Show Posts

181

TWC and your Cable Company / Re: AT&T to acquire DirecTV

« on: July 24, 2015, 06:33:02 PM »

The FCC approved AT&T's acquisition of DirecTV today:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/07/24/fcc-approves-ts-acquisition-directv/30626421/

182

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: July 22, 2015, 01:22:18 PM »

64º Cloudy

183

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: July 22, 2015, 01:21:34 PM »

Quote from: WeatherSTARIII on July 20, 2015, 05:49:21 PM

I still wish cable systems would stop down converting their IS2s to make a fake digital MPEG-2 "SD feed" that's fully letterboxed and use the IS2 only on the actual MPEG-4 HD feed. I also wish cable systems would combine both the IS2 for the HD simulcast and the IS2Jr. for the SD simulcast so that way, the actual SD simulcast wouldn't be letterboxed and still have the main IS2 shown only on the actual HD simulcast plus the IS2Jr. on the SD simulcast. It's still a waste of bandwidth.

The thing is, most headends prefer to just having the IS2 and the HD feed simulcast alone, primarily to avoid the time and money maintaining another STAR (i.e. the IS2 Jr). The acquisition of a STAR system isn't exactly priority number one for a lot of cable headends (e.g. think of Comcast and their X1 DVR systems) even though The Weather Channel requires headends with the TV network to do so.

Also, I do like the idea of running the IS2 Jr through an IS2/HD feed simulcast, but that idea seems technologically impossible IMO.

Even if it was possible, the trouble is that headends would have to program the IS2 to not display LFs and only LDLs, vice versa for the IS2 Jr. Another problem is that you'd probably be hearing Cantore's narrations twice during LFs like an echo effect, because the IS2 HD would be simultaneously running in the background behind the IS2 Jr. So, the thought of running an IS2 Jr through a letterboxed HD feed simulcast may sound great, but as I said, that idea is technologically impossible.

184

Local Forecast / Re: TWC Songs you've heard in other places

« on: July 18, 2015, 01:26:55 AM »

Earlier today I heard Passion Pit's "Take A Walk" at a Payless ShoeSource.

185

TWC Fan Art / Re: TWCJim's Artwork

« on: July 16, 2015, 08:15:28 PM »

My concept of the DirecTV LF Radar with the WATT graphics:

Map sourced from the National Weather Service website, city boxes added by me. Also added a 'Brought To You By' on the space below the map.

186

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: July 13, 2015, 01:13:27 AM »

Quote from: toxictwister00 on July 12, 2015, 02:58:08 PM

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.

187

The Game Room / Re: Stupid Questions

« on: July 10, 2015, 09:57:14 PM »

Only if the IntelliSTAR runs up to 88 miles an hour with 1.21 gigawatts of power.

If there is a state called West Virginia, then why isn't Virginia called East Virginia?

188

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: July 10, 2015, 09:51:24 PM »

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.

189

General Weather Chat / Re: What's the weather in your area?

« on: July 03, 2015, 07:13:45 PM »

Here in Grand Coulee, it is currently 100º and sunny. Under a Heat Advisory until 9PM PT tonight.

190

General Discussion / Re: Recent music purchases

« on: July 01, 2015, 09:02:01 PM »

Death Cab For Cutie - Narrow Stairs (CD) featuring "I Will Possess Your Heart".

191

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: June 30, 2015, 07:59:15 PM »

The updated weather advisory scroll now features the time/temperature stamp, seen here during an LF. It's just like old times.

192

TWC Fan Art / Re: TWCJim's Artwork

« on: June 28, 2015, 05:58:16 PM »

A graphics overhaul of the DirecTV Local Forecast is waaayyy overdue. Here is a rough draft of my concept of what the CC product might look like with the 'Weather All The Time' LF graphics: