Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
IntelliStar
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| IntelliStar | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Manufactured: | Wind River Systems |
| Family: | WeatherSTAR |
| Hardware: | Custom computer using Intel x86-based processor |
| OS: | FreeBSD |
| Graphics: | Vector/Raster |
| Discontinuation Date: | N/A, still in use |
| Category: | Satellite Transponder Addressable Receiver |
| Status: | Used in most cable systems |
The IntelliStar is the fifth generation successor to the WeatherStar systems used by the American cable TV and satellite TV channel The Weather Channel (TWC), for inserting local forecasts and current weather information (such as the "Local on the 8s" portion of their program schedule) into TWCs programming. Like the WeatherStar, it is installed as well at the cable TV company's headend.
The IntelliStar has many enhanced features over its predecessor, the WeatherStar XL. As well as receiving local weather data via satellite like the WeatherStars, it also has the capability of receiving the same data over the internet as a back up with its built-in ethernet port.
It also has improved display graphics, dynamic radar capabilities, and a new feature called Vocal Local, in which a pre-recorded voice, will read the weather conditions displayed on screen. It plays the background music from its satellite feed and uses ducking to reduce the volume of the background music when speaking.
Contents |
The IntelliStar differs in design from previous WeatherStar units, considering the fact that the IntelliStar is basically a customized rack-mount Intel CPU-based PC. It runs the FreeBSD operating system, running specialized software written by The Weather Channel to make it function as an IntelliStar, but otherwise using commodity hardware of the PC platform. This was done to minimize maintenance costs, and to ease upgrading of the IntelliStar units. The previous WeatherStar units used a proprietary hardware design that hampered any hardware upgrades (the Weather STAR XL, for comparison, uses proprietary SGI hardware, and runs IRIX).
A modified version of the IntelliStar is also used by TWC for their WeatherScan service, which is basically a 24/7 version of the local WeatherStar/IntelliStar-generated segments on TWC, and carried on a separate channel on those cable TV systems carrying WeatherScan.
- March: The original cloud background was the same as the lighter blue cloud scheme on the WeatherStar XL. The background changed in August 2005.
- March: If a weather watch, warning, or any severe weather statements are issued by the National Weather Service, the information will scroll over a red or orange background over the black bar. If the severe weather information is scrolling over the red bar, an audible tone will sound three times before the narration of TWC staff announcer Allen Jackson. Once the warning has expired or the information has scrolled a few times, it returns to the original black bar.
- March: Jackson's narration on the local forecasts and weather watches and warnings is introduced.
- April: "Regional Conditions" map returns.
- July: DirecTV debuts the black bar, which displays the forecast and current conditions for major cities across the U.S., and major airport delays during national segments and special programming. Jackson's narration also updates to begin reading the wind information during the "36 Hour Forecast" (now renamed "Local Forecast") segment, and "Weather Bulletin" data from the National Weather Service.
- August: Each cable company headend's TWC ID number like in the 90s on the upper right hand corner began displaying as "Local Weather ID" on the black bar. It has been criticized because it is displayed longer and more frequently than actual weather data.
- September: "Regional Forecast" maps returns, the AM/PM Commute Metro Maps returned after a brief hiatus, and the "Schoolday Weather" and "Outdoor Activity Forecast" screens have also been added (the "Schoolday Weather" screen only displays during the school year, while in the summer, the "Outdoor Activity Forecast" displays for all days of the week, including holidays). Because of the addition of these screens, more screens are used in each flavor, making the duration for each screen shorter. Note: The hour-by-hour forecast referred to as "Daily Planner" is now renamed "Daypart Forecast".
- October: National sponsors have been added during the local forecast, such as Intel's Centrino technology, America Online and Dell. They are shown on the upper right hand corner for 48 seconds after the ad crawl displays. In summer 2006, an animated sponsor is added.
- November: the buzzing audio interference is widely reported at the beginning of Local Forecast displaying "Current Conditions" segment, or "Schoolday Weather" and an "Outdoor Activity Forecast".
- December: the 36 Hour Forecast product returns with an additional 48 Hour Local Forecast which can be from 3 to 4 screens.
- January: Additional cities were added to the "Metro Forecast" maps.
- May: Jackson's narration was changed from "Your" to "Our" in each applicable narration, such as "Our local Doppler Radar", "Our 7-day outlook", etc. In addition to that, Traffic Pulse made its debut in May 2005 in the top media markets, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit.
- August 15: The IntelliStar received new graphics, including the bright sunny background and the new The Weather Channel logo.
- Late-August: Many cities were added and removed on the metro and regional forecast maps.
- December 15: The "L-Bar" (aka Corner Forecast) was introduced on . It was discontined for several months but reappeared in Spring 2006. It displays current weather conditions and forecasts on-screen during special programming, such as Forecast Earth, Storm Stories, and It Could Happen Tomorrow. The L-bar is similar to the one that is used by Weatherscan and NBC Weather Plus.
- December 15: The "Traffic Overview" map similar to one seen on WeatherScan was added on . From December 15, 2005 through January 2, 2006, the narration of TWC staff announcer Allen Jackson for the "Regional Radar" segment is removed. The margin of the Current Conditions segment is slightly widened for a short period of time. the phrase such as "Partly Cloudy" and "Mostly Cloudy" are now fit into one line, and during the 3-day extended forecast, the phrase such as "Partly Cloudy" and "Mostly Sunny" became two lines instead of one line.
- December 15-27: Jackson's narration for the 3-day "Extended Forecast" segment becomes erroneous. From December 29, 2005 through January 19, 2006, his narration says "Our extended forecast" over the 3-day "Extended Forecast" segment, which is much similar to the XL, and as of December 29, 2005, the narration for the "Traffic Incident" and "Traffic Flow" segments were removed leaving only one remaining narration for the "Traffic Overview" map.
- February 21 - June 26, the "Local Forecast" screen segment becomes the 24 to 36 Hour Forecast with 2 to 3 screens during the K Flavor.
- March 31- HiRAD Technology was debut.
- June 2006- During the "Local Forecast" screen segment, the narration will never say such as "Colder/Warmer/Cooler", "Turning colder/warmer/cooler", and "Much colder/warmer/cooler". Also the text such as "Clear to partly cloudy skies" will become just "Partly cloudy skies" when the narration says "Clear to partly cloudy skies".
- August 8: Metro conditions map is added. To make room for new screens, the latest observations for 8 cities is removed at :08 and :38 every hour, current regional conditions at :18 and :48 every hour, and the metro conditions at :28 and :58 every hour.
- Fall 2006: Dish Network receives the satellite IntelliStar. It is identical to the one used by DirecTV. While most can, only certain receiver boxes can carry this TWC service.
- December 12: Weather icons that were used on the IntelliStar from 2004-2006 were replaced by more realistic icons. The changes were also made on DirecTV/Dish Network satellite and weather.com. Of course, not every IntelliStar units has this kind of update yet.
- Janurary 23: The Regional and Local Doppler Radars now include indicators for winter precipitation. The former "light/heavy" precipitation key is changed to "rain." Entries for "mix/ice" and "snow" are added, replacing the previous "Past 3 Hours" timeline.