Messages

601

Programming / Re: Couple of videos

« on: March 12, 2012, 11:44:38 PM »

Where's the "like" button?

I really used to like those PSAs the meteorologists did way back when.

602

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: March 11, 2012, 09:32:32 AM »

Does NBC save money by hiring only amateurs and interns to do the job?  Or are "qualified" technicians just that incompetent?  Or is the studio inadequate and the producers just don't care?

603

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: March 10, 2012, 12:23:49 PM »

One upon a time The Weather Channel ran regular PSAs during the equinoxes reminding people of how the sun disrupted satellite signals temporarily.

604

Programming and Graphics / Re: New Video Wall

« on: March 08, 2012, 11:14:24 PM »

I wonder if the 12 LCD's will have bezel's or not? I'd think not if it's going to be a video wall. That must be a somewhat large investment for TWC, but it will probably last much longer than the projection system.

I hope this new video wall won't be as much of a waste of money as the old one was!

605

General Weather Chat / Re: Weather Station

« on: March 08, 2012, 01:38:05 AM »

I hope you all realize that any TWC weather station is cheap and will perform poorly.  I've had better luck with simple Radio Shack thermometers than anything from TWC.  The bottom line is that if you really want a good weather station, you'll have to consider spending in the range of $250-$1,000.

Does TWC actually make the weather station?  If so, it's interesting that you can find them on the LaCrosse website.

No, they just resell them.

606

Everything Else TWC / Re: General TWC Discussion

« on: March 07, 2012, 10:49:35 AM »

I can't imagine the video wall would last terribly long each time, since it has to be turned up very brightly in order to be seen on camera underneath all the bright studio lights.  Even then, at its best, it will never appear as sharp or as bright as a map on chroma key.

It was a nice idea they had about the video wall, but putting it into practice has shown that maybe it's not the best way to do things after all.  They realized that the maps just looked too murky on the wall, so they started using chroma key again.  They realized that the wall has to be maintained far too often (and usually at great cost) in order to keep using it.

I think it's time to just abandon it altogether.  Unless NBC is giving money for them to burn... with the provision that they don't spend it on payroll (referring to the many recent layoffs of longtime staff).

607

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: March 06, 2012, 11:47:38 AM »

When will TWC make up their minds on this thing?

Never!

608

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

« on: March 01, 2012, 10:21:52 AM »

Right now in Daytona Beach: 73° and sunny
Today looks to be another near-record breaking day of heat.

609

General Discussion / Re: Clear-channel/"Blowtorch" Stations

« on: March 01, 2012, 10:20:54 AM »

I live in Daytona Beach, and on most nights I can hear my favorite stations from Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia clearly enough to enjoy listening to them.

610

Local Forecast / Re: General LF Discussion

« on: February 26, 2012, 04:57:51 PM »

Yikes - that 4000 is in awful condition, except, interestingly, for the radar!  I must admit, though, that it makes for some very interesting visual effects.

Have you made any effort to contact TWC or the Star team here to get the problem looked at?

611

Local Forecast / Re: COLD! icon

« on: February 21, 2012, 04:49:52 PM »

 

Thanks for showing us these rare finds!

612

General Discussion / Re: President Obama Threatening to cut NWS budgets

« on: February 16, 2012, 05:36:43 PM »

Congress (and the Republicans) keep demanding budget cuts, but everything that ever gets proposed to be cut results in a tremendous public backlash.  There's no way to win, really.

613

Local Forecast / Re: COLD! icon

« on: February 14, 2012, 01:35:20 AM »

The other icon set - the one matching the Current Conditions/Extended Forecast - had a version where it was a rectangle with the word COLD and the entire rectangle would flash like "frigid" did.  An interesting icon.

We still haven't seen the "SMOKE" icon with the blackened cloud.  I remember seeing that one, too.

I never saw either one of those before, though I did see "SMOKE" a couple of times on the 3000.  Only in text, unfortunately.  I also saw "BLO SNOW" on the "Latest Observations" page on the 4000, but, again, only in text.

614

Local Forecast / Re: COLD! icon

« on: February 13, 2012, 01:56:51 AM »

Wow - nostalgia!  Wow - the good old days!  Wow - such temperatures!  Wow - the cold icon! 

Actually, I remember seeing the cold icon maybe once or twice, but that's it in all the seven or so years I had the 4000.  It surely is a rarity.  Maybe in later years they just stopped using it altogether.

615

General Discussion / Re: Talk about a Shocker: Whitney Houston is Dead at 48

« on: February 12, 2012, 12:00:25 PM »

Is it really surprising?  She has abused drugs for so long, and many people doubted her when she said she had become "clean."  Just last night on the BBC World Service they interviewed a studio executive who said as recently as hours before her death she looked terrible when she was seen by the public.