Messages

31

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: DirecTV Dropping TWC

« on: January 18, 2014, 06:48:22 PM »

So given that I'm the one that's been doing droptheweatherchannel.com, I might as well explain and respond to some stuff.

The abandoning of the winter storm names was more or less just me hypothesizing.  There were blizzard warnings out a few days ago, and a winter storm warning was issued for Massachusetts today.  I know they're just clippers, but given how Weather Channel was treating what seemed to be a separate storm system as the "second half" of Winter Storm Dion, the last few weeks suggests they would have used the I name for something this week.

There's been a lot of instances of them acting out of character.  The 2pm WCL block was basically a telethon the first two days, but by Wednesday it was treated like a normal part of the schedule.  Save for that promo for Highway Thru Hell that aired erroneously, no reality shows have been promoted.  (Though I'm bummed they've gone back to the longform-heavy schedule today.)

What I will say is that I actually agree with the IDEA that storms should be named.  We're in the age of Twitter, and Norcross mentioned "everything needs a hashtag".  With the White House unveiling a number of standardized emergency hashtags, there's some truth to this.  I'd rather have a named storm than things like SNOWPOCALYPSE, SNOWMAGEDDON, STORMZILLA, FRANKENSTORM, etc. 

It should have been developed in cooperation with the NWS, however, and the Weather Channel's names are just so, so idiotic.  Nemo?  Hercules? Cleon?  Dion?  I mean, last year's list had ORKO on it.  Orko might be a mythological name but mention it to anyone and the first thing that comes to mind is the EXTREMELY ANNOYING THING from He-Man. 

Anyway...

I think the big thing from this is that WHEN the Weather Channel gets back on DirecTV, there will be major changes to the programming schedule.  They're not going to be off the schedule forever, because they've lost a significant chunk of their potential audience, and this is just embarrassing as hell for both sides.  (Though TWC is, rightfully, taking it worst.)  But I think it's a near certainty that this incident will result in more - perhaps substantially more - weather coverage.

32

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: Intellistar 2 Greetings list

« on: January 17, 2014, 02:29:02 AM »

I almost thought they got rid of the "cute" greetings, because on the past couple of LFs I watched, I only saw "Hello, This is Your Weather."

See, I've NEVER seen that - even when we were under the surprise Winter Storm Warnings.  I can probably say with certainty that I've seen every "cute" greeting listed here.  The Cantore one was worthy of a Facepalm Jim.  (Joke on TVNewsTalk.net that you may or may not end up seeing here.  )

33

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: Comcast/Xfinity

« on: January 17, 2014, 01:26:39 AM »

And we had Time Warner in some areas until it was assimilated into the borg hive mind that is xfinity.

I'm on FiOS these days, but my service was Comcast from the start in the 80s.  Hell, we had our service before it became Comcast!  Well, kind of.  Philadelphia, when it got cable in the late 1980s, had four different zones, each with a different franchise.  We were zoned as Rollins Cable, but Rollins got bought out by Heritage right before they launched.  So we were Heritage when we originally got cable, but Heritage decided to bail early on and sold to the operator of the adjacent zone.

I can still remember the creepy and cheap "Comcaaaaaaaast... commmmcast.... WATCH US NOW!" jingle and eyesore logo that started popping up all of a sudden.

I still kind of can't believe that the company that had the How To Order Pay Per View Rap now kind of controls the world. 

And yes.  Comcast.  took.  forever. to add anything.  We went to Wildwood, NJ to vacation, and they had TKR Cable (part-owned by TCI).  TKR kept adding stuff that Comcast wouldn't.  For a couple of years I wondered why their Weather Channel looked so awesome and ours looked like crap. (I don't think we got the 4000 until 1993 or 1994.)

34

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: DirecTV Dropping TWC

« on: January 17, 2014, 12:50:55 AM »

HEADLINE: DirecTV returns to the table after Weather Channel promises to scale back on the reality shows and use split feeds.

Even though it's speculation, from what I'm seeing the scaling back on the reality shows part might be right.  Just getting rid of the afternoon block and running straight from 4am to 8pm is on the right track.  There needs to be some weather presence during primetime, though, and at least a 5pm to 8pm block on weekends.  (At least do a national Weather All The Time feed that runs during long form).

If there's anything to this, it tells me that someone higher up the food chain - I'm thinking 30 Rock or even 1 Comcast Center here - took notice.

Unlike most of you guys, I actually like Comcast and NBCUniversal.  Probably because Comcast is, well, the largest company located in the city.  Say what you will about Comcast, they're well managed and they've done a good job turning around a lot of the things they got wrong under General Electric.  Since they bought NBCU in 2011, my local NBC O&O, WCAU, has experienced a remarkable increase in quality.  This past week they announced that WCAU and newly-acquired WWSI will be moving downtown to a brand new studio in a new skyscraper that will be built right next door to the current corporate headquarters.

When they're engaged, they show a willingness to change things around, even at great expense.  They scrapped a completed studio essentially because it sucked, they revived and reinvested in their local stations, they planned a total rebrand of one of their networks and then switched the network it was replacing at the last hour, and even the NBC network is doing a bit better.  (A bit.)

I think that, if they realize something is wrong at The Weather Channel - and let's be honest, something is wrong - they'll move, at least in part, to fix it.

35

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: Intellistar 2 Greetings list

« on: January 16, 2014, 09:06:48 PM »

These should be identical to what the Intellistar 1 has, since the LOT8s on both are pretty much identical now.  Neither of them should HAVE this feature, but they do.

Yes, I've seen "Show me the sunny!"

36

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: DirecTV Dropping TWC

« on: January 15, 2014, 12:36:22 AM »

So I posted that.  I literally just saw that on my way to work and scrambled to get it up on my site because it was blatant misinformation, pure and simple.  I actually did the math and I counted 49% reality/non-weather programming considering 7 days and 24 hours.  If you only count 6am-11pm Monday-Friday, the number's still very high - 35%.  And 100% of prime time programming is reality/non-weather.

The way this network has treated its viewers during this situation is cynical, manipulative, and despicable.  You cannot suddenly go 24/7 live weather just to prove to DirecTV you're worth it.  Nor can you say you're devoted to weather coverage when you were running promos for nothing but the reality shows a week prior.

This situation has infuriated me so much, I've been actively tweeting like never before and trying to get something out to counter their misinformation.  Luckily the domain droptheweatherchannel.com was available.  Viewers aren't as stupid as Weather Channel thinks.

37

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: DirecTV Dropping TWC

« on: January 14, 2014, 12:10:24 AM »

Well done, DirecTV.  I've never been one to encourage carriers to drop a channel but after TWC's total hypocrisy over the last three days, they deserved every bit of what's coming to them.

38

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: DirecTV Dropping TWC

« on: January 13, 2014, 05:15:04 PM »

What Weather Channel is doing today is literally making me want to punch something.  It's the most despicable, manipulative and cynical treatment of an audience that I've ever seen.  Even Cartoon Network's lame attempts to add live-action programming were less reprehensible.

Yes, they have more resources and technology and meteorologists and all that.  NOBODY is disputing that.  When they do provide coverage of breaking news stories, they generally do a very good job.  They were indispensable during Sandy.

But they're literally saying LIVES WILL BE THREATENED if DirecTV pulls the network.  They're arguing that it's a utility.

If it's a utility, then they have no business airing ANY weathertainment programming, much less devoting 40% of the schedule to it.  And up until Saturday, what were they promoting to death?  The reality shows.  Certainly I don't think shows like "Prospectors" count as public service, do you?

Okay, so maybe WeatherNation offers taped forecasts on a loop, with graphics and staff that aren't as experienced as The Weather Channel.  And maybe it isn't an alternative to the "critically important programming".  But I'll take a rougher, taped presentation that's available 100% of the time over their critically important service that they only devote 60% of the schedule to.

And they just ran an ad for Highway to Hell, airing tonight at 9.  That better not air.

39

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: DirecTV Dropping TWC

« on: January 12, 2014, 11:06:06 PM »

I posted this (in two parts) on another forum, but I'm posting it here as well, because this whole thing is just outrageous.

I've said that this network's problem is that they seem split between being Weather Channel, a network that airs live weather coverage, and WEATHER™, an entertainment network that happens to feature shows that are tangentially about weather and nature.  They need to be one or the other, because Weather Channel can't be taking long stretches off from live coverage, and WEATHER™'s programming needs to be dependably scheduled.

But, with this whole DirecTV scare, they've made their choice, whether they know it or not.

They've been in live coverage continuously since at least yesterday morning.  They show no signs of stopping.  As a number of you have noted, all advertising and promotions for long-form/reality programming have ceased.  In the usual promotional spots which air prior to Local on the 8s, they've either been running generic network IDs, the Cantore promo directing viewers to keeptheweatherchannel.com, and those image spots that say "THE WEATHER CHANNEL MATTERS".  The implication is that, because the weather has gotten more extreme, the service that they provide is necessary, NOW MORE THAN EVER.

Nevermind that said weather forecasting resource ends at 2pm on weekends.  Nevermind that, up until DirecTV threatened to drop the channel, they were hyping shows like "Highway Thru Hell" to death.  Nevermind that the amount of live weather coverage has been dropping steadily for years now.  No, they describe themselves as a service providing crucial public safety and severe weather preparedness programming.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, The Weather Channel has ACKNOWLEDGED that the amount of long-form is too high.  They've basically validated the complaints of DirecTV, its customers, and everyone here.  If they're a weather service that matters, they've been doing a spectacularly poor job.

I'm not against long-form and reality programming.  But if they are actively saying that The Weather Channel is a forecasting news service, they have to deliver on that promise.  They can't simply go back to airing hours and hours of "Freaks of Nature" after this is all over.  They have to commit to increased weather coverage.

40

Local Forecast / Re: Local on the 8's used as backround TV show in upcomeing game

« on: January 09, 2014, 11:49:10 PM »

It's definitely Intellistar v2 footage but with an extra overlay on top to obscure any Weather Channel branding.  Nice find!

41

WeatherSTAR Tech Support / Re: Fios Philadelphia IS 27098 - Map, Timing and Stability Issues

« on: December 05, 2013, 04:30:28 PM »

Soooooo... I think the Intellistar crashed.  Or something.  I don't know the workings of the Intellistar, but I do know that my SD feed was black until just about 2:05 and didn't display local information until the first Local on the 8s cued at 2:08.  Given that the radar seems to skip from 11:55 or something to 2:06, that might mean that we had at least no Intellistar, and probably no SD weather channel feed, until just now.

Keep in mind this is only the SD feed.  The HD feed, which doesn't have an IS2 (and probably never will), continued on as normal.

Is it normal for a bad Intellistar to bring down not only the local graphics, but the feed itself?  I don't know one bit of how the Intellistar units are supposed to function, but if it has this DualFeed thing I'd imagine the feed has to be processed through the IS first before going to air.  I still wouldn't see how we'd just get no Weather Channel SD.  Especially since I was intimately familiar with the WS4000 TCF back in the day.

Oh, and the basemaps haven't been updated to the flat white.  Still.

Hi HulkieD . I see you post a lot on TVNewsTalk, I'm a regular over there. I'm the one who started and commonly posted updates regarding WATN's refresh in Memphis.

Yup, that's me!  I actually started posting here because, in all honesty, I am a HUGE fan of this graphical revamp and the new look local forecasts.  It's very refreshing getting a weather presentation that is clear, concise, and doesn't rely on flashy animations, a billion maps, or "Double Scan" radars.  The weather presentation at one of the stations here in Philly has gotten SO flashy that they're nearly incomprehensible.

I'm anticipating the day that this visual language makes its way to the mobile apps and website, and when more outlets outside the Weather Channel realize that simplicity is the way to go. 

42

WeatherSTAR Tech Support / Re: Fios Philadelphia IS 27098 - Map, Timing and Stability Issues

« on: November 28, 2013, 10:49:36 PM »

• The error with the LDL running above the national LOT8s is probably a cuing error on TWC's end. It has happened several times in the past since the IS's debut.

True; I probably shouldn't have included it.  I remember this going back to the days of the XL or even the 4000.  The LDL running over the new LOT8s is new.

• The IS is nearing 10 years old, so there's probably going to be lag associated with it especially with such animation as that on the alert screen. Skipping was also not uncommon during the IS v2 days either when animated ad corner bugs appeared during the text LF segment due to excessive animation.

I know to expect problems with a ten year old piece of hardware that's probably being asked to do much, much more than was originally intended.  I'd imagine that's why Vocal Local is disabled, right?

That said, the lag on the alert screen seemed especially severe to me, and I've seen multiple YT videos showing other Intellistars handling that screen and some of the others much more smoothly than mine.  The music isn't cutting out, for example.

43

WeatherSTAR Tech Support / Fios Philadelphia IS 27098 - Map, Timing and Stability Issues

« on: November 28, 2013, 08:15:07 PM »

I would post this in the Update thread but the problems seem fairly severe.

I am on Verizon FiOS.  The Intellistar (27098) seems to be suffering from a few issues at this point.

Firstly, the maps have not been updated to the current standard - they're still green and not white.  Secondly, the Local on the 8s is currently cuing on a roughly eight second delay, resulting in the first national LoT8s page airing and the LF crashing into commercials.

Third, several products seem to tax the system.  Audio cuts out and the system seems to studder until moving to the next page.  The most pronounced issue seems to be with alerts.

I've assembled a video illustrating some of the various problems:
http://youtu.be/ENqemtdZqu4

Thanks,
Matthew Williams