Messages

1561

Everything Else Classic TWC / Re: You Tube video from July 1989

« on: July 17, 2010, 05:48:38 PM »

Thank you very much for posting this!  Wow - talk about nostalgia!  Those are the weather maps, and the meteorologists, that I grew up watching, and loved every second of it!

Interestingly, my cable headend's WeatherStar III didn't use the optional sensor package you see in use on the LDL here.  Instead, our current conditions came from Boston's Logan Airport.  The advantage was that our current conditions report on the Local Forecast and the LDL had sky conditions, but we had less almanac information (temperature and precipitation).

1562

Local Forecast / Re: The Weather Channel / The Weather Network UK STAR

« on: July 17, 2010, 05:40:23 PM »

As far as I'm aware, the UK channel didn't use any WeatherStar technology.

1563

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: IntelliStar 2 Beta Launch

« on: July 17, 2010, 05:39:46 PM »

My thinking is...

1.) Boston to test the Intellistar 2
2.) Boston to test traffic
3.) Boston to test marine
4.) Boston to test the LDL

1564

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: Intellistar 2 LDL

« on: July 17, 2010, 12:45:19 AM »

Geesh, so many LDLs now it's confusing! Only two years ago, there were two main LDLs (XL and IntelliStar). 

Heck, I thought the goose laid the golden egg way back in the day when the WeatherStar 4000's LDL started showing the "Today's/Tomorrow's forecast" line!

1565

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: IntelliStar 2 Videos!

« on: July 16, 2010, 03:19:37 PM »

I'm impressed... and frothing at the mouth for it to appear where I live! 

1566

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: Intellistar 2 LDL

« on: July 16, 2010, 03:12:11 PM »

Thanks for your comments, Tyler.

I took a look at the video, and I'm impressed!

1567

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: Intellistar 2 LDL

« on: July 15, 2010, 09:49:27 PM »

Martin, are those actual screenshots, or something you created?  If they are actual shots, I have a couple of issues:

1.) I don't mind that the national current conditions bar on the left is still shown, but, since the radar on the bottom left corner is hidden by the local LDL, the "radar" label should be either removed or repositioned on the national feed so that it's no longer indicating a radar that's hidden to those now seeing a local LDL.

2.) Why is the Intellistar HD using the pre-2010 weather icons?  That creates a discontinuity with all of the other weather icons shown on The Weather Channel.  And, personally, I greatly prefer the newest set of icons.  The older ones do look more realistic, but the newer ones remove confusion.  For example, I had a hard time telling the difference between rain (white streaks against a grey background) and snow (white dots against a grey background).

3.) The banner underneath the city name is a little confusing.  For example, "The Week Ahead" shows current conditions, "Tomorrow" shows the forecast for the upcoming week, etc.  It's not a problem to show what's coming next, but that should be clearly differentiated from what's currently being shown.

4.) On the current conditions display, the data covers up the labels ("visibility," for example).

5.) On the week ahead display, the day labels and the colored banners underneath them don't quite match, and the result looks very sloppy.

6.) Where's the clock on the small LDL?

Other than that (whew!), the idea seems to be quite good, and I look forward to the Intellistar HD being deployed in my area... hopefully with a bit more tweaking.

1568

IntelliStar 2 Discussion / Re: IntelliStar 2 Beta Launch

« on: July 15, 2010, 08:08:25 PM »

Good luck to the system, and I envy those lucky viewers in Tennessee!  I hope the Intellistar HD will come to Massachusetts very soon!

1569

OCMs & Personalities / Re: OCM Layoff- Bill Keneely

« on: July 13, 2010, 02:49:01 PM »

So long Bill

    Those were the days...

1570

Everything Else TWC / Re: Odd Forecast

« on: July 10, 2010, 08:03:49 PM »

The blue/orange gradient colors showing tampa threw me off

That part is the national standard definition LDL for viewers without an Intellistar.

1571

OCMs & Personalities / Re: OCM Layoff- Bill Keneely

« on: July 06, 2010, 08:12:48 PM »

Seems that NBC just wants to forget about the old TWC...

True... and very sad. 

1572

OCMs & Personalities / Re: OCM Layoffs

« on: July 05, 2010, 09:31:38 PM »

It definitely seems like they're seeking a younger demographic.  Such talented and seasoned meteorologists are being lost for that reason.  Salary also seems like an issue, too.  It costs less to employ younger and less experienced meteorologists with less seniority.

1573

General Weather Chat / Re: Northeast Heat Wave :)

« on: July 05, 2010, 09:30:10 PM »

This heat and this humidity is just murder.  Not to mention the air conditioning is out of order at work, so I sit all day in a 90-something degree office.

1574

OCMs & Personalities / Re: OCM Layoffs

« on: July 05, 2010, 06:50:18 PM »

I have confirmed that Bill Keneely was let go

That's a terrible shame.  WHY does The Weather Channel keep letting its long-time and talented staff go?  It's for the sake of younger and "fresher" faces who identify with a "younger" and "more hip" viewing audience.

The Weather Channel shouldn't be trying to compete with MTV, but it does...

1575

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: July 05, 2010, 06:41:01 PM »

where has vivan brown gone off to? i haven't seen her on in a while..

She was on last week, wasn't she?

Yes.