Recently-appointed Testronic Labs CEO, Seth Hallen, spoke to Digital2Disc on the opportunities and challenges he and his company face in an increasingly digital space.
Digital2Disc: Your background appears to be more technical than that of your predecessor, Neil Goodall. Is this in recognition of a shift in the expectation of the customer towards a demand for more industry knowledge than just management ability?
Seth Hallen: Actually I don’t consider myself a technical guy, but I have always taken a keen interest in understanding the technology from a strategic standpoint so that I can evaluate where supply chain needs are and where opportunities lie. I’m always asking myself, ‘How can the supply chain be improved with better or enhanced solutions for development, quality control and workflow?’ and the better you understand the nuts and bolts of the technology, the more accurately you can answer that question.
D2D: Does moving the post of CEO to the US suggest the company is becoming more US-centric, away from its original foundation in the UK? If so, to what end?
SH: There is no shift in geocentric focus at all. It just so happens I live in US and I’ll be racking up lots of airline miles. Some view the fact that I live in Los Angeles a benefit to the company since one of our primary objectives is to evolve into the digital distribution markets.
D2D: What is the model behind checking digital content, which you are now focusing on more with your Digital Entertainment Test Lab? Do you believe this to be the beginning of the end for physical distribution, at least from your services standpoint?
SH: In DVD and Blu-ray testing, the focus for the most part is content. (Does the content on this disc look, sound, and function properly?)
For digitally distributed material, we have to be concerned as much about the delivery mechanism and end devices as the content. (Does the portal or website or app work properly and offer a strong consumer experience? Are bandwidth requirements within reason? Does the DRM work? Does the content behave properly on all the end devices? )
Even though digital will pick up, physical distribution will be around for a long time. This may not be an exact statistic, but the last numbers I saw indicated that something like half of all music is still sold on CD.
D2D: How involved are you in checking copy protection? Is this going to become a bigger part of your work especially with the DETL initiative? Presumably playability is key but the studios/content community appear as much concerned about managing digital copy and thwarting piracy – one might say even at the expense of the consumer experience.
SH: The point that is often missed here is that without copy protection there is no consumer experience. Studios and other content owners spend billions of dollars each year to produce their content in order to, like any business, make a profit, which their shareholders expect. If they can’t protect their content there is no profit and ultimately can threaten the integrity of the entire industry.
That being said, the studios are extremely concerned about the consumer experience, which is why companies like Testronic exist. We work with the technology developers to help optimize the consumer experience to both check the quality of the content and also ensure the copy protection and DRM technologies work as they should. We view both equally as important and I believe most everyone in the supply chain, including the studios, would agree.
D2D: How does the crossover work between Testronic and Kuju, the games division? Do you see this converging at least as far as content management/protection goes?
For the most part, Testronic and Kuju work together by simply creating compelling development and QC solutions in one package, rather than requiring the client to handle them separately. And since we are sister companies who have a chemistry together, we are better able to provide AAA service more efficiently and cost-effectively.
D2D: What are your goals in your new role, and what is the first major change you want to do (or have done) in your new role, and why? Will it be visible to the customer and if it is how are they likely to respond?
My goals are the same as they have been since I’ve been with the company: to make sure we are doing everything we can to be the best partner for our clients by contributing to the industry in thought leadership and ensuring we are well-prepared for the exciting changes and evolutions our market segments are experiencing right now. Now, however, in an expanded global role.
