General LF Discussion

[tpirfan28]

So I have an interesting conundrum.

IStar 26820 is gone.  The SD channel is now letterboxed widescreen with the L-bar (literally useless information) and the Locals with Jim C.'s voice.  Great!

The HD channel still has no local.  What gives (and please don't say IStar 2 Jr or whatever that is)?

[Zach]

So I have an interesting conundrum.

IStar 26820 is gone.  The SD channel is now letterboxed widescreen with the L-bar (literally useless information) and the Locals with Jim C.'s voice.  Great!

The HD channel still has no local.  What gives (and please don't say IStar 2 Jr or whatever that is)?

This was talked about a few pages back, but your headend probably has an IntelliStar 2 XD hooked up. It's a newer-model IS2 that is capable of sending out both an HD and SD signal and aesthetically has subtle differences from the original IS2.

[TWCJim]

I noticed that the new blue long-form TWC/LOT8s logo does not appear for IS1 units, as I checked my still-in-use IS1 just now. I'm guessing TWC must have officially stopped updating the IS1s as they are about to be retired soon.

[tpirfan28]

So I have an interesting conundrum.

IStar 26820 is gone.  The SD channel is now letterboxed widescreen with the L-bar (literally useless information) and the Locals with Jim C.'s voice.  Great!

The HD channel still has no local.  What gives (and please don't say IStar 2 Jr or whatever that is)?

This was talked about a few pages back, but your headend probably has an IntelliStar 2 XD hooked up. It's a newer-model IS2 that is capable of sending out both an HD and SD signal and aesthetically has subtle differences from the original IS2.

So....is it a flaw or a feature it's not doing locals in HD?  Maybe I need to post one floor down (if the STAR Team still floats around here).

Apologies in advance for asking questions...been a while since I've been around.

(So much wasted space on the widescreen Locals.)

[Eric]

(So much wasted space on the widescreen Locals.)

I agree.  You'd think, almost two years later, they'd have found something to occupy that space by now other than occasional ads or promos for upcoming programs.  Usually, though, it's just an extended part of the photo with no useful information in there at all.

[Adrian]

(So much wasted space on the widescreen Locals.)

I agree.  You'd think, almost two years later, they'd have found something to occupy that space by now other than occasional ads or promos for upcoming programs.  Usually, though, it's just an extended part of the photo with no useful information in there at all.

Agree as well, The sidebar is so useless especially on WCL when the rundown is replaced by "Top Stories". TWC should of have the IS2 place a small doppler radar where the local product rundown use to be

[WeatherWitness]

So I have an interesting conundrum.

IStar 26820 is gone.  The SD channel is now letterboxed widescreen with the L-bar (literally useless information) and the Locals with Jim C.'s voice.  Great!

The HD channel still has no local.  What gives (and please don't say IStar 2 Jr or whatever that is)?

This was talked about a few pages back, but your headend probably has an IntelliStar 2 XD hooked up. It's a newer-model IS2 that is capable of sending out both an HD and SD signal and aesthetically has subtle differences from the original IS2.

So....is it a flaw or a feature it's not doing locals in HD?  Maybe I need to post one floor down (if the STAR Team still floats around here).

Apologies in advance for asking questions...been a while since I've been around.

(So much wasted space on the widescreen Locals.)

This is a very odd situation if SD is letterboxed and has a local but HD does not.  Because if the SD feed is letterboxed, isn't that just the HD feed, just letterboxed to fit SD?  So why the heck would one have a local and one wouldn't?

You can try to make a new topic regarding this in Tech Support.  The STAR Team hasn't posted in a few months, but they may peek at the thread every once in awhile.  (Unless this is a simple cable concept I'm completely missing?)

[luesjo12]

I agree that this is very odd. The IS units are getting harder to understand and differentiate from each other.

[pokedude750]

I'm honestly waiting for a Storm Alert for Tomorrow

[toxictwister00]

You know what I found to be useless? The IS2jr., I mean really what the heck was the point of making this STAR unit? If TWC's long term plan was to have the IS2 on both SD/HD feeds for all cable headends, why waste time making/implementing another STAR when they could have just upgraded the legacy STARs to IntelliStars for the time being.

I guess it's just one of those dumb things I can never seem to understand about TV networks.

[TWCJim]

You know what I found to be useless? The IS2jr., I mean really what the heck was the point of making this STAR unit? If TWC's long term plan was to have the IS2 on both SD/HD feeds for all cable headends, why waste time making/implementing another STAR when they could have just upgraded the legacy STARs to IntelliStars for the time being.

I guess it's just one of those dumb things I can never seem to understand about TV networks.

My best guess for the purpose of designing the IS2 Jr was for usage on the smaller cable headends, and I mean really small headends with a very limited channel lineup. For example, the Charter headend in Grand Coulee, WA has a lineup that only goes up to 99 and has no digital or HD channels whatsoever.  That headend upgraded from a WeatherSTAR 4000 to an IS2 Jr last year, and chances are they had a really tight budget and couldn't afford the more expensive IS2 HD as they do not carry TWC in HD.

On the upgrade notice letter to headends I posted on the forums a while back, the headend that received the notice had a choice to upgrade to an IS2 HD, IS2 Jr or both, and there is no doubt that the notice also applied to smaller headends who still have the IS1 and do not have TWC in HD.

[Zach]

You know what I found to be useless? The IS2jr., I mean really what the heck was the point of making this STAR unit? If TWC's long term plan was to have the IS2 on both SD/HD feeds for all cable headends, why waste time making/implementing another STAR when they could have just upgraded the legacy STARs to IntelliStars for the time being.

I guess it's just one of those dumb things I can never seem to understand about TV networks.

It's already been mentioned, but it really has to do with efficiency in costs. Not only that, but probably power and bandwidth as well. Also, the IntelliStar is probably most definitely not manufactured anymore (and it's probably been this way even since before WATT and/or the legacy STAR shutoff), so that's why headends aren't "upgrading" to IntelliStars.

[Mike M]

This just came to me the other day, but anyone think this will affect Weatherscan's fate? Since it's essentially the same hardware (and likely the same feed) as the domestic IS. 

[Tyler]

All IntelliStar SD's are gradually being replaced by one of the newer models.

[WeatherSTAR]

This just came to me the other day, but anyone think this will affect Weatherscan's fate? Since it's essentially the same hardware (and likely the same feed) as the domestic IS. 

Xfinity in my local area still has the IS1 and Weatherscan. I've been wondering the exact thing myself, and I've been watching TWC more recently to see if they've yet to upgrade.