What is a Media Room?
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Last night, David Card, JupiterResearch media analyst, busted me for criticizing Microsoft for using Mediaroom as a new brand for its IPTV software. He made a pretty good case for its use. |
Card said the term "media room" is used to describe the home theater room. To him, Microsoft's branding is sensible. We debated about the use of the term, over IM, starting around 10 p.m., with me sticking to my position that media refers to the news media, as in the dictionary definition I used yesterday.
I hadn't heard the term used in the way Card described it. Certainly, no teenage salesperson at the local Best Buy or Circuit City had used the term with me to describe a home theater room.
When I searched for "media room" on the Web, I mostly got back pages referring to the news media. Heck, Google's press page is called the "Media Room." However, further investigation also uncovered a Better Homes and Gardens Web page with information for decorating home theater and media rooms.
Card took the position that the average consumer wouldn't associate "media" with news organization. Journalists and people in the high-tech industry would make that association. I don't know: When I was a pip-squeak studying biology—with protozoa and not split infinitives in my future—media meant news to me.
Still, I found Better Homes and Gardens to be a pretty good proof point. What's more regular Joe or Jane than Better Homes? I left Card with this concession: "Media room has news media connotations. Microsoft picked emerging definition. News media is a lot older than home theater."
But is that right? I pose the question to you: What is a media room, and did Microsoft make a good choice in its branding? Or stated another way: Is media room where you put your home theater, or is it Google's newsroom? Our comment lines are open for your answers and debate.
Comments (10)
If you go in to any home builder that builds large upscale homes they will describe to you in detail how their floor plans include a "Media Room", which usually comes with a vented hardware closet, wiring for surround, no windows and elevated flooring for seating.
Posted by Bfairchild | June 19, 2007 10:04 AM
Really a third grade post !!! (as usual)
You always find, what you look for !!!
Apple TV - Looks like a TV set, isn't it?
What you talking about is "PRINT MEDIA".
Think of the following terms and associate with that - Multi MEDIA, Windows MEDIA player, etc.
So the answer is - Yes for average user Media Room is something related to home theater/ entertainment.
For the sake of argument, its easy too argue, without any alternative suggestion. Give me a name what you think it should be and I can argue on that (like you do every time).
- Microsoft Fanboy ;)
Posted by DD | June 19, 2007 11:07 AM
I guess I think of stuff like pictures and videos when I hear "media." News also might come to mind, but to me, that would be a secondary definition.
Phil Deets
Posted by Phil Deets | June 19, 2007 12:51 PM
The term "Media Room" is definitely the standard term for upscale "home theater rooms" and has been for 10+ years. It may not be quite ubiquitous in common parlance (oof, I don't mean to sound that pretentious) -- but with HD TV sets becoming more common, even my mom is talking about setting up her "media room" and not the "Family room" or "TV Room"
It's a good choice for MS. If nothing else, it keeps with the "Media Player" "Media Center" "Home Media Server" nomenclature.
Posted by Chris | June 19, 2007 1:44 PM
Wow...what an ignorant and narrow point of view you try to carry off. Must have been a slow news day and this was the ticket to your next post...
While the average consumer would certainly associate the term "the media" with news organizations, why make the assumption that they would be unable to let the word media carry another connotation, especially when conjoined with an additional word as in "media room"?
We could follow your non-sequitur logic to argue that consumers would be likely to associate this new brand with 1) an ancient country in western Asia or 2) the middle, often muscular layer of the wall of a blood vessel. (Both are dicitionary definitions of 'media').
Slide down out of the blogosphere for a while and connect with reality...
Posted by Wunn | June 19, 2007 4:27 PM
I think it is time to call this column Microsoft criticism. I have been watching this blog for a while and it is more whining than anything.
Posted by whatever | June 20, 2007 1:25 PM
Call Me Old Fashioned, But..
I still call mine a living room.
Posted by Andrew | June 22, 2007 6:33 PM
> Really a third grade post !!!
Actually, using 3 pieces of punctuation seems a lot more third grade to me. Thank you however for not using "u", which immediately lowers your "writing age" to 12. (I guess that's about 7'th grade thought.)
Posted by MC | June 23, 2007 9:18 AM
In the U.S.A. Media room is mainly associated with a home theater which include "multimedia" equipment. Outside the U.S. Media Room isn't used for either news or home theater so Microsoft's use of the term will be the defining factor, sort of like the Apple iPod and Podcasting.
Posted by memphis | June 23, 2007 10:37 AM
Хех. Ну тогда я тоже :)
Posted by Ренат | November 19, 2008 12:12 PM