Messages

91

Local Forecast / Re: IntelliStar I and II Update planned

« on: February 18, 2013, 09:09:08 PM »

That topic has been taken off of weatheraffiliate.com. Either the update has been delayed, or has been cancelled. Hopefully the latter, since the IntelliStar graphics are fine just they way they are. We wouldn't want the IS's to be too graphics to be too "high tech"/cluttered.

It's way too cluttered as it is. I was excited for this update, since the IS was desperately in need of it in my opinion. Oh well. I'm pretty sure it was cancelled.

92

Everything Else TWC / Re: TWC - Analog to Digital Transition in 2013

« on: February 18, 2013, 08:58:56 PM »

This thread already has inconsistencies in my eyes. Let me shed some light on it.

TWC has delayed the April updates. I believe that they will never even roll out as they've changed their game plan.

Now lets establish some stuff about how the satellites work. AMC-11 is what the "analog" feed is currently transmitted on. AMC-10 is what the "digital" feed is transmitted on. Confused yet? I hope not, as this is about to get more salty

What makes the "analog" feed and "digital" feed digital? Simple. It's the encoding method. The feed on AMC-11 is encoded using a VideoCipher II, or VC2 for short. Back in the 80s, this was a very popular method to encrypt satellite signals. All of the STARs up until the IntelliStar transmitted on AMC-11, or the "analog" feed. It's old technology, and is very limited. Oh, and it takes up more bandwidth.

Now, the "digital" feed is sent on AMC-10. It is digitally encrypted with Motorola's DigiCipher 2. It takes less bandwidth, and is much more secure over the old VC2 from the 1980s. But, what does this mean for the STARs?

The feed is beamed into space by The Weather Channel, already encrypted. TWCs clients will then aim their satellite dish (no, not a small one like you'd see with DirecTV or Dish) spot on with the satellite in space, whether it be AMC-10 or 11. This is good. The only thing in theory to keep legacy units running is for affiliates to re-aim their dishes to AMC-10, and they need to switch their decoders to DigiCipher 2s and authorize it with TWC. As far as I know, AMC-11 is almost nearing it's "expiration", if you get my drift. I don't know the exact date. Someone else here who knows that can chime in with that.

So the legacy units can definitely be saved, and can run for many many more years to come. It just means that affiliates will need to update their equipment and re-aim their dishes. The question, however, is if TWC will change their encoding methods and beam it to AMC-10. It seriously just boils down to the encoding.

And now for a few disclaimers: I am not an operator. I am also not involved in getting signals down from the satellites, mainly because my property is setup to where it's just not worth doing, and I don't have authorized decoders (which are nearly impossible to find/get without paying for). This is just my take on the situation based off of previous knowledge and my common sense. So I may be wrong in some of this, but I am fairly confident that what I stated here is true and factual. It really is just a matter of encoding/decoding and the decommissioning of AMC-11 (whenever that is). So don't shoot me for messing one thing up. Just trying to help and tell everyone what I know from past knowledge of this and common sense.

Now, I am officially done with my novel.

93

General Discussion / Re: Happy Birthday, phw115wvwx!

« on: February 13, 2013, 12:12:19 AM »

Happy Birthday!

94

General Discussion / Re: Computer and Hardware Chat

« on: February 06, 2013, 10:15:21 PM »

You pay for what you get, really. That's how it has gone for me, at least. I bought a HP dvd1270 and it works perfectly well for me. Very fast, burns discs properly, etc. Usually Toshiba drives have failed on me, but I've always had great luck with Lite-On and HP. Oh, and another warning from personal experience... if you go used, do not get a Matshita/Panasonic. They have all failed on me so far.

As for the quality aspect, I am fairly sure most of them will have a plastic face plate. I don't see any other substitute. The metals aren't the strongest, but if you don't drop the drive or put a ton of pressure on the thing, it should be fine. My main concern would be about the optical lens and the gears. That varies model from model, so just do some research before you buy to see what people have to say about the quality.

95

Questions, Comments, Suggestions / Re: New Ideas for TWCT/TWCC

« on: December 06, 2012, 09:58:33 PM »

I agree that trying to mix the place up with the weather in general and TWC would be beneficial. Like some (I guess), I haven't been poking my head around here that often as I once used to. The reason being, I lost all interest in The Weather Channel. Only two things keep me here, which is talking to fellow weather fanatics, and WeatherSTAR technology. So I really believe that a mix of the two would be excellent. And now time to reply to other people in this thread, so excuse all of this below if you don't want to hear about my experiences here

Martin, I'd like to say that I am extremely happy you are following your interests. It's a shame that you will have to step down one day, as you have been an excellent administrator in my eyes. It's not about frequency, it's about quality. You have invested money into this website, and made quite a strong user base. So all I can say is good luck, and thanks for everything you have done. Hopefully you will still to make big changes before you hand off the position to someone else, and continue to be a part of the community. And when you said everyone is like family to you- I can second that. I've made very good friends here, and some that have gone strong for years and continue to. I hate to see things get between everyone like this. We're all friends

Patrick, I would also like to say that you have been an excellent administrator, yet alone a friend. It's not too often that you find someone with the devotion like you. You keep this place safe and happy for everyone... and that's all that matters. You've done a fine job

96

General Discussion / Re: You Tube changes

« on: December 06, 2012, 08:41:13 PM »

I've had this for nearly a month or so, but only when I was on Chrome. Firefox and Internet Explorer all had the old layout during this time,  so I mainly used Firefox since I think this is the worst design to date...

97

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: December 06, 2012, 08:36:56 PM »

Despite how much I hate it at times, I want some snow. It's weird already being December without much snowfall... 

98

General Discussion / Re: Happy Birthday, Matt (twcclassics)!

« on: October 03, 2012, 08:08:54 PM »

Happy Birthday, Matt!

99

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: September 22, 2012, 11:15:19 PM »

First day of Fall and I get sick. Ugh!

I've been sick for the past week. Now that I am somewhat back to normal... everything tastes like burnt plastic (blech!). Get well soon

And happy first day of Autumn. Now that we've jumped back to to the Pot Belly Stove, maybe I can keep up with everything

100

General Emulator Discussion / Re: WeatherScan XL only works 3 ways? and Possible More Cable provider logos

« on: September 15, 2012, 02:41:02 PM »

Despite how old this thread is... I recall a few years ago there was a thread around here regarding how to make your own custom provider logos. Try digging around, you may find them

101

General Discussion / Re: Gas prices in your area

« on: September 11, 2012, 03:31:21 PM »

$4.09 in the Lansing, MI area. This will be fun, considering my car currently gets about 12mpg since the timing is out of whack...

102

Local Forecast / Re: WeatherStars you have seen

« on: September 11, 2012, 03:24:01 PM »

The WeatherStar XL I saw until January 5th, 2006 and it was the (Belleville Area)

Belleville, IL? Last time I was down there (Vandalia), there was a 4000 running, which was 2008 I believe. Belleville was the reporting station, and I believe Charter was the carrier (that or Mediacom).

103

Local Forecast / Re: IntelliStar I and II Update planned

« on: September 08, 2012, 02:53:00 PM »

Source is Weatheraffiliate.com. TWCs affiliates are all registered on here.

I wonder if TWC is also planning to do something with the legacy STARs (4000, XL, Junior) or if they are just gonna leave those STAR units alone 

I'm banking that they'll be left alone. They made no mention of legacy units, and it wouldn't really make much sense anymore as they are already so "stripped down" as it is...

104

Local Forecast / Re: IntelliStar I and II Update planned

« on: September 07, 2012, 11:16:47 PM »

You're welcome, everyone.

It will be interesting to see, however I'm a pretty firm believer of the saying "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Graphically, the IntelliStar is terribly broken and desperately needs to be fixed. I've been preaching this for 5 years now.

Yeah, the IntelliStar's appearance is severely degraded. It's time for a new appearance, as the current graphics package does not fit the TWCs other graphics. Not just that, but I find it to be crammed (just a personal opinion).

105

Local Forecast / IntelliStar I and II Update planned

« on: September 07, 2012, 05:30:27 PM »

Not sure if there is a thread out there already, but here's what I know. TWC is rolling out a software update (sounds like a hardware update as well) March 5th, 2013 to select units, and will be rolling it out nationwide on March 19th, 2013. Here's the statement I got from TWC:

In an ongoing effort to constantly improve the quality of our products, The Weather Channel is testing a new format of Local on the 8s. We are modernizing our equipment, and this new look is the first phase in building a superior programming model that is compatible with our HD Intellistar 2 and SD Intellistar boxes, delivering an improved customer experience. The testing of the new format will commence Monday, March 5th, with plans to roll out on a permanent basis two weeks later.

Wonder if this means that more changes are ahead...