palm of their hand. It can be used on an iPod touch, iPad or an iPhone and can be downloaded free from the App store.
Setting up the App
I was able to download the 4oD player from the App store using VoiceOver with no support and I did not encounter any problems in the process.
The App also included instructions but I did not find them helpful when trying to overcome any accessibility issues with VoiceOver.
Using the App
Once I had downloaded the App, I was instructed to sign in to access personalised content, I was able to log in with no difficulty. I then set up parental control to ensure that any person who used my phone could not access content that was not suitable for their age. Again, this process was straight forward.
Once I had set up the App, I then went back to the home screen and explored what was on the page in front of me. I found this task a bit confusing at first because of the way the buttons were labelled.
The first labelled element on the screen was '4oD recommends', however, if I swiped left with one finger twice, I had two unlabelled buttons, and when I pressed them, they were programmes that 4oD had recommended. However, when I swiped past the '4oD recommends', I found that the list of recommended programmes continued.
Additionally, the way that the buttons were labelled was very confusing as well. For example, in the 'recently added' section on the home screen, each programme listing was made up of three items: the name of the programme, play and see all. The confusing thing was that the title of the programme and the see all buttons performed the same function (they displayed a list of programmes in that series), but the name of the programme wasn't labelled as a button.
Also, the way the buttons were labelled was confusing, for example, instead of saying 'see all button', VoiceOver said 'btn see all button' and the play button was labelled as 'btn play SML'.
In fact all the buttons associated with programme information were labelled in this way, this made it confusing because as a VoiceOver user I was given the same information twice for one element, moreover as two different buttons began with the same information 'btn', it was really frustrating as a VoiceOver user as I was having a delay in receiving the required information.
I then proceeded to explore other areas of the app, and I had mixed findings regarding the accessibility with VoiceOver. I located the menu button and found that the first set of items were labelled correctly, for example, 'catch-up, categories, A to Z programmes'. However, when I pressed the categories button, I was presented with a list that was not labelled correctly. The various categories were read out, but when I double tapped the name, it was in fact a button.
The programmes in the documentary section were listed in the same way as the programmes that were in the 'recently added' section on the home page. Finally when trying to use the search section, I was able to search for a programme with no problem, but the way that the search results were displayed really confused me. For example, the results were listed but again they were not labelled as buttons, I had to double tap the name. Additionally, the 4oD recommends' section was directly underneath the search results, so initially I thought that I was in the wrong section of the App.
When attempting to play content, I really encountered accessibility issues, once I had started a programme, I had to double tap the screen to access the information being displayed, but I was not able to activate any buttons, I was only able to stop the programme from playing and even then the process of doing this was not consistent. In some cases, the only way I could stop a programme was to close the App and delete it from the App switcher (to delete an app from the app switcher press the home button twice and double tap and hold the item you want to remove from the app switcher).
However, one of the most disappointing aspects of the app was that none of the programmes that were available to watch came with audio description, even if it was possible to watch the same programme on the web version with audio description. However, this is the case for other catch-up TV apps such as the BBC iPlayer. Nevertheless, I found the 4oD iPhone App a bit more user friendly in comparison to the 4oD player for the iPad and the ITV player App. The BBC iPlayer also has issues with the onscreen player, but I was still able to pause/play programmes on the app by using the two finger double tap with VoiceOver.
Despite all the issues that I encountered, I was still able to access the areas of the App that I needed to and I particularly enjoyed browsing through the documentaries section of the App. As a blind user of the App, I would not recommend this App to other blind users who use VoiceOver alone on an iOS device as it is not possible to adequately use the App to play a programme. As the App is free to download from the App store, VoiceOver users are still able to download the App and try it to see if it works for them, without charge.
Any Other Comments
In order to improve this App I would recommend that the buttons are labelled with a consistent format and that the player is made accessible so that VoiceOver users can control the playback of the programme that they are trying to watch. Additionally, in order to attract more blind and possibly partially sighted customers, I would recommend the inclusion of audio described content.
Conclusion
The 4oD App for iPhone is available free to download from the App store. It gives the user access to programmes that have previously been broadcast by channel 4. However, where accessibility with VoiceOver is concerned, several issues have been noted which significantly impacts a VoiceOver user's ability to efficiently use the App. For example, the inconsistency in button labelling, the inaccessibility of the player when viewing programmes and the absence of audio described content did not make the app very appealing to me. Nevertheless, this App was slightly easier to access than the iPad version and the ITV player for iOS.
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