Microsoft Surface Goes Global, Powered By Vectorform
Posted by Blair Munro – July 23, 2009TV9, ASSOCIATED BROADCASTING COMPANY PVT. LTD.
It is no surprise Vectorform designed and developed the first Microsoft Surface application to debut in India. TV9 is the flagship station for Indian media-giant Associated Broadcasting Company Pvt Ltd (ABCL), and Vectorform’s multi-touch application took viewers by storm when used to illustrate the 2009 Election of the Indian Parliament. Live from Andhra Pradesh, ABCL CEO and TV9 anchor Ravi Prakash made television history with his innovative presentation of the election coverage.
During the 2009 Parliamentary Elections, ABCL wanted to see TV9 reinforce its status as a market-leader in innovative news coverage, and to boost viewership by providing the most engaging on-air coverage of election material.
Vectorform designed and developed a set of applications for the Microsoft Surface, which allowed on-air illustrations of election status and past election history. The Microsoft Surface debuted in the United States in 2008, and the TV9 deployment represents the first use of the platform in India.
To be a success, the application suite had to accommodate the complex working of the Indian electoral system. Like the United States, India has a federal form of government, however, the central government in India has greater power over its states, and its central government is patterned after the British parliamentary system. The core components of the suite focused on Andhra Pradesh, and other applications highlighted local and federal election results.
- Andhra Pradesh Members of Parliament Map: Depicted the state’s three major regions and its Parliamentary Constituencies. The map allowed on-air talent to drill-down into each area, and show results for the previous election, as well as a representation of the incoming results in the 2009 Election.
- Andhra Pradesh Members of Legislative Assembly Map: Also depicted a map of the state, and the smaller constituencies for the Legislative Assembly. As on the Members of Parliament Map, the application allowed on-air talent to drill-down into each area, and show results for the past election, as well as a representation of the incoming results in the 2009 Election, and the election’s winner and runner-up.
- Members of Parliament by State: Provided a high-level view of the parliamentary elections from 2004 and 2009 in the remaining 28 states.
- The Battleground: Provided Mr. Prakesh with a way to illustrate the unique alliances formed by parties both prior to, and directly following the 2009 election.
Additionally, Vectorform created a web-based content management application to enable off-air administrators to feed election data into the application suite as the results were tallied.
On Saturday, May 16, 2009, Ravi Prakash demonstrated the application suite, using hand-gestures and real-world objects to interact with both live and historical data surrounding the Indian General Elections. The presentation quickly gained the attention of viewers and press-outlets around world.
The primary objective of the project, from the client’s perspective, was to reinforce their position as trendsetters, vis-à-vis use of latest technology complimented by innovative ways of presenting information; thereby propelling TV9 higher up on the Indian electronic media ladder as pioneers- in terms of content, capability and innovation. Last but not the least, TV9’s objective for all projects is to increase TRPs (Television Rating Points), which are primary incentives for promoters & sponsors to align with TV9. The television program featuring the election coverage on the Surface did just that – made a big impact on a landmark day in Indian politics -when over hundreds of thousands of living rooms across the country were glued to the television set.
Comments
Leave a Comment
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.