The Weather Channel Nears Completion of HD Facility, Moves Toward All Native HD

[beanboy89]

Just came across this news:

    ATLANTA, Jan. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- With a new 12,500-square-foot HD
facility on track to be completed this month, The Weather Channel has
passed a significant milestone in the HD project begun last May. The next
steps will be to install 10,000 square feet of access flooring and 480
electric circuits for studio lights in the new facility that adjoins
company headquarters. By early May, sets will be in place for the start of
rehearsals from the four- story-high HD studio. The Weather Channel is well
on its way to the launch of its first HD studio programs, Your Weather
Today and Evening Edition, on June 2.



    Other new developments include:
    -- A new Master Control room for overseeing both SD and HD programming
       already in operation.
    -- Completion of a state-of-the-art technology center, an area located in
       TWC headquarters that is the backbone of all network operations.
    -- Launch of a new program in January, When Weather Changed History,
       which adds to the existing native HD  series, Epic Conditions and
       Weather Ventures.
    On the distribution side of its HD initiative, The Weather Channel has
reached agreements for carrying The Weather Channel HD with all six of the
top programming distributors. These are: Charter Communications, Comcast
Cable, Cox Communications, DirecTV, EchoStar Communications and its DISH
Network, and Time Warner Cable. In addition, the network has signed HD
agreements with many other cable companies. Launches have already been
completed in many markets and others are planned for upcoming months.

    "The fact that all six top distributors are on board to provide The
Weather Channel HD to their customers attests to the value of TWC HD in
satisfying the growing public demand for HD programming," said Becky
Powhatan, executive vice president for distribution and business affairs
and general counsel for The Weather Channel Companies.

    She went on to explain -- "The Weather Channel content is ideally
suited for HD because weather is so visual, be it the stunning outdoor
shots in our series or live in-the-field coverage during hurricane season.
We're following an aggressive transition schedule to premiere the first of
our live HD studio programs in early June with others to follow until
virtually our entire 24-hour programming schedule will be in native HD
before the end of 2008."



SOURCE The Weather Channel

Link: http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/01-23-2008/0004741578&EDATE=

[lfmusiclover]

Very interesting! I;m glad to see that everything is going as planned with the new HD studio. I didn't know that the HD facility was so large though! Four stories! That SEEMS huge.

[Localonthe8s]

Splendid!

[wxmancanada]

Heres some fun facts about the HD structure:

An estimated 155 tons of structural steel were required for the structure.
The acoustical doors leading into the studio weight 800 pounds each.
There will be 420 electrical circuits feeding the overhead studio light strips alone.
The interior of the studio space is the equivalent of 4 stories tall.
The irrigation system – which uses water runoff captured by a 9,200-cubic-foot underground detention vault – dials in to get the weather forecast before it begins to irrigate.
Almost 10,000 square feet of access flooring will be installed in the facility.
The generator in place to provide standby power for the new studio and tech core expansion has enough capabity to provide power to 100 homes for a day.


Here's a timeline of TWC HD:

February, 2008 – Completion of the structure of the new facility and HD studio.
April, 2008 – Target date for installation of new sets.
May 2, 2008 – Rehearsals of studio programming begins.
June 2, 2008 – Launch of first tier of HD in-studio programming featuring the popular programs, Your Weather Today and Evening Edition.
Third Quarter, 2008 – Continued transition to in-studio programming in HD until all studio programs will be presented in HD.


A new Master Control room for overseeing both SD and HD programming has already gone into operation. Meanwhile planning is continuing to transition the remaining aspects of the network to HD.