Design Recommendations for a Smart TV Interface Supporting Co-Viewing Based on Users’ Mental Models of Content Browsing and Its User Evaluation
J.O. Lee, Jeonguk Hong, Chang Soo Nam, Sangwon Lee · International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction · 2026
This study addresses the limitations of current Smart TV interfaces, which emphasize single-user personalization and insufficiently support co-viewing. We designed, developed, and evaluated a novel Smart TV interface informed by a mental model of co-viewing behaviors derived from qualitative observations and interviews. Four design strategies guided the interface: embedding social cues to support group goal- setting, accommodating browsing strategies during content selection, reducing psychological barriers through social involvement, and mitigating fatigue to sustain consensus-building. In a between-subjects experiment with 60 participants, the co-viewing interface significantly increased user engagement and choice satisfaction while reducing perceived choice difficulty compared to that of a standard personalized interface. Qualitative feedback further revealed richer group interactions. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of a mental model–driven design in facilitating collaborative decision-making and enhancing the co-viewing experience, offering practical implications for developing adaptive, user-centered Smart TV interfaces.