Television
February 21, 2008
Warner Bros. Media Research Launches New, State-Of-The-Art Warner Bros. Media Lab
(February 21 , 2008 – Burbank, Calif.) –Warner Bros. Media Research has launched the Warner Bros. Media Lab, an on-site, state-of-the-art media testing center. Testing conducted at this facility will provide insight into how consumers engage new forms of content and enable hands-on interaction with cutting-edge consumer electronics devices and emerging distribution platforms.
Warner Bros. Media Research took what had been a space for traditional focus groups for the last 13 years and rebuilt it for the digital age. This build-out represents a commitment to researching, testing and ensuring quality in all forms of content and distribution. The Media Lab is equipped to test media content including broadband, gaming, video-on-demand/pay-per-view and wireless. In addition, the facility can continue to be used for traditional focus group testing for content, consumer products and the various other businesses in which the Studio is engaged. The Media Lab will serve as a resource not only for Warner Bros. Entertainment divisions but also for third-party companies eager to test emerging content and technology.
“Our industry is experiencing rapid change, and technology is empowering consumers to control where, when and how they enjoy content,” said Bruce K. Rosenblum, Executive Vice President, Media Research, Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution. “In order to help lead the industry through these changes and foster the company’s continued growth as a progressive supplier of engaging content, Warner Bros. Media Research considers the construction of the Media Lab an essential instrument in understanding and leveraging consumer behavior.”
The Media Lab features a respondent room that can accommodate emerging media test groups of up to 12 people via eight pop-up media bays and four tabletop media inputs. Utilizing this setup, respondents can engage in testing a wide variety of content via broadband, VOD/PPV, PC- and console-based gaming systems, wireless services and high-definition players. With the media bays retracted, the room can also accommodate a traditional focus group of up to 16 respondents. An adjacent observation room provides an area for content creators, clients and media research professionals to view respondent activity. The observation room contains eight monitors that mirror respondent media bays and leverages eight pan/tilt cameras for observational ease.
The Media Lab’s technology hub contains various consumer electronics devices and distribution technologies including popular gaming consoles, digital media receivers, high-definition players and broadband and cable services. All Internet-capable devices are broadband enabled. The facility is native HD 1080p end-to-end and is pre-installed with a number of today’s most popular subscription-based services.
Hewlett-Packard has been an essential supporter of the Warner Bros. Media Lab, providing desktop PCs, notebooks, widescreen monitors and high-definition LCD TVs. # # #