Messages

106

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: October 31, 2014, 06:49:12 PM »

Ads are back on the IS.

Not sure how to scale down the images, so I removed them and left the links.
 
http://i.imgur.com/CMiZxAM.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/R4PCoBu.jpg

Interesting how the ads are now being placed in the lower right.

Also, as Tavores was saying, I also wish TWC would color-code the Weather Bulletin scrollbar.  Doing so would make the statement pop out that much more if you quickly glance and see a particular color.

107

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: October 29, 2014, 10:35:36 PM »

I forgot to mention I sent an email to TWC asking if new music will be introduced last night, here's the reply I
got. Still a general statement but maybe they are doing some testing?

Thanks for your inquiry. We are currently working on possible music formats. We'll be rolling
out in the next month or so.

David

No comment.
PM me.

Sam, I am going to ask you again to refrain from posting comments like these.  There should be absolutely no reason as to why you cannot share something about the LOT8s publicly on this forum.  I am still confused by your vague comments; do they mean you know a bunch about TWC's future plans but refuse to talk about them in detail because you are not allowed, or do  they mean you simply don't know all the details?  If it's the first, then it's probably best to not post anything at all.  If it's the latter, then please just say that.  There's no reason you need to have someone PM you if they are curious about the music.  If you can't share it publicly on the forum, then you probably shouldn't be sharing it at all.

108

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

« on: October 26, 2014, 03:06:10 PM »

It's too hot!

Yesterday, OKC set a record high of 92 degrees, shattering the old record of 87 in 1939.  Today, we may see a similar story:

Current Temp: 88 degrees
Record: 92 degrees in 1891

109

Everything Else TWC / Re: TWC website criticism

« on: October 22, 2014, 01:45:21 PM »

Haven't checked weather.com in months and don't plan to in the near future.  Their new layout is atrocious, and I was tired of articles about a "Major Northeast Snowstorm in Two Weeks" taking precedence over something major happening elsewhere in the nation in the short-term.  That, and the stupid articles such as, "THIS May Surprise You," or "You Won't Believe They Did THAT."

110

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: October 21, 2014, 12:05:47 PM »

TWC IntelliSTAR with updated graphics- Astoria, OR- Oct. 21, 2014- 8:18AM PDT

I'm not all too impressed with the updated graphics.    Also, the hashtag screen is missing on my end (just cuts to the satellite LF).

Have to agree with Tavores on the hashtag screen: it is useless. IMO TWC could have put something else in the time frame, like the Local Weather ID number or even increase the timing on the 7-day forecast. But for a useless hashtag screen? Terrible! 

What updated graphics?!   OK, yes, I do see that they changed the format and animations of the opening screen (and honestly, I preferred the clock to the left - I think we know it's the LOT8s already!), but other than that, everything else looks unchanged.  I'm hoping this isn't the "refresh" that's being talked about.

Oh, and yes, instead of adding more weather information like I am sure many people would want, how about we remove some and replace it with a useless hashtag screen?  Maybe that screen is a temporary placement for something neat to come.  One can only hope...

111

Everything Else TWC / Re: The Forward Direction of TWC

« on: October 21, 2014, 11:58:13 AM »

I don't like the conecpt of dual feed. TWC says they'll only cut into longform programming for areas that are impacted by severe weather; but that only works for people who have cable and are served by a local Intellistar/Intellistar 2 JR/IntelliStar 2. What about those who have satellite, and may have limited or no internet access, and cannot view the live stream on Youtube? I would definitely change the channel to a more credible local station if that were the case. There are too many flaws with the dual feed system; and the severe weather cut-ins should be aired nationwide.

From what I hear: work is being done with Sattelite providers to provide this local dual feed.

Any talk of TWC working with DTV/DISH to get WATT during longform?

i like the idea of a "alternate channel" for The Weather Channel for Satellite providers so we can get the same coverage the cable providers get from Dual-feed

example, if there's a Tornado outbreak in the midwest but it's not significant enough for a live wall to wall on the main feed, then the main feed plays the schedule long form and the Alternate channel shows the same feed that's fed to cable providers in the markets affected in the path of the tornado outbreak.

if Dish and Direct can provide a alternate feed for the Regional sports networks and the ESPN Networks and MLB Network and NHL Network, they can try to the same for The Weather Channel.

Wouldn't it be more expensive for TWC to have an alternate channel than just pre-empt long-form on their main channel?  I mean, I know this has been mentioned several times, but if TWC wanted to go the direction of ESPN or FOX Sports by having two channels (well, I know ESPN has even more), then they could.  Maybe show long-form on TWC2 while live programming is on TWC1 and then use TWC2 for extended weather coverage when necessary while TWC1 is showing long-form.  But I honestly think that would be more expensive.  I am guessing by not showing long-form, they are losing money, however.  Plus, while I know this may be shocking to many of you, TWC may actually have viewers who regularly tune into their long-form.  So perhaps the idea of two channels wouldn't really make much of a difference in terms of expenses and actually be a good idea.  I don't know.

112

General Discussion / Re: WN is WORSE than TWC!

« on: October 14, 2014, 06:47:57 PM »

I thought WeatherNation was independently owned and operated?  I didn't realize other stations (e.g. an NBC affiliate) were responsible for managing it.

From what I remember hearing, WeatherNation was usually put on a 3-hour loop (that's one of the pieces of information TWC used to bash WN during the DirecTV dispute).  Since WN on DirecTV can't be affiliated with any local company (at least, I wouldn't think it could be), I wonder if the DirecTV "version" of WN is the only one which shows 24-hour weather coverage, albeit on loops at times.

113

Hurricane Central / Re: Hurricane Gonzalo

« on: October 14, 2014, 01:07:16 AM »

Gonzalo becomes the sixth hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season and could become our second MAJOR hurricane as early as Wednesday morning based on the current forecast by the NHC.  After striking the Leeward Islands, the storm will eventually take a northeastward trend, possibly making a direct landfall on Bermuda but staying well away from the US East Coast.

114

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: October 14, 2014, 12:59:55 AM »

Yes TWC has been live since 12am and may be live through the overnight covering the storms.
WCL OCM shifts for all day coverage are usually 11am-3pm. 3pm-7pm, 7pm-11pm and of they stay live 11pm-3am. 3am-5am or 5:30am.
They are not using the storm mode graphics.

So did TWC finally go live last night (assuming the 12 am you are referring to was 11 PM CDT Sun)?  I was quite upset to turn on TWC around 8:30 or 9 PM Sunday night to see long-form when numerous severe thunderstorm warnings were in effect across Texas and Oklahoma.  But then again, it's the southern Plains.  Had that been happening anywhere east of the Mississippi, especially the Northeast, they would have been in full-blown red mode.

115

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: October 01, 2014, 10:39:35 PM »

Ugh, I need to take the logs off the Pot Belly Stove and crank up the A/C.  Today's high at Oklahoma City was 94 degrees, three degrees shy of the record high of 97 set back in 1938.  Is it October 1st, or August 1st?  Hopefully this approaching cold front will be a promising sign of cooler temperatures to come ... for awhile.

116

TWC Fan Art / Re: Weatherlover's Artwork

« on: September 30, 2014, 10:13:31 PM »

I've done a few different spins on how the IntelliSTAR2 should look since the version 2 update last November, but for this one I thought about that Vimeo video that was posted here last year of the mock up Weather All The Time concept and how (in my opinion)The Weather Channel threw away a major opportunity to set the IS2 apart from it's predecessor the IS graphically.

I'll be the first to admit that while I did love the simplicity back then, I realized that too simple can be a bad thing as well as being too flashy. I'm hoping with this concept I was able to strike a good balance between the two, but I'll let those who watch the video decide. I was somewhat disappointed that while the overall design remained similar to the mock up videos, they didn't choose to keep that personalized feel of the cities/landmarks like they did in the mock up videos as well. When the IntelliStar2 v1 first came out over 4 years ago, what made it appealing was how vastly different graphically it looked in comparison to the IntelliStar. It had flair, flashiness and vibrance.

I don't know why, but for years I always wanted to see a future STAR display weather conditions in the background, in addition to actual cities and landmarks where you live as part of the background. I always thought that would be cool to see and (again in my opinion) would add a level of depth and uniqueness to that particular STAR which is exactly what I did in the video below.

Song: "Something You Said" by David Benoit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv0cqxIo9xY&feature=youtu.be

Hey Tavores, just watched this video, and I have to say, awesome job on these graphics!   I personally like the skyline background and most of all, the animated weather conditions.  What program did you use to make these?

117

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: September 27, 2014, 12:54:30 PM »

I noticed this morning that the number of products on the bottom of the IntelliSTAR LF are now 3 instead of 4. The Summary product doesn't appear at the end of the screen until Now transitions into Today.

Also, the time bar on the products now has white overlapping gray (similar to the IS2/IS2 Jr) where before it was the other way around.

TWC IntelliSTAR- Astoria, OR- Sep. 25, 2014- 11:18AM PDT

So they decide to make these small tweaks but still can't seem to fix the problem of the LF skipping/jumping when transitioning to the 7-Day Forecast?  Someone needs to get their priorities straight.

118

General Discussion / Re: The Pot Belly Stove

« on: September 22, 2014, 11:05:23 PM »

Fall has officially arrived as of 9:29 PM CDT this evening!  Welcome back to the Pot Belly Stove!

119

General Discussion / Re: The Front Porch

« on: September 22, 2014, 11:03:40 PM »

It's time to put some logs on the fire and move inside to the Pot Belly Stove.  The Front Porch is now closed for the fall and winter seasons.  We will see you back here to celebrate the arrival of spring on March 20, 2015.

120

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: September 21, 2014, 01:00:00 AM »

Looks like every holiday that is included on the "Holiday Countdown" wheel on the sidebar will have a special LF-decorated background.  Not sure why they include both real ones (like Fourth of July, Christmas, Thanksgiving) and other questionable ones (like Friday the 13th and Intl Talk Like a Pirate Day).  The Pirate Day one really gets me.  I mean, every day has a National Something tied to it.  What makes Pirate Day so special?   I feel like TWC is trying to be a little too cute.  There comes a point when the cute attempts trump professionalism.  This, I feel, is one of those moments.