Digital edition of What Hi-fi? Sound and Vision - your feedback, please

[Tom Moreno]

Andrew Everard:As far as I know, proprietary software could well be the only way we can ensure that only those who have subscribed are able to read it. After all, we don't want to just give the whole magazine away for free.

This is fine in my book, but please, please, please... Can whatever reader solution gets the go ahead be a true Windows and Mac compatible system that runs equally well in both environments? Often these programs tend to work off the back of Flash which is not the friendliest of systems with regards to system efficiency in OSX.

Thanks

 

[Andrew Everard]

Given the heavy Mac usage here in the office, I am sure that will be a major consideration.

 

[Tom Moreno]

Clare Newsome:To re-iterate - the print magazine isn't going anywhere; this is purely investigating additional options for consumption of our content.

Let me clarify, I totally got that and would expect nothing less. My point was more towards pricing and whether or not people who pay for a print subscription would need to pay an additional digital subscription to enjoy the mag in both formats.

 

[Andrew Everard]

I think the best answer we can offer to that is that a number of print/digital/content business models may be considered at this early stage.

Clearly I've been going to too many meetings - I never thought I'd find myself writing something like that

 

[Clare Newsome]

Andrew Everard:
Clearly I've been going to too many meetings - I never thought I'd find myself writing something like that

I'm about to go into a meeting about 'customer touch-points', which just sounds dodgy

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Clare Newsome:Andrew Everard:

Clearly I've been going to too many meetings - I never thought I'd find myself writing something like that

I'm about to go into a meeting about 'customer touch-points', which just sounds dodgy

Take a copy of the Alphabet with you.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Ravey Gravey Davy:Take a copy of the Alphabet with you.

And/or a good book

 

[Clare Newsome]

It's OK - there's wi-fi and my trusty iPod Touch

Which brings us neatly back on topic re the ability to consume content wherever/however!

 

[Andrew Everard]

Enjoy the inevitable TouchPoint PowerPoint

 

[Tom Moreno]

Andrew Everard:Enjoy the inevitable TouchPoint PowerPoint

I hear that was one of the methods of "interrogation" at Guantanamo.

 

[Big Aura]

apologies if I'm repeating other feedback (couldn't be bothered reading it all!), but looks good!

Things I would change is for it to do a proper preview pane so the two pages can fill the entire screen (I realise you can zoom in on a particular page, but that's pointless if there's a photo that spans two pages).

Also, when you zoom on a page - it zooms a bit too much. I'd like it to default to zoom to "page width" (like on MS word) initially, and more if I want.

Finally, in scrolling articles/pages, you need to drag them up/down - could it be made work with a mouse scroll wheel?

 

[Clare Newsome]

Can I just ask a follow-up, clarifying question re the zooming issue?

On my machine, the zoom clears to perfectly clear after a couple of seconds' wait - are you saying that the text looks fuzzy on zoom even after the page has rendered?

 

[laserman16]

Hi Clare, well for me 50 and 75% zoom is pretty unreadable even after the page has rendered.

100% is fine though, very clear.

 

[Big Aura]

Clare Newsome:

Can I just ask a follow-up, clarifying question re the zooming issue?

On my machine, the zoom clears to perfectly clear after a couple of seconds' wait - are you saying that the text looks fuzzy on zoom even after the page has rendered?

Was that to me? The zoom issue is that - when looking at 2pages (i.e. before you zoom), the actual magazine takes up an area that's approx 1/3 of the available screen. I'd sooner it took up 100% of the screen. If you look at pages 8 & 9, there's little point in zooming in on one of them.

By the same token, when you do zoom in (on my screen at least), you've got something that cuts off approx 1cm on the left side and 2-3cm on the right side (it only zooms in a set amount). Perhaps this is to cover that different people have different screen sizes? If that is the case, then perhaps you should be able to select your screen size/shape at the outset.

Any blurring is momentarily only

 

[plastic penguin]

I think it would be a fabulous concept, in the main. However, can't help thinking that flipping through pages of the mag is somehow therapeutic, a good way of chilling out when the others have trotted off to bed, rather than constantly staring at a screen.

Call me Old fashioned and boring.....

Yours, Mr. Oldfashionedandboring....LOL.

 

[idc]

One of the reasons why I am all up for a digital version of the magazine is that I presume it will be cheaper to subscribe to. Have you any costings? Will we still get the freebies when subscribing digitally? Will the printed and digital versions be different in content in anyway?

 

[Anonymous]

In Malta the Magazine is Sold at 7.50 Euros, so if it goes at a reasonable price it will be worth it. but it will need to be good at 100% zoom as some suggested.

 

[Clare Newsome]

idc:One of the reasons why I am all up for a digital version of the magazine is that I presume it will be cheaper to subscribe to. Have you any costings? Will we still get the freebies when subscribing digitally? Will the printed and digital versions be different in content in anyway?

The plan is that digital editions would be the same as printed ones.
Pricing is something we'll look into more closely as/when we get a
platform we're happy with.

 

[idc]

Clare Newsome:
idc:One of the reasons why I am all up for a digital version of the magazine is that I presume it will be cheaper to subscribe to. Have you any costings? Will we still get the freebies when subscribing digitally? Will the printed and digital versions be different in content in anyway?

The plan is that digital editions would be the same as printed ones.Pricing is something we'll look into more closely as/when we get aplatform we're happy with.

Thanks for that Clare. I assume then the subscription gifts and content will be the same.

 

[Anonymous]

Not being in flash would be a start! its a resource hog.

How about something more along the lines of the sports illustrated concept ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntyXvLnxyXk ) or the wired magazine concept ( http://tv.adobe.com/watch/xd-inspire/transforming-the-magazine-experience-with-wired/ )?

The ability to search, bookmark, take snippets, annotate and share articles would be nice.

I think the trick is to try and retain the look and feel of the magazine, while taking advantage of a new medium, Just simply publishing a gloried PDF version or an as is copy on Flash or Silverlight doesn't really seem to add much value.

Oh, and an ipad version goes without saying.

Personally I would pay just as much on a subscription basis as I do for the print version to have the convenience factor.

-Rab

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Clare,

Good idea but personally I prefare the hard copy. When you have kids sometimes the only time you get to read the mag. is in bed or in the car, on the train etc. Nice also to have it by the pool on holidays. I've been a subscriber since last year and I have never ever got my copy on time. In fact i've always had to e-mail haymarket to inform them of this! Every month!!!

From that point of view yes the digital edition would be the way to do it. But, as I said I do prefare to have the magazine version for practical reasons. Maybe both would be an option for subscribers as in a discounted price or 2 versions for one price?

Bye the way I still haven't recieved my March edition yet. It's in my local magazine shop for the last 2 weeks....

 

[Clare Newsome]

Sorry to hear you're not getting your issues on time, Bluecafe1 - where do you live? Having such a consistently poor delivery experience points to postal issues, not us - I can guarantee that we're sending them all when we should! Please email us and we'll look into it....

 

[Joe10155]

The main issue I have is with the lack of a fully adjustable zoom. I generally set my browser at 150% but changing the browser zoom had no effect on the magazine. Just try looking at the small print on the Autosport subsciption page; it is impossible to read it even when zoomed in.

To a lesser extent I also found the adverts at the back of the mag a bit difficult to read too, even though I am viewing on an expensive NEC 24" 16:10 monitor at native resolution.

The use of the mouse scroll wheel would also be of benefit over and above the click & drag option.

 

[bob.g]

Clare,

As a relative newbie on the forum (but very long time reader of your prestigious journal) I'd like to throw in my two penn'orth - but do stand ready to be shot down.

Frankly, I do not believe that the format of the printed medium translates well to the format of the electronic medium. You only have to look at the Daily Telegraph as an example. I know that the DT is daily and WHF is monthly but I do think that the principle still stands. The paper copy of the DT is published in a format where you know - physically - where everything that you like about the publication is situated. If you want sport or the letters page your previous experience with the paper tells you exactly where to look. The electronic version of the DT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ is vey different, in that everything is categorised according to subject topic (but it took them years and lots of iterations to get to what the publish online today). Every day the front page is formatted the same, but as an online reader it is also very very easy to dive directly to those areas or specialist aspects that interest me most. I have my own favourite aeas of the DT website, just as I do the WHF mag (and the WHF forum), and believe that you would be doing WHF a disservice by trying to replicate onscreen what we see in print.

I fully support your directional idea of online publishing - and potentially increasing your revenue - but as someone who has lived overseas for many years (but now recently back in the UK), I can clearly cast my vote for an online format that is more clearly topic structured and searchable. I read the DT online every day - and still buy it every Saturday - and if WHF were to publish electronically (you're almost there, anyway !) I would still buy the paper copy every month, but would only subscribe to the electronic version if it was NOT a replication of what I see on paper.

Online publishing offers such great flexibility, so think long and hard before you commit yoursef to a format as, if you don't get it right you possibly stand not to gain but to lose.

 

[SpiceWeasel]

Clare Newsome:
Can I just ask a follow-up, clarifying question re the zooming issue?

On my machine, the zoom clears to perfectly clear after a couple of seconds' wait - are you saying that the text looks fuzzy on zoom even after the page has rendered?

On either 75% or 50% zoom some text is barely legible, and that is after it clears after a few seconds. It does this on full screen or normal view, single or double page zoom and looks exactly the same if I open your link via Firefox or IE. Usuall browser is Firefox and is fully updated. I am using windows 7 ultimate 64 and gfx card is an Nvidia 8800GTX if that helps, pc and drivers are fully updated.

I have taken some screen shots (print screen) and pasted this into paint, I have a few examples saved as jpeg's that I can send you although I can't seem to find your e-mail. If you let me know a contact e-mail I will send you the images.