TWC Today Forums
Present - The Weather Channel 2000 => Everything Else TWC => Topic started by: Charismatic Applesauce on January 07, 2011, 11:18:51 PM
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This was an old thread I saw at TWCC. If you could, what would you do to improve TWC? Just think of some things. It doesn't have to be realistic.
To improve TWC, I would:
Bring back Alexandra Steele and the other OCMs that got laid off in recent years (if they want to come back).
Update the IS and sat LFs so they'll look more in line with TWC's graphics.
Discontinue vocal music on WUWA and elsewhere. :club:
Make shorter-running, better playlists with more songs and fewer repeats. And bring back the good songs from previous years.
Sell TWC back to Landmark.
On the 30th anniversary next year, cycle through the other two TWC logos and "update" the IS & IS2 with the logos, and, if possible, bring back old graphics or segments.
Discontinue the longform (except SS and an occasional documentary).
Bring back EE.
Do something about the waste of space on TWC HD.
Make more weather coverage programs for better variety.
And last but not least…
Have TWC do my laundry or someone else's. :P
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Very good idea for a thread, Pavel. I have a few things I would do to improve TWC:
Add more Ryan Farish music to the LOT8s
Fire Samantha Mohr
Eliminate all longform
Add more live weather coverage
BAN ALL IPADS
and bring back Kristina Abernathy.
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Put smooth jazz in primetime
Bring back Spyro Gyra, The Rippingtons, Joyce Cooling, Jeff Lorber, Patrick Yandall, etc. to the LOT8s
Have more actual weather coverage on weekends
Bring back Alexandra Steele
Extend the daytime back to 8pm ET
Reduce longform to 1hr each weekday, 4hr each on Sat and Sun
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-Show more indie music
-Less repeats, more new LF music!
-Stop playing Chris Geith music for awhile... it's getting way too old.
-Release more smooth jazz CDs and do away with that TWC Music Store
-Extend the daytime music another hour or two into the evening... it's way too short.
-Limit the long-form more
-Fire Sam, Todd, Eric, Al, and Stephanie (they are all terrible)
-Bring back Dennis, Dave, Rich, Alexandra, and Kristina! (Yeah let's do that my friend!)
-Pull TWC out of NBC and give it to someone else!
-Replace the crappy IS icons with the more realistic ones from '06
-UPDATE THE INTELLISTAR AND WEATHERSCAN!
-Not putting so much emphasis on Jim, Steph, Jen, and Adam.
-Cancel Cantore Stories and WeatherProof, and bring back Atmospheres and the Weather Classroom
-Show more documentaries than reality shows
-Move Weather Center to daytime, bring back the double E
-Lose the iPads! We all know how awesome they are (NOT!)
-Get rid of that "Digital Media Center" (I'm gonna laugh at whoever came up with that crappy idea)
-Not using RED MODE GRAPHICS 99% of the time.
-Bring back Storm Alert and use it only when absolutely necessary.
-Use more positions at the HD Studio instead of sticking with only two.
-Bring back that pretty sunset background in the studio
I'll stop now...
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I'll make mine simple:
Revert back to the 1990's era of TWC with current graphics.
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LF:
Stop putting songs that only plays on non 2minutes flavor (1:00 and 1:30), it's a crappy idea. <_<
Update IntelliSTAR.
Extend daytime until 7PM (like before Aug 26 09) so I can hear more daytime music.
Put less repeats.
Put more jazz in primetime.
Bring back the artists that weren't used last year (Joyce Cooling, The Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra, and more).
Bring back the 06 one, the current sun one is crap. I'm tired of everyone calling it cheeseball (that's why I didn't care much for the graphic/icon update in last March)
Live Broadcast:
Not using l3rds most of the broadcast.
Use less red graphic. I only want it during severe weather/Hurricanes.
Bring back the video wall they used from 2008 thru October 2010 in most the broadcast. The current mapshot reminds me of pre-June 2008.
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Bring more live weather. That's pretty much it. I am fine with the way Local on the 8s already is, so no need to change that. Get rid of the chyron graphics that are constantly on the bottum of the screen showing headlines/breaking news. Seems too cluddered with the LDL at the bottum of the screen. I would keep Wake Up With Al, since it is a highly rated show, but the news has got to go; that's why there is GMA and TODAY, and cable networks.
MORE WEATHER!
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-Get rid of all the new boring, uninteresting OCM's
-Bring back the old style of playlists (less repeats, jazz, no non-2 min songs, no morning list)
- Bring back the XL LDL bar
- Hire back Schwartz, Lemke, Steele, Johnson, Mancuso, and the others who got laid off
- Can all the extra longform, some of the longform shows like Cantore Stories and Tornado Road are stupid
- Can WUWA
- Can "Tap the app"
- Bring back the 2 minute local forecasts
- Bring back the XL icons
- Upgrade the Intellistar
I don't know much nor care about the graphics or presentations so let that be..
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-Bring back the 3000
-Bring back V1 IS graphics and XL icons
-Change the TWC logo to the '96-'05 version
-Bring back Alexandra Steele, Dave Schwarts... everyone else
-LESS LONGFORM PROGRAMMING
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Basically remove the weeknight longform in the earlier proposed schedule.. Other than that i have no problems whatsoever of how TWC handles their productions. If constant ad campaigns, one program out of all the others, the graphic preferences, music selections, etc. bother you, then dont even bother watching
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mine is basic..
stop sucking. do what your logo says. Give us forecasts, and stop the unnecessary long form, and firing very well experienced meteorologist.
Seriously, Direct TV threatened to take you off the air, That means somethings wrong.
That is all :)
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Seriously, Direct TV threatened to take you off the air, That means somethings wrong.
Do you mean Dish? :unsure:
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1st- Id get rid of all this longform programming junk.
2nd- Change show graphics at least to something that gives you that morning afternoon or evening
feeling.
3rd- Bring back Overnight Outlook.
4th- Change the intellistar background to a 3D visual of the city its covering.
5th- Bring back jazz and other classic weather channel songs.
6th- OCM slot changes such as putting Nick Walker And Kim Cunningham back on first outlook.
7th- Hire back all the OCMS that got laid off.
8th- Get rid of NBC And have the weather channel owned by ME :D jk Landmark.
9th- Let everyone on the fourm decide what weatherstar they want for there city.
10th- Bring back evening edition and afternoon outlook.
11th- Move Weather Center back into the afternoon period.
12th- Keep WUWA But keep it weather based. ;)\
13th- Get rid of news segments that do not involve weather.
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mine is basic..
stop sucking. do what your logo says. Give us forecasts, and stop the unnecessary long form, and firing very well experienced meteorologist.
Seriously, Direct TV threatened to take you off the air, That means somethings wrong.
That is all :)
It was DISH who threatened TWC to take them off the air. I don't recall DirecTv doing the same.
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Basically remove the weeknight longform in the earlier proposed schedule.. Other than that i have no problems whatsoever of how TWC handles their productions. If constant ad campaigns, one program out of all the others, the graphic preferences, music selections, etc. bother you, then dont even bother watching
:clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap:
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a few more things
Playlists need to be lasted for a whole month, instead of 2 months.
Change graphics.
Change LDL back to the blue one.
Less longform on weekends.
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Dish vs. Direct TV... the idea is that a major satellite provider threatened to stop carrying The Weather Channel, hence the comment that such a move indicates there's a serious problem. I don't think the name of the carrier is really that important to this discussion. It could have been phrased "a satellite provider threatened..." and the meaning would have been exactly the same.
Do you really want to be known as a group that splits hairs... then splits those hairs... ad nauseum? :thinking: Some discussions do benefit from exact details. This discussion isn't one of them.
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One thing i forgot:
Playlists need to be lasted for a whole month, instead of 2 months.
Sometimes up to 3 months. :hammer:
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- Bring back the 2 minute local forecasts
There are already 2-minute LFs.
-Bring back the 3000
The FCC won't allow that. :no: Sorry.
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Fair point about "don't watch if you don't like it"...however, there is something to be said about what one would like to see done if changes were to be made:
-Stop trying to do everything. In all honesty, NBC owns dozens of channels-from local new affiliates to national news channels (complete with business, politics, and whatnot) to entertainment channels. The Weather Channel should be just that...NBC's Weather Channel. People will turn to it for what it's named for....weather. They go to CNBC for business news, MSNBC for crackpots (political analysts), and NBC for the news, not to mention their local news channels.
-Stop dumbing down the weather. True, you will alienate many viewers if you go too in-depth, but please do not dumb the forecast down so badly that it's almost useless.
-Stop the hype. Every little storm system is not a national emergency. In my opinion, the more often you hype something up (and, more often than not, it disappoints), the less credible you are in the public's eye.
-Bring a unified look to everything. Pull your graphics department together and come up with one good-looking theme that you apply to every facet of the operation. 2 different types of LDLs on the Intellistar just looks weird, and the HD national feed looks entirely different. Tie the lower 3rds, map bars, segment intros ,etc. together into a theme.
-Bring a unified sound to everything. Production music is nice, but bring back a "signature" of sorts. It doesn't have to be the 4 note chime, but use something to tie things together and form a calling sign that people can relate to you whenever they hear it. These last two are something that's known in marketing as "brand identification"
Just my $0.02
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I hope these don't come off as rants, that's not what I'm doing especially the third one.
The coverage they're doing now for the SE storm should be something they do with every storm for now on. (Not saying I want long form programming gone, but it should be preempted)
Revive Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast! (I really miss that orange set, it gave them their own identity from the other shows. Plus I don't like them on YWT in the mornings, they were better in the evenings)
Rehire all layed off OCMs over the past 3 years so there's some stable positions on each show, It's annoying to see them switch up pairings every few months.
Bring back PM Edition from 5-7pm reducing L.F.P to weekends only.
Upgrade the IntelliStar graphically to match a little more with on-air graphics like it was with the STARs previously.
Get Al a new co-host and give poor Stephanie a break for Pete's sake! Isn't she doing enough as it is? :P
Fire uhhh Todd uhhh Santos uhhhh.....
That's about it.
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1. Bring back the 2009 Weather Center music.
2. Bring Abrams and Cantore together for Weather Center.
3. Nicole Mitchell on WC late.
4. Update the National SD Localonthe8s to a better look.
5. Get a better looking logo.
6. Fix the HD studio and use it only! not the expert desk!
6. Use the video wall again for weather.(fix the color though.)
7. They really need to cover all weather! Like this morning all they covered was the south and snow. (not that I mind).
8. Less news coverage, more weather.
9. Get some new titlebars.
10. No more longform!
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return the weather channel to the way it was from 2003-2005. Let all of the older OCM they have fired come back to work...Bring back Dr Steve Lyons as hurricane expert and say good bye to Dr Rick Knabb. Bring back the smooth jazz to the local on the 8s. Bring back the old banners they used to have and weather program openers The Weather Channel (2003 - 2005) Music Montage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ieKdeyjsEMo#) and bring the old logo back.
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Revive Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast! (I really miss that orange set, it gave them their own identity from the other shows. Plus I don't like them on YWT in the mornings, they were better in the evenings)
I can't believe I forgot about that -- yes they really need to have A&B in their own set. It gave individuality. Same with weekend view.
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The traffic report's already gone. ;)
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The local forecast has been a cornerstone of TWC since the beginning so I'll focus on that. Some suggestions:
1) Current & regional weather conditions should be part of + shown first every LF.
2) 3 minute forecasts at the top & bottom of the hour and possibly increasing the number to eight per hour the way it once was as opposed to six currently. This could be done I assume by eliminating non-weather segments. I realize though changing the number would change the 'local on the eights' concept.
3) Drop the traffic report. It has nothing to do with the weather.
4) Show local current/monthly, yearly precipitation to date along with storm totals both liquid and/or frozen. Perhaps the almanac could expanded or maybe a separate screen.
5) Always show the date along with the time/temp.
1.) I believe the current conditions have already been returned to the start of every flavor, except when there's a weather advisory - that (rightfully) comes first.
2.) Wow, those were the good old days! Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to happen. First, it's a lot more convenient for the public to remember that a local forecast (usually) starts at :xx after the hour, rather than the less-predictable (though purposely scheduled) local forecasts of years gone by.
3.) The traffic report has been gone for a while. :clap:
4.) You want to cut the fat out of the local forecasts, but you want more of this? I think that kind of information might be better suited to the LDL, but I don't think it's necessary to devote so much time to almanac data. There are already almanac and tide screens. Why add more?
5.) Are you so bereft of a calendar that you need to rely on your local IntelliStar to tell you what day it is? :dunno:
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As Donald Duck would say, "Okay. You asked for it! Hahaha."
1 - Get rid of any feature that isn't directly related to weather.
2 - Replace all current long-form programming with shows about weather, lead by people in the weather business.
3 - Actually explain what's happening and why.
4 - Don't use new technology unless it's beneficial to the viewer. (And if you do use it, make sure the viewer can actually see it.)
5 - Use the playlist longer than a month or two.
6 - Add some real variety to the playlists (ie. stop using the same songs/artists, stop playing rock and vocal music).
7 - Don't play an indie artist unless their music is available online somewhere.
8 - Severe weather coverage always trumps recorded programming.
9 - Make graphics more readable (ie. increase font sizes, remove layers that hide or blur info below them).
10 - Hire/retain people with experience, not perceived sex appeal.
11 - Fire people that aren't professional (ie. Stephanie, Al)
12 - Get rid of all the crap on the screen (a small lower-third is more than enough).
13 - Stop hyping the weather.
14 - Stop taking on political causes (ie. global warming).
15 - Make the non-map graphics more interesting (ie. stop using cloud backgrounds).
BTW, what the heck is the "Digital Media Center" and "Tap That App?"
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As Donald Duck would say, "Okay. You asked for it! Hahaha."
1 - Get rid of any feature that isn't directly related to weather.
2 - Replace all current long-form programming with shows about weather, lead by people in the weather business.
3 - Actually explain what's happening and why.
4 - Don't use new technology unless it's beneficial to the viewer. (And if you do use it, make sure the viewer can actually see it.)
5 - Use the playlist longer than a month or two.
6 - Add some real variety to the playlists (ie. stop using the same songs/artists, stop playing rock and vocal music).
7 - Don't play an indie artist unless their music is available online somewhere.
8 - Severe weather coverage always trumps recorded programming.
9 - Make graphics more readable (ie. increase font sizes, remove layers that hide or blur info below them).
10 - Hire/retain people with experience, not perceived sex appeal.
11 - Fire people that aren't professional (ie. Stephanie, Al)
12 - Get rid of all the crap on the screen (a small lower-third is more than enough).
13 - Stop hyping the weather.
14 - Stop taking on political causes (ie. global warming).
15 - Make the non-map graphics more interesting (ie. stop using cloud backgrounds).
BTW, what the heck is the "Digital Media Center" and "Tap That App?"
Agreed on everything except the playlist. We should go back to monthly playlists. Having 2-3 month playlists gets really boring.
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BTW, what the heck is the "Digital Media Center" and "Tap That App?"
In a nutshell the DMC is just a segment on how TWC thinks the iPad and its weather apps are so awesome. It's crap if you ask me.
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Oh, I forgot 2 things.:
-Bring back the pre-2008 studio
-Weather Star XL as primary STAR system.
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6. Use the video wall again for weather.(fix the color though.)
They got a new video wall, so that's fixed.
Some more:
Stop hyping TWC Prime Time. It looks too much like something a movie channel would make.
As Max said, bring a unified look and sound to everything.
Bring back the 4-note chime.
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6. Use the video wall again for weather.(fix the color though.)
They got a new video wall, so that's fixed.
Some more:
Stop hyping TWC Prime Time. It looks too much like something a movie channel would make.
As Max said, bring a unified look and sound to everything.
Bring back the 4-note chime.
That's great, but I like it when they show the weather graphics on it instead of the greenscreens.
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I don't mind they way they use their graphics now... showing headlines and live cams on the video wall and forecast maps with chromakey. Although it would be nice to have that monitor back in between the two OCMs when they used the pillar bar wall as the background (I really liked that setup!).
Oh yeah that reminds me, bring back the star cave!
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I don't mind they way they use their graphics now... showing headlines and live cams on the video wall and forecast maps with chromakey.
I like the video wall because it so much bigger and I especially hate when the mets use the Chroma Key stand way to close to the camera, and that isn't really a problem when using the video wall.
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I don't mind they way they use their graphics now... showing headlines and live cams on the video wall and forecast maps with chromakey.
I like the video wall because it so much bigger and I especially hate when the mets use the Chroma Key stand way to close to the camera, and that isn't really a problem when using the video wall.
The video wall may be big, but you can't match graphics resolution on it. A chroma wall will let you use the highest resolution available, and superimpose the meteorologist over it, vs. having them stand in front of a TV(basically). Much crisper on a chroma key. Standing too close to the camera, maybe so, but they can always move back towards the screen a bit. I personally felt they were too far away from the camera when using the video wall. That, combined with them showing the black bezel around it, further reducing the size of the map, made me detest the wall.
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I don't mind they way they use their graphics now... showing headlines and live cams on the video wall and forecast maps with chromakey.
I like the video wall because it so much bigger and I especially hate when the mets use the Chroma Key stand way to close to the camera, and that isn't really a problem when using the video wall.
The video wall may be big, but you can't match graphics resolution on it. A chroma wall will let you use the highest resolution available, and superimpose the meteorologist over it, vs. having them stand in front of a TV(basically). Much crisper on a chroma key. Standing too close to the camera, maybe so, but they can always move back towards the screen a bit. I personally felt they were too far away from the camera when using the video wall. That, combined with them showing the black bezel around it, further reducing the size of the map, made me detest the wall.
Oh, true. I like seeing the full resolution, but I think they need make the chroma bigger. (i like big screens lol).
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Bring back the 4-note chime.
And they did bring it back! :thrilled: When the new LOT8s squeezeback cues, there's a 4-note chime.
And a little more:
Stop hyping the weather.
Stop using red mode so much.
Change the YWT opener. It's boring, and it has way too much red.
Bring back PME on weekdays.
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Pre-empt Primetime forever! :yes:
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I'd make it the perfect channel. :)
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Bring back the ETFs!! :yes:
Extended Travel Outlook 2 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve949qvt5Kc#)
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Bring back the ETFs!! :yes:
Extended Travel Outlook 2 ([url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ve949qvt5Kc#[/url])
I think this is covered quite adequately by the national LDLs. SD viewers without an IntelliStar see them, and HD viewers without an IS2 see them, too.
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I just thought of another one. Actually show the Wekkly Planner go beyond like two days (precip and temps) They are always rushing it. It's basically serving no purpose now when they do that.
Figure out a way to schedule phone interviews better where there's time to finish them start to end. They always cut people off halfway through their conversation because they ran out of time.
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I just thought of another one. Actually show the Wekkly Planner go beyond like two days (precip and temps) They are always rushing it. It's basically serving no purpose now when they do that.
Figure out a way to schedule phone interviews better where there's time to finish them start to end. They always cut people off halfway through their conversation because they ran out of time.
I agree with you about the Weekly Planner. They always blow through it, and it is very annoying. How about you go day by day like you used to, and NOT stop and show a package from an NBC News reporter. That'd be great.
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I just thought of another one. Actually show the Wekkly Planner go beyond like two days (precip and temps) They are always rushing it. It's basically serving no purpose now when they do that.
Figure out a way to schedule phone interviews better where there's time to finish them start to end. They always cut people off halfway through their conversation because they ran out of time.
I agree with you about the Weekly Planner. They always blow through it, and it is very annoying. How about you go day by day like you used to, and NOT stop and show a package from an NBC News reporter. That'd be great.
I hate how they also know that there is a big blob of green or white on the map, and they don't even mention it and speed through it. If I was a OCM, that is something I wouldn't do.
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6. Use the video wall again for weather.(fix the color though.)
They got a new video wall, so that's fixed.
Some more:
Stop hyping TWC Prime Time. It looks too much like something a movie channel would make.
As Max said, bring a unified look and sound to everything.
Bring back the 4-note chime.
Exactly. The 4 note chime used to be TWC's signature sound.
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This is more of an idea than an improvement, but I think it would be good if TWC's precip maps indicated freezing rain accumulations instead of using rain as an indicator. It would make it easier to know where there's a chance of little or a lot of freezing rain to develop. I think the way it is now gives a false impression that's it's a warm rain when it's really ice. I would suggest using different hues of purple or pink as they do on radars.
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TWC should change the SD feed to 16:9 format, I hate 4:3.
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I must say i think TWC has gotten better. They do cancel long form programing when severe weather is threatening or happening.(didn't use to) Dont know yet how they will do hurricane coverage this year if one makes landfall. We haven't had one hit in 3 years so maybe we wont have none in 2011 so we will have to wait and see about that. My point is that TWC is covering severe weather and canceling long form programing when necessary and that is an improvement