Watch your back!: Dynamic thumbnails for a 360° video player to enhance viewing experience on 2D displays

Abstract

Addressing the challenge of navigating 360° content on 2D displays, we propose a novel 360° video player featuring dynamic thumbnails. Our user study compared this video player to a conventional 360° video player. The goal of this research is to investigate the extent to which dynamic thumbnails reduce fear of missing out (FOMO) and enhance timeline navigation while trying not to hinder the video player's usability. Our findings indicate that dynamic thumbnails significantly reduce FOMO, as users feel less anxious about missing content and exert reduced camera rotation during viewing sessions. Task completion times for timeline navigation showed no significant difference, and participants' gaze fixations revealed similar patterns between the two video players. The System Usability Scale (SUS) was used to evaluate our proposed video player, resulting in it being categorized as 'Good' with a score of 84.7. Participants appreciated the enhanced situational awareness provided by the thumbnails, although some usability issues were noted. These findings suggest that dynamic thumbnails have great potential for 360° video players, and further research is encouraged to optimize their integration and address encountered usability concerns.