Smooth Jazz Return!

[SO7430]

Yeah, deep down I have a grudge for that, but its still the weather channel. They're the reason I really watch tv anymore.

[Lightning]

Yeah, deep down I have a grudge for that, but its still the weather channel. They're the reason I really watch tv anymore.

I miss the old version of the IntelliStar that lasted 2007-2013 also. Some lasted 1 minute, some 1:30 and some 2 minutes but not anymore. Also, an OCM isn't supposed to be the narrator for the local forecast. The radar graphics are terrible too.

[weatherfan_2013]

Yeah, deep down I have a grudge for that, but its still the weather channel. They're the reason I really watch tv anymore.

I miss the old version of the IntelliStar that lasted 2007-2013 also. Some lasted 1 minute, some 1:30 and some 2 minutes but not anymore. Also, an OCM isn't supposed to be the narrator for the local forecast.

Agree 100%. TWC just doesn't feel serious anymore with their childish graphics and icons that look like they were drawn by a kindergartner. We're going on 3 years with these graphics and they needed to go not even 3 hours after they debuted. Plus the only terrain maps they show are only radar and some forecast maps. The majority of maps are still flat white. I also don't like the L-Bar format, it may provide more information but I prefer having a full 1920x1080 picture with an LDL overlaying. I'm pretty sure it's getting to a time where the graphics team is preparing newer graphics.

According to @Twcenter1
"@MatthewYatzun5 @weatherx17 by 2017 we plan to be 24/7 so yes an 8-10p show will air."
Maybe by 2017 new graphics will air?

[SO7430]

Hence why I said earlier maybe the jazz is just the tip of the ice burg. haha maybe. But still Its great to see other people agree with how I feel. The weather channel feels like it was made as a weekend college project, it seems too modern and too immature for me. The old ldl was the best, it just went without force. If I could take any format again I would take any version between 2004-2013. Graphics and icons in all.

[yourweathertoday]

I'd make the case that visually, the channel looked much more like a slapdash college project prior to the 2013 update. You had, at that point, five years worth of differing graphics packages, many of them poorly done or very generic. There was no unifying brand, visual or otherwise. Simplified as the current package may be, it's incredibly clean, unified, and a distinct visual brand that they can identify with. To me, the current brand is a classic example of "less is more." Every icon, for example, gives you a very clear idea of conditions expected. Could a previous set with skeumorphic gradients, shading, and animations do the same thing? Sure. Does it need any of those things to serve its purpose? Nope. Design is very much cyclical, if you study the channel's history. I'm sure a rebrand will come within the next few years, but I'd expect it to be an evolution of the current brand, not a full revolution, like 2013 was. Visual tastes differ from person to person, but, you have to give them credit for making an honest effort to unify their visual identity for the first time since 2008, and arguably since 2003.

Reference video: check out the hot mess that was on-air graphics in August of 2013 at 0:10
http://youtu.be/j9X3rP_HXRQ

[toxictwister00]

I'd make the case that visually, the channel looked much more like a slapdash college project prior to the 2013 update. You had, at that point, five years worth of differing graphics packages, many of them poorly done or very generic. There was no unifying brand, visual or otherwise. Simplified as the current package may be, it's incredibly clean, unified, and a distinct visual brand that they can identify with. To me, the current brand is a classic example of "less is more." Every icon, for example, gives you a very clear idea of conditions expected. Could a previous set with skeumorphic gradients, shading, and animations do the same thing? Sure. Does it need any of those things to serve its purpose? Nope. Design is very much cyclical, if you study the channel's history. I'm sure a rebrand will come within the next few years, but I'd expect it to be an evolution of the current brand, not a full revolution, like 2013 was. Visual tastes differ from person to person, but, you have to give them credit for making an honest effort to unify their visual identity for the first time since 2008, and arguably since 2003.

Reference video: check out the hot mess that was on-air graphics in August of 2013 at 0:10
http://youtu.be/j9X3rP_HXRQ

I agree, you don't have to like the graphics, everyone's tastes differ. I personally love TWC's current graphics, I think it's the best look they've had since the early 2000s (Live by It era), but it's practically non debatable that the current branding/graphics are about as uniformed and clean than they have been in well over a decade.

You have to go all the way back to either the Live by It era or the Bringing Weather to Life era the last time they've been this uniform. Maybe 2008 also at the earliest when TWC went fully HD, but only for like the first 9 months or so. From 2009-2013 there were more graphical changes than I could count on my fingers and toes combined.

To be fair to TWC, their graphics fall more in line with most cable news networks if you think about it. (CNN, MSNBC, etc.) meaning that they're considered "modern" and "clean".

[SO7430]

While I never meant to make it seem like the current graphics suck, I wanted to voice my deep opinion that I have never really spoken about before. While on the topic, I merely stated how I felt. That does not reflect how I view the channel currently at all. I have the weather channel on from 8 in the morning until 3 am most days of the week. While stating my opinion, that it looked like a college project, does not mean countless hours of effort and thought were put into its design and function. I was poking fun at the fact of what I thought, and how lightning said they were kindergartner drawn icons. My opinion does not affect how I judge something like the weather channel.  Deep down that is how I feel, but I'm not going to let it distort my view . This update actually fixed alot of problem with the old version. Warning crawls  don't block out the ldl anymore and it fits seamlessly. What I'm really trying to get across here is, the statement of my opinion and "dream come true" ideas were not intended to be taken as an insult towards TWC. I'm sorry that it came off that way.

[Lotologist492]

I too like the current suite of graphics and icons.  They are in line with what you would expect to see on mobile devices and thus are very simple, clean and modern.  At the same time, I like the prior graphics as well.  That's the beauty of being a fan...every 'era' brings something different to the screen.  The 2004-2013 era would probably been more 'uniform' had it not been for the introduction of HD programming.

If only we had 1:30 or 2:00 LF's again, SIX of them an hour, every hour, with music that is varied, about 90% of us here would be happy.  Even production music ain't all bad, as long as they change it out periodically.  I for one like the storm alert music.  Remember, Network Music (now Killer Tracks) had lots of great tunes.  And if we had six 2:00 LF's per hour, even longform programs would not be the end of the world, knowing we could count on 10-12 mins of jazz / instrumentals per hour.

[livefromButler]

It's Jazz Friday again at The Weather Channel!  Just heard Pacific Coast Highway by Jeff Lorber and Wait a Mintute by Mark Krurnowski from the TWC Jazz CDs!

[cc17926]

It's Jazz Friday again at The Weather Channel!  Just heard Pacific Coast Highway by Jeff Lorber and Wait a Mintute by Mark Krurnowski from the TWC Jazz CDs!

Ugh.. I can't take this smooth jazz stuff.. Would they just put the production music back!!

[twcfan68]

Oh look, it's probably another April Fools prank 

[Localonthe8s]

For some reason, I knew they were gonna play smooth Jazz today. Now if they yank it tomorrow, that's one helluva April Fools joke. Btw, can someone post an LF clip with The Gift, Mildred's Attraction, and Holding Hands?

[SO7430]

I had a hunch but we're not out of the woods until tomorrow.

[twcfan68]

I can officially confirm the Jazz is once again temporary for today. It will be back to production music soon. Edit- this is not an April Fool's joke.

[TWCJim]

Great to hear Smooth Jazz again but if this later does turn out to be an April Fools prank, I would be laughing my butt off around this time tomorrow... not!