17 October 2007

Actors join efforts to navigate the digital world

Photo opportunity - 2.45 pm, Thursday October 18th
Hosies Electrical, Gray Street, Broughty Ferry

Actors from `Still Game’ and `Taggart’ will this week join efforts to improve the digital television experience for older users, a quest led by the University of Dundee’s School of Computing.

Professor Alan Newell and his team at the School of Computing, in collaboration with video production company Soundsmove, are producing a video showing the challenges that older people can have with digital television.

The video is designed to encourage manufacturers to make set-top boxes and digital televisions which are easily usable by older people, and to train retailers to be sensitive to the needs of older users who may be unfamiliar with modern technology.

On Thursday afternoon scenes for the video will be shot at Hosie’s Electrical in Gray Street, Broughty Ferry. Among the actors involved will be Jimmy Martin, who plays Eric in `Still Game’, and Joe Mullaney, Jane Nelson Peebles and Iain Wotherspoon, all of whom have appeared in Taggart and other TV and theatre pieces.

The actors will portray the experience related by many older people when they have tried to buy goods such as digital televisions or set-top boxes only to be left utterly baffled.

Further scenes will show the actors battling with satellite navigators, confusing remote controls, cordless phones and modern video recorders, all of which can provide significant challenges to most people, but particularly older ones.

"The television industry has a great deal to learn about older people’s response to new technology if the switch over to digital television is going to be successful for older viewers," said Professor Newell.

"Hopefully our video will show the many challenges which have to be overcome. We are delighted that Hosie’s have joined us in this project. The staff at the shop are one of the better examples of how things can be done - they always take great trouble to ensure that older people are able to use the televisions they supply, providing readable manuals and personal training in their use if required."

"Unfortunately this is exactly the kind of experience that doesn’t occur in too many other places and older users are often left confused."

The film forms part of a long-term research interest in developing technology for older people and the use of theatre for training students and designers of computers and information technology, which has been pioneered within the School of Computing at Dundee.

For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk