IntelliStar

IntelliStar
The Current Conditions Screen as of March 11, 2010
Manufacturer:	Wind River Systems
Family:	WeatherStar
Hardware:	Intel x86
OS:	FreeBSD
Graphics:	Vector/Raster
Release Date:	Beta - 3Q 2003 Final - 1Q 2004
Status:	Primary - Currently used in most cable systems

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 TWC's 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 Weather Star XL. Like all other WeatherStars, the IntelliStar receives its data over a satellite connection and over the Internet. However, unlike the rest, it has the capability to receive more complex information, more efficiently. It also has a DualFeed feature, which allows a selection of two different video feeds. In the event of inclement weather, the DualFeed option would switch from the first (network) feed, to a second (localized) feed, providing weather information to a specific STAR or network of STARs. By doing this, the specified network of STARs could be addressed with weather updates, versus the entire national network of STARs (where such information would be irrelevant).

It also has improved display graphics, dynamic radar capabilities, and improvements to the forecast-reading feature called Vocal Local (which uses TWC voiceover artist Allen Jackson's narration on TWC and more simplified female narration on Weatherscan). The IntelliStar removes the 3-day extended forecast narration (as of March 20, 2008) but adds narration for the 36-hour forecasts and Weather Bulletins, and also ducking for lowering the level of the background music when playing Vocal Local files. (The Weather Star XL just cuts into the music to play Vocal Local files.). HiRAD (High Resolution Aggregated Data) technology, added to the IntelliStar in 2006, allows The Weather Channel to choose any city, town, or landmark as an observation/forecast site and provide data. Occasionally, HiRAD will fail, in which case the old NWS sites are used (Only the Current Conditions, 8 city product, and Regional/Metro products are affected significantly).

Contents 1 IntelliStar's Design 1.1 Current Products 2 IntelliStar Timeline 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

IntelliStar's Design

The IntelliStar differs in design from previous WeatherStar units, as 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). TWC has contributed code to the FreeBSD development community, and funded the initial development of Radeon 8500/R200 generation 3D graphics drivers used under both Linux and FreeBSD.

Current Products

• Weather Bulletins (when a weather statement has been issued) - Shows any watches, warnings, or advisories issued for your area by the National Weather Service.
• Current Conditions - The current temperature, weather conditions, wind speed and gusts (if any), barometric pressure, dewpoint, apparent temperature in your area, heat index (if any for spring and summer seasons only), and wind chill (if any for winter season only)
• Metro Conditions - Basically a map based version of the Latest Observations segment, usually with one to three locations added and without the wind data.
• Latest Observations - Shows the current temperature, weather conditions, and winds in eight nearby locations.
• Regional Conditions - The current temperature and weather conditions in seven to ten cities in the region.
• Regional Radar - Shows any precipitation in the area and its movement over the course of three hours.
• Local Radar (when precipitation is present) - A zoomed in radar showing the immediate metro area used when precipitation is moving through. Shows the same time frame as the Regional Radar.
• Radar/Satellite (Eastern/Central US, Alaska and Hawaii) - A visible satellite image of the region with radar data overlayed showing the movement of weather systems over the course of five hours.
• Satellite (Western US and Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands, other coastal areas only get this if there is an approaching hurricane, or large Nor'easter) - A visible satellite image of the region showing the movement of weather systems over the course of 10 hours.
• Almanac - On the IntelliStar, there are two versions. Both of them show the sunrise and sunset times for the day and the next day. Version one shows moon phase data (like on the 4000 and XL). Version two shows the actual temperatures from the previous day, the record temperatures for the day (record temps include the year they were set in), and the day's average high and low temperatures. The current monthly precipitation total for one location (like on the III and Junior) is shown on the LDL. Some Intellistars use only one version, while others alternate between the two for each local forecast.
• Record Temperature - Only shows if unusually hot, warm, cool, or cold weather is forecast for your area.

• Heat Safety Tips^[1] (summer months only) - Shows the current heat index (usually over above 100 degrees) as well as some tips to cool down from extreme heat; very rare product.
• Air Quality Forecast (select areas only) - Modified heavily from the version used on other Weather Stars. Gives one location (three in some metro areas) in the (upper) left of the screen. on the right there is a graph (three in some metro areas, which are smaller and flipped on their sides) with an arrow/arrows pointing to one of the colored sections (only the one that is pointed to is labelled; green: Good, yellow: Moderate, orange: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, red: Unhealthy, maroon: Very Unhealthy). In the (lower) left of the screen, the main pollutant (ozone, fine particles...) is given instead of the overall amount of pollutants.
• Getaway Forecast - Shows the forecast for three days (including the current day) for three vacation/travel destinations in the region. It is unclear how the sites are chosen or by who (it is known that The Weather Channel doesn't pick them).
• Marine Forecast (coastal ocean areas only) - Shows the forecast weather conditions, including winds (in knots), wave heights, and any marine warnings for area waters up to 5 miles from the coast for the day.
• Tides (coastal ocean areas only) - Shows the day's high and low tide times for two locations in the area, as well as the day's sunrise and sunset times.
• Daypart Forecast - The forecast weather conditions, temperature, and winds at four points in the day.
• Metro Forecast - The forecast weather conditions and temperatures for the main site served and eight to eleven other locations in the area.
• Morning & Afternoon Commute Forecast (seen only from 7PM-5AM Sunday-Thursday) - Shown back to back. Shows the forecast weather conditions and temperatures for the main site served and eight to eleven other locations in the area during the height of the morning and evening rush hours (7 AM and 5 PM).
• Regional Forecast - The forecast temperature and weather conditions for seven to ten cities in the region.
• 24-48 Hour Local Forecast - The forecast for the next 24–48 hours in your area. If only 24 hours are depicted in this product, a narration pause (timed out to be 9 seconds) appears before the week ahead.
• The Week Ahead/7-day extended forecast - The forecast for the next seven days (including the current day).

IntelliStar Timeline

• February 28, 2003^[2][3] - The IntelliStar hardware platform makes its debut for Weatherscan, the 24-hour local weather information service by The Weather Channel.
• Late Summer 2003 - The domestic (i.e. used on TWC) IntelliStar begins beta testing in select markets.
• March 9, 2004 - The IntelliStar goes out of beta and begins its debut in select cable headends, including Comcast headends in markets such as Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.
  • Vocal Local is active for the Regional and Local Radar screens and for during the "36 Hour Forecast" segment, although it did not read the wind information and Weather Bulletin data until 3 months later. There are multiple 7-day forecast narrations, including "The Week Ahead", "Here's your 7-day outlook", "Your 7-day outlook, and "Your Week Ahead", instead of just saying your extended forecast, like on the XL.
  • The Regional Conditions map is brought back (It was discontinued on the XL in July 2002 and was never brought back, but is reintroduced to the IntelliStar).
• July 2004 - DirecTV debuts the "black bar" Lower Display Line, which displays the forecast and current conditions for major cities across the U.S., and major airport delays during national segments and special programming. This is operated from an IntelliStar running specialized versions of the TWC software.
  • The narration also updates to begin reading the wind information during the "36 Hour Forecast" segment and "Weather Bulletin" data from the National Weather Service.
  • The gray portion of the Lower Display Line becomes slightly brighter.
• August 2004 - Each cable company headend's STAR ID number, previously on the upper right hand corner of the screen in The Weather Channel's hourly identification, also began displaying as "Local weather ID" on the Lower Display Line. It has been criticized because it is displayed longer than actual weather data. At first, this is displayed only on the local forecast, but later that month, it started displaying during live national broadcasts as well. However, with the new Lower Display Line, as of June 2, 2008, the STAR ID only displays on the LDL during the local forecasts.
• September 2004 - The "Regional Forecast" map returns for STARs with the metro forecast.
  • "36 Hour Forecast" is renamed "Local Forecast" when it becomes a 48-hour Local Forecast, and increased to four screens.
  • The AM/PM Commute Metro Maps are introduced.
  • The "School Day Weather" and "Outdoor Activity Forecast" screens are added. The "School Day Weather" screen displays only during the school year, while in the summer, the "Outdoor Activity Forecast" displays for all days of the week, including holidays.
  • As a result of the addition of these screens, more screens are used in each flavor, making the duration for each screen shorter.
  • The 90 second flavor is discontinued.
  • The hour-by-hour forecast, referred to as "Daily Planner" is now renamed "Daypart Forecast".
  • The IntelliStar begins its debut in Time Warner Cable headends.
• October 2004 - National sponsors have been added during the local forecast, such as Intel Centrino mobile technology, America Online and Dell. They are shown on the upper right hand corner from after the ad crawl is finished displaying through the end of the local forecast. In summer 2006, an animated sponsor is added. In February 2011, sponsors are now also featured on 1-minute local forecasts during long-form programming.
• November 2004 - Buzzing audio interference is widely reported at the beginning of the Local Forecast during the "Current Conditions" and "School Day Weather"/"Outdoor Activity Forecast" products.
• December 2004 - The "Local Forecast" segment sometimes is reduced to three pages, because the Vocal Local outlasts the available time for the screen.
• January 2005 - More cities are introduced to the Metro Forecast maps such as Lincoln/Omaha, NE.
• May 3, 2005 - Vocal Local narration is changed from "Your" to "Our" in all cases.
• Mid-May 2005 (April 2005 in Atlanta (beta)) - Traffic conditions from Traffic Pulse made its debut in the top media markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. It also displays the "Traffic Pulse" logo on the bottom left hand corner during the Local on the 8s intro.
• August 15, 2005 - The IntelliStar received minor changes in graphics, including a sunny background to replace the cloud background, and the new The Weather Channel logo. This change was also made on Weather Star XL.
• Late August 2005 - Many cities are added and removed on the metro and regional forecast maps.
• Fall 2005 - The Air Quality Forecast no longer shows the data for 2-3 cities in the forecast area. Instead, it shows the air quality for only one city. This change does not occur in southern California.
• The IntelliStar begins its debut in several Adelphia headends due to Time Warner and Comcast headends getting prepared to take over. Previously, Adelphia headends featured a mix of Weather Star 4000 and XL units.
• December 15, 2005 - The "L-Bar" is introduced. It displays current weather conditions and forecasts on-screen during special programming, such as Forecast Earth, Storm Stories, and It Could Happen Tomorrow. This "L-bar" is similar to the one that is used by Weatherscan and NBC Weather Plus. Products include a daypart forecast, text-based forecast, and extended forecast. A national L-bar is also commissioned and is a version of the satellite forecast.
  • The "Traffic Overview" map similar to one seen on Weatherscan was added on. The narration for the "Traffic Overview" map randomly alternates between "Traffic Conditions around our area" and "Traffic Congestion for our area".
  • From this date through January 2, 2006, Vocal Local narration for the Regional/Local Doppler Radar segment is removed.
  • There is a bug in the 3-day extended forecast in which the narration reads only the temperatures on the first day and not the rest of the forecast.
  • The morning and afternoon commute maps are discontinued.
  • The Almanac and Getaway Forecast products are discontinued for many IntelliStar units with traffic products.
  • The School Day Weather and Outdoor Activity Forecast products are discontinued for many IntelliStar units with traffic products.
• December 29, 2005 - From this date until January 19, 2006, the narration says simply "Our extended forecast" over the 3-day "Extended Forecast" segment, perhaps in response to the bug in which temperatures would not be read. This was reported as an error.
  • The narration for the "Traffic Incident" and "Traffic Flow" segments is removed, leaving only one remaining narration for the "Traffic Overview" map.
• February 21, 2006 - The 90 second forecast is brought back, which causes the regional forecast to be discontinued for IntelliStar units with traffic products. This also causes the text-based forecast to sometimes show only two pages instead of three or four.
  • The almanac returns to IntelliStar units with traffic products.
  • The morning and afternoon commute maps return after a hiatus.
• March 31, 2006 - HiRAD (High Resolution Aggregated Data) technology makes its debut on the IntelliStar and weather.com. This allows TWC to choose almost any location, landmark, or neighborhood as a weather reporting station and to augment current conditions data. Only certain IntelliStars received this update during this time; however, by summer 2006, all IntelliStar units had HiRAD technology installed on them.
  • If HiRAD fails, the original observation sites are used. Widespread HiRAD outages are rare, and are usually related to TWC outages (localized HiRAD outages can occasionally occur to individual STARs if they are rebooted).
• June 26, 2006 - The 90 second forecast is once again discontinued. As a result, the regional forecast map is brought back.
• August 8, 2006 - A metro conditions map is added. This causes some changes made to the line-ups on the local forecast.
• Fall 2006 - Dish Network receives the satellite IntelliStar. It is identical to the one used by DirecTV.
• December 12, 2006 - Weather icons that were used on The Weather Channel since 1998 are replaced by a new set of icons. The changes were also made on DirecTV/Dish Network satellite, weather.com, national broadcast, and Weatherscan. Some IntelliStar units did not receive this update until a month or two later. Note: The "Fog" and "Windy" are only worded in the regional/metro maps.
• January 23, 2007 - The radar now includes indicators for wintry precipitation. The former "light/heavy" precipitation key is changed to "rain." Entries for "mix/ice" and "snow" are added, replacing the previous time lapse bar.
• April 2007 - The Getaway Forecast is brought back on a regular basis to select IntelliStars with traffic products. It also causes the traffic overview map not to show for some IntelliStars with traffic products.
  • The 90 second forecast is brought back, which causes the regional conditions and regional forecast to be discontinued for IntelliStars with traffic products and once again it also causes the text-based forecast to sometimes show only two pages instead of three or four.
• May 2007 - * Select traffic maps have also been disabled due to insufficient coverage of the viewing area, including Indianapolis, Fort Worth, and Orlando. Currently, there is no set date for return.
• May 7, 2007 - The Vocal Local narration is discontinued for all local forecast segments during the "prime time" hours (8:00 PM ET through 1:00 AM ET).
• May 9, 2007 - The narration for the "Traffic Report" segment was brought back for certain areas only where the overview map was removed.
• Mid-May 2007 - The feature turning the upper text on the black bar to yellow while a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Watch was effective is brought back after being inactive for several months.
• May 22, 2007 - * The green "CLEAR" box on the traffic flow segment has been replaced with "NO INCIDENTS REPORTED."
  • The radar legend becomes interactive with the precipitation. The snow and mix indicators now only display if frozen precipitation is detected.
  • From this date through October 23, Vocal Local narration does not read the sky conditions (even if there's no sky condition reported as in the early years); this is reported as an error.
• June 4, 2007 - The narration for the "Traffic Flow" segment was brought back for certain areas only where the overview map was removed.
• Late September 2007 - Some Getaway Forecast locales change. It is confirmed that in the near future, likely in late 2007 or early 2008, the IntelliStar will have sponsors for Getaway locations and the Getaway product will soon get a face lift.
• October 1, 2007 - The Vocal Local prime time narration returns after a 6-month hiatus from 8:00PM–1:00AM ET.
  • TWC begins using the sponsor ad insert for its own programs. Later as of mid-September 2008, it appears twice in a row. Until September 2010, the sponsor ad insert for its own programs simply fades out in the middle of local forecast. Later as of September 2010, the sponsor ad remains in place (like the regular sponsor ad) after the second screen appears all the way until the end of the local forecast.

• October 23, 2007 (October 9 for Comcast Penn Hills, Pennsylvania; South Bend, Indiana; and Lincoln, Nebraska headends (beta): December 21, 2007 for Verizon FiOS headends) - The IntelliStar receives its first major graphics facelift with new title bars and a new cloud background, which occurred around 3:18 am ET.
  • Once again, The Vocal Local narration says the full current conditions.
  • The Current Conditions product has been renamed "Now", also encompassing the Latest Observations, Regional Conditions and Metro Conditions.
  • The Regional Radar and Local Radar products are renamed Regional Doppler and Local Doppler, respectively.
  • The images on the School Day Forecast and Outdoor Activity Forecast have been changed.
  • Graphics have been added to the 24–48 hour "Local Forecast" on the right hand side of the screen, and sound effects are added to correspond with the forecasts.
  • The sliding transition was replaced with a fading transition.
  • The "L-bar" Local Forecast during special programming was changed. On the bottom right hand corner, the The Weather Channel bug is replaced by the "Local on the 8s" logo.
• February 7, 2008 - Any prevailing blue text on the IntelliStar was changed to black.
• February 26, 2008 - On the two minute :08 and :38 flavor, the Getaway Forecast is moved between the 36/48-Hour "Local Forecast" and the "Week Ahead" on some IntelliStars (beta stage) (later for Verizon FiOS headends).
• March 20, 2008 - The 3-Day Extended Forecast has been discontinued.
  • Some STARs testing the beta Getaway-product location have been switched back to normal.
  • STARs in the Pittsburgh and Atlanta areas begin testing a new Getaway and traffic product-locations. The Getaway moved to the very end of the local forecast, and the traffic products moved to directly after the current conditions products. As a result, the current conditions metro map has been replaced by the local observation pages at :08/:38.
• Late March 2008 - The same STARs which received the traffic-placement beta on March 20, 2008 (in Pittsburgh and Atlanta) begin showing the regional forecast once again, which hasn't been seen on some IntelliStars in nearly a year. However, it is now shown after the metro maps (example sequence: Today metro > Tonight metro > Today regional). It is suspected that this is an error in the flavor.
• May 2008 - The "Incidents and construction impacting our area" narration returns to some IntelliStars listing the Traffic Incidents.

• June 2, 2008 (May 30 in Atlanta and Pittsburgh, June 12 for satellite IntelliStars) - The Lower Display Line (LDL) was changed. This was made due to the new HD studio at the Weather Channel, USA. The following changes have occurred:
  • The background changes to blue, and tabs and appearing effects are added.
  • The font changes from Interstate Regular to Helvetica Neue.
  • Icons appear smaller and a scroll-down effect was implemented.
  • The Time and Temperature appear together instead of inverting (Note: The severe weather crawls remain the same).
  • Monthly Precip is moved from the local forecast LDL to a new Almanac tab during national programming. Also under this tab are the day's average temperatures (new), as well as sunrise and sunset times.
  • Traffic Incidents are now shown on the LDL, directly following the Traffic Flow crawl under the Traffic tab.
  • Date is missing. This was reported as an error.
  • Visibility and Ceiling readings are set to appear only during the Local on the 8s.
  • The Local Weather ID is set to appear only on the "Local On The 8s" segments. However, they appear twice in a row. This is reported as an error.
  • The DirecTV/Dish Network Lower Display Line (LDL) Satellite display is missing. This is also reported as an error.
  • The current Local Forecast design remains the same at this time.
  • The Weather Bulletins background page was changed back to the darker sky blue.
  • The Regional Conditions and Regional Forecast segments once again return with traffic products and are only used during 90 second flavors, except for Verizon FiOS headends, and Pacific areas, which still use the Metro Conditions, and Metro Forecast.
  • The LDL for weather advisories and statements remains unmodified at this time and have the same warning tone.
  • The "L-Bar" forecast was discontinued. This was reported as an error.
  • The drop shadow is removed from The Weather Channel logo.
  • Satellite units only: The time still switches between ET, CT, MT, and PT.
  • The Front Page Current Conditions product will start at the beginning of the Local on the 8's only at :08 and :38 each hour and :18 and :48 each hour for Verizon FiOS headends, marking the first occurrence of such since 1990s. The 8 City product will start at the beginning of Local on the 8's at :28 and :58 each hour instead.
  • The Weather Bulletins page is now the first screen when active at :28 and :58 each hour for Verizon FiOS headends. This later appears in all domestic IntelliStars on May 18, 2009.
  • The Local Radar screen doesn't appear for Verizon FiOS headends and only appears during the short 1 minute flavors. However, this made occasional appearances on all IntelliStar units during March 2009. This was reported as an error.
  • The Marine Forecast and Tides segments no longer appear in coastal areas for Verizon FiOS headends leaving only the Marine Forecast segments at :08 and :38 each hour. This was reported as an error.
  • The Traffic Report and Traffic Flow segments no longer appear for Verizon FiOS headends and only appears during the national segments on the LDL.
  • More Getaway Forecast screens are featured for Verizon FiOS headends.
• Late June 2008 - The beta flavor line-up (which switched the placement of the traffic screens) added to Pittsburgh and Atlanta IntelliStars on March 20, 2008, is removed.
• July 1, 2008 (July 24, 2008 for satellite IntelliStars) - The temperature font on the LDL was increased.
  • The upper part of the LDL was changed from a light-dark gray gradient to a light-dark blue gradient.
• August 22, 2008 - The "Local on the 8's" bug always appears on the upper right hand corner on the DirecTV/Dish Network Satellite during Local on the 8s if there's no national sponsor appearing. This is related to the launch of DirecTV's Local on the 8s system one month later, which places a hole in the graphics display for sponsorships.^[4]
• September 3, 2008 (August 27, 2008 for FiOS Pittsburgh and Comcast Atlanta IntelliStars (beta); September 9, 2008 for satellite IntelliStars)
  • More changes to the lower display line: The Local Ad Crawl and Traffic crawl text area (dark blue background) is extended to the right edge of the screen, covering up "weather.com" under the "The Weather Channel" logo.
  • The spacing of the characters is expanded on the Local Ad Traffic Crawls to make the text more readable, as well as then font size increased and widened.
  • The font size of the clock on the LDL is enlarged to make it more readable (and to match the size of the temperature).
  • All of the traffic ‘dots’ are now the same size (in the traffic crawl).
  • The drop shadow is added back on The Weather Channel logo as before.
• September 25, 2008 - The LDL on DirecTV is discontinued during the "Local On The 8s" segments to make way for local forecasts by zip code fed through DirecTV receivers.
• November 16-November 23, 2008 - The Weather Channel logo color on the LDL becomes green as NBC Universal begins its second Green Week as part of its "Green Is Universal" initiative - the same change occurred to all NBC-owned networks including TWC sister network Weatherscan. The change was also made to weather.com. The green logo will also be used for TWC's existing "Earth Week" and for future "Green is Universal" weeks.
• December 12, 2008 - The "L-Bar" forecast was brought back for all domestic IntelliStars; however, its appearance is more coordinated with the 2006–2007 appearance than that introduced in October 2007.
• January 2009 - The "Incidents & construction impacting our area" narration is once again discontinued.
• March 12, 2009 - The sound effects on the text-based Local Forecast product have been disabled on all domestic (TWC) IntelliStars.
• April 2009 - A few cities on DirecTV and Dish Network's IntelliStar LDL have been removed.
• April 6, 2009 - The monthly precipitation counter on the LDL now uses the HiRAD sites.^[5]
  • The monthly precip counter is once again added to the local forecast, now part of the "now tab" on the LDL. It remains showing under the "almanac" tab during national broadcasts.
  • The "Local on the 8s" bug for DirecTV/Dish Network was made transparent.
• April 13, 2009 - The "Local on the 8s" bug for DirecTV/Dish Network has been updated with a white background and blue-colored font.
• May 11, 2009 (May 18 on most domestic IntelliStars) - New flavors begin internal testing on the Atlanta and Penn Hills/suburban Pittsburgh Comcast units.
  • The Front Page Current Conditions product starts off the Local on the 8s only at :28 and :58 past the hour during regular programming, marking the first occurrence of such since the 1990s, although it is still in use at :08 and :38 each hour during regular programming and again at :28 each hour during Day Planner from 10am-2pm ET and Weekend Now from 11am-2pm ET until September 2009 (this was extended until 3pm ET if there's a Special Coverage) only if no other screens are available. This was extended until 5pm ET (6pm ET until November 19, 2010, through its current 7PM ET beginning November 22, 2010 if there's a Special Coverage) only during Day Planner beginning September 27, 2010. At :08/:38, the 8 city current conditions starts off the local forecast instead on STARs that have Traffic Products (even with Marine Forecast and Tides products in Coastal areas without Traffic Products). The 8 city product will also start off the Local on the 8's at 08/:38 each hour elsewhere if there's precipitation in the area on STARs without Traffic Products.
  • The Weather Bulletins page is now the first screen when active, preempting the entire local forecast, instead of displaying after the front page current conditions product as before.
  • More Getaway Forecast, Almanac, Radar Satellite, and Air Quality screens are featured. The Almanac and Radar Satellite products display on every 2 minute local forecast for non-traffic viewers.
  • The "Local Forecast" segment is sometimes reduced to two pages at :08/:38 each hour rather than :18/:48 each hour. This segment no longer contains more than three periods or "screens" at :08, :18, :38, and :48 past each hour for Central, Eastern, and Mountain areas except for Verizon FiOS headends and Pacific areas, which still uses four periods at :08 and :38 each hour. This segment also no longer contains more than three periods or "screens" at :28 past each hour during Day Planner weekdays from 10am-2pm ET (10am-4pm ET if there's a Special Coverage until September 2009) and during Weekend Now weekends from 11am-2pm ET (11am-5pm ET if there's a Special Coverage until September 2009), or until 3pm ET during Day Planner if there's a Special Coverage. This segment was extended until 5pm ET (6pm ET until November 19, 2010, through its current 7PM ET beginning November 22, 2010 if there's a Special Coverage) beginning September 27, 2010. Four periods are only seen (when a fourth daypart is available) at :28 and :58 past the hour during regular programming.
  • From 10am-2pm ET (10am-4pm ET if there's a Special Coverage), a 1 minute flavor plays at :08/:38 each hour and :18/48 each hour. At :08/:38 each hour, there's no text-based "Local Forecast". On weekends, it's 11am-2pm ET (11am-5pm ET if there's a Special Coverage). The 8 city current conditions also starts off the local forecast at :28 past the hour during Day Planner for weekdays until 2pm ET (4pm ET if there's a Special Coverage) and Weekend Now during weekends until 2pm ET (5pm ET if there's a Special Coverage) only until September 2009.
  • The Front Page Current Conditions product used for Verizon FiOS headends is discontinued at :08 and :38 each hour and :18 and :48 each hour and only appears during the short 1 minute flavors, although it is still in use in some areas during the 2-minute Flavors. The 8-City product will also start off the Local on the 8s at :08 and :38 each hour, rather than :28 and :58 each hour.
• July 20, 2009 - At :18 and :48 past the hour, Traffic Products page (where available) is now the first screen before Current Conditions product appearing from 6 to 10 AM during Wake Up With Al and Your Weather Today (later this was used only at 8:18am ET and 8:48am ET past the hour beginning in late August 2009), and a 90-second flavor airs at :08/:38 during Wake Up With Al. Later on in September 2009, this was used in every week at :48 past the hour during regular programming from 11am-2pm ET (11am-3pm ET if there's a Special Coverage). This was extended until 5pm ET (6pm ET until November 19, 2010, through its current 7PM ET timeslot beginning November 22, 2010 if there's a Special Coverage) beginning September 27, 2010 only during Day Planner.
  • For the :18/:48 local forecasts, the front page Current Conditions screen, eight-city currents screen, and Radar/Satellite products are added in.
  • The Weather Bulletins page is moved to just after Traffic Products page (where available) on the :18/:48 90 second flavors. This was dropped on March 11, 2010, when the Weather Bulletins page was moved back to its normal spot.
  • The Air Quality screen is moved to just after the 8 city before the radar on the :18/:48 90 second flavors. This was dropped in mid-August, when the Air Quality screen was moved back to its normal spot.
• September 17, 2009 - Normal local forecast lengths have resumed during the 10 AM ET to 2 PM ET time period weekdays, meaning all local forecasts at :18/:48 are once again 90 second flavors, and all local forecasts at :08/:38 are once again two minute flavors. This was only a one day change. However, it returned for good on September 28, 2009. This has resumed during the 11 AM ET to 2 PM ET time period as well during the weekends. The 8 city current conditions also starts off the local forecast at :28 past the hour only during weekdays until 2pm ET during Day Planner (or until 3pm ET if there's a Special Coverage). This was extended until 5pm ET (6pm ET until November 19, 2010, through its current 7PM ET timeslot beginning November 22, 2010 if there's a Special Coverage) beginning September 27, 2010.

• March 11, 2010 - New icons which are featured or based on the weather.com website are debuted on all domestic IntelliStars, and are used during both "Local on the 8s" and on the LDL. The new icons resemble the original 2006 design though are now animated on the LDL and feature a modified sun design and altered precipitation animations, though the modified sun design and cloud texture is partially similar to the icons used on the Weather Star 4000. The "Fog" icon is now worded in the entire local forecast. The "Windy" icon is not worded in any of the CC products, but it is worded in the Forecast Map products.
  • The Lower Display Line (LDL) was changed, though the previous LDL design with modified icons and with the Star ID number remains in use during "Local on the 8s". Two versions of the LDL are used that alternate every three hours during programming. The following changes have occurred:
  • The first new LDL debuted which displays local data during national programming, displaying the current temperature and sky conditions, and two-day forecast for 50 U.S. cities. A second, larger version of the redesigned LDL debuted during Day Planner which takes up the bottom 1/3 of the screen, the largest of the LDLs used by any WeatherStar system, and displays the current temperature and sky conditions, and five-day forecast for 50 U.S. cities over the national feed, and current conditions and forecasts for three cities on the local feed. Both use a blue background with shaded yellow tabs, and a hole; the left third of the LDLs are left blank and a scroll-up effect is now used.
  • Similarly-designed LDLs also debut for local feeds that removes the tab functions on the smaller LDL, though a tab function is used on the smaller LDL aired on the national feed.
  • The tab function remains on the larger version of the LDL.
  • The travel forecasts, almanac, air quality and traffic information are dropped (with traffic information being relegated to the "Local on the 8s" segment, and for all products mentioned marking the first time none of these products are on the LDL since they were originally added; for the monthy precipitation, it marks the first time that it has not been included on the LDL as that field has been used on all LDLs since the original Weather Star system).
  • The redesigned LDL aggregates the forecast information for main reporting station and areas nearby to being displayed along with the current conditions for those areas.
  • The current temperature at the top right of the bar, which on the 1/3-height LDL's time tab overhangs the tab due to the font size being bigger on the larger LDL, now changes for each city displayed instead of showing the current temperature for the main reporting station throughout.
  • A descriptive 36-hour forecast similar to that seen on "Local on the 8s" but with the specific forecast sky condition in a larger Helvetica Condensed font above the description, graphical 6-hour and 5-day forecasts, a 3-hour local radar loop and a 5-hour regional radar/satellite loop (for the Eastern and Central U.S., or a satellite loop in the Western U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands) are added.
  • A descriptive Weather Bulletin also similar to that seen on "Local on the 8s" when issued is introduced.
  • Slide-down effects are used on both versions of the LDLs to cue commercial breaks and segment starts on the local feeds.
  • The time tab or Star ID number on this version of the LDL are absent on both versions, and the fonts are different on the local and national versions of the LDL, Helvetica Regular and Helvetica Condensed for the local LDL and Helvetica Regular and DIN 1454 for the national LDL.
  • National Sponsors have been added during national programming on the LDL before the commercial breaks, though these are sparingly used.
  • The old warning crawls remain in use, much like with the previous LDL update in June 2008. However, they are overlayed on the LDL, as evidenced when the warning crawl and the 1/3-length LDL are shown on the screen simultaneously.
  • The L-Bar is once again discontinued.
• March 13–15, 2010 - During primetime programming, the local LDL appeared without overlaying the national LDL, revealing that the local LDLs actually take up only 3/4s length. When the national LDL was cued, the local LDLs did not appear at all at times. The national LDL did not appear at times during the presentation of Surviving the Elements: Tornado on March 13. During the weekend edition of PM Edition, the 1/4-screen height local LDLs were displayed while the small 1/3 national LDLs were cued at times. These were all reported as errors.
• March 16, 2010 - A time clock has been added on the LDL for all cable and satellite headends, and is located on the bottom left hand corner during national programming, and switches between ET, CT, MT, and PT, instead of the local LDL displaying the local time (this has been identified as an error on the local IntelliStars). Unlike the previous version of the LDL, the time and temperature are now in different positions on the LDL, with the current temperature on the top right portion of the LDL. The time clock displayed on the national LDL is incorrect however, with the displayed time being one minute ahead (this was reported as an error and later corrected).
• March 27, 2010 - Due to issues on part of traffic.com (Traffic Pulse), all traffic overview maps in all markets have been removed. It is currently unknown at this time if, and when, they will return.
• April 14, 2010 - The IntelliStar's local time is once again next to the temperature on the LDL, however, the time is displayed in a smaller font than that of the temperature. The current temperature on the yellow bar on the 1/4 height LDL is also decreased in size to fit the area of the LDL it is on.
  • In some areas, some cities shown in the Getaway Forecast have been changed.
• May 19, 2010 - All traffic products were removed from the IntelliStar for unknown reasons. It is currently unknown at this time if, and when, they will return.
• May 25, 2010 - The Traffic Flow and Traffic Report pages have returned to the STAR after a 6 day hiatus.
• September 2010 - The "Not Available" icon is added only when the sky conditions are not reported in the entire local forecast.
  • The 1/3 length LDL has been removed for unknown reasons. However as of October 3, 2010, it has been restored as part of its new "Local on the 8s" L-bar for programming such as "Storm Stories", etc.^[6]
• December 8, 2010 - New flavor lineups have debuted on all domestic STARs. With the rollout of new flavors, traffic has been discontinued on STARs that had traffic products.
  • TWC failed to renew its contract with Traffic Pulse, leading to the removal of all traffic products. ^[7]
  • The Front Page Current Conditions segment once again starts all flavors.
  • More Regional Conditions and Regional Forecast maps featured on the 2-minute flavors.
  • More 8-City Current Conditions featured at every hour during the 2-minute flavors.
  • The Weather Bulletins page is still the first screen at this time, when active preempting the entire local forecast instead of after seeing the Front Page Current Conditions product as before.
  • The School Day Weather and Outdoor Activity Forecast products are discontinued on most IntelliStars, however, it is still in use at :08/:38 each hour only on STARS without the Marine Forecast and Tides products in coastal areas, and even elsewhere if no other screens are available.
  • The Daypart Forecast has been discontinued on most IntelliStars that have Marine Forecast and Tides products in Coastal Areas, however, it is still in use elsewhere only if no other screens are available.
  • The Metro Conditions and Metro Forecast maps only appear during the 90 second flavors, with the exception of Metro Conditions map at :18/:48 each hour during normal programming and can only appear during Wake Up With Al at :18/:48 each hour, Your Weather Today at 8:18am ET and 8:48 a.m. ET, :48 each hour during Day Planner until 5 p.m. ET (7 p.m. ET, if there is special weather coverage), during Weekend Now until 2 p.m. ET (3 p.m. ET, if there is special weather coverage), :18/:48 each hour during Weather Center beginning January 31, 2011, and :18/:48 each hour during normal programming beginning March 14, 2011. Although, the Metro Forecast map still appears at :08/:38, only on STARS without the Marine Forecast and Tides products in coastal areas, as well as in the Pacific Areas at :28/:58 each hour, and even elsewhere if no other screens are available.
  • The "Local Forecast" segment with four periods once again return on the 2-minute flavors, along with the 90 second flavors.
• February 5, 2011 - The squeezeback that displays local info has returned.^[8] The classic "4-note" signature chime also made a comeback at the premiere of a beta test to the national version, which appeared during the regular long-form programming block from 5 PM to 7 PM, but was preempted a week prior to the proposed "Prime for Excitement" launch. However, during the beta test, the local LDLs still shut off.^[9]
• May 25, 2011 - The blue LDL for Dish Network is discontinued during the "Local on the 8s" segment due to the update of the new satellite local forecast maps and graphics, which uses a built-in LDL.
• July 21, 2011 (July 25 on some IntelliStars) - New flavor lineups are debuted on some IntelliStars.
  • The 8-City Current Conditions segment, Regional Conditions and Regional Forecast maps, which as featured on the 2-minute Flavors are removed on some IntelliStars and have replaced with Metro Conditions and Metro Forecast maps on all flavors.
  • The Getaway Forecast segment only appears at :28 each hour, except from 4-6 a.m. ET on weekdays and 4 a.m.-2 p.m. ET, and 4-5 p.m. ET on weekends (4 a.m.-7 p.m. ET weekends, if there is special weather coverage).
  • Almanac only appears at :18 and :48 each hour.
  • Tides and Marine Forecast (in coastal areas) are moved to :28 and :58 each hour.
  • More Daypart Forecast segment is featured on the 2-minute flavors.

• July 26, 2011 - Text is now seen at the bottom of the 7 Day Forecast. The text cycles between "In-depth analysis and detailed local forecasts are available now at weather.com", "For all of your outdoor activity conditions and forecasts, visit weather.com for details", "Have a question or comment regarding the Local On The 8's? Go to weather.com/local", and "Detailed travel weather forecasts and conditions available now at weather.com". For severe weather alerts in certain areas, the box is shaded in red for any certain day, and the text cycle is "Potential for severe thunderstorms/heavy rainfall/flooding rains (name of the day). Additional details available now on weather.com" from the red box at the bottom. For any Hurricane or Tropical Storm that threatens the certain area, the text cycle is "Tropical Storm/Hurricane conditions possible (name of the day). Additional details available now on weather.com", and "Watching the Tropics (name of the day). Additional details available now on weather.com". For winter weather alerts in certain areas, the text cycle is "Potential for up to (X) inches of snow (name of the day). Additional details available now on weather.com".
• August 1, 2011 - The specialized "L" bar previously seen during long-form programming and special extended weather coverage in specialized "Local on the 8s" forecasts at or around :08/:38 and :18/:48 minutes past the hour is removed; the lower display line is no longer cued at the start of each segment during long-form shows and extended weather coverage as well, and is now limited to the specialized "Local on the 8s" forecasts (a translucent Weather Channel logo bug, previously seen only during airings of From the Edge with Peter Lik, is instead displayed at other times during such programs).
• August 17, 2011 - The Getaway Forecast, which as featured at :28 each hour during Wake Up with Al, Your Weather Today, Day Planner, and Weather Center Live, and :58 each hour during long-form programming is discontinued.
• September 5, 2011 - The eight-city Local Observations, Getaway Forecast, Regional Conditions and Regional Forecast are restored.
• December 19, 2011 - 60 second local forecasts start airing at :18 and :48 past during Day Planner and Weather Center Live.

See also

• The Weather Channel
• WeatherStar 4000
• WeatherStar XL
• WeatherStar
• WeatherStar Junior
• Weatherscan
• IntelliStar 2

References

External links

• The Weather Channel IntelliStar Features
• An article on FreeBSD's role in the operation of the IntelliStar

WeatherStar generations Discontinued systems WeatherStar I · WeatherStar II · Weather Star III (3000) Current systems Weather Star 4000 • Weather Star Jr • Weather Star XL · IntelliStar · IntelliStar 2 Local on the 8s · The Weather Channel · Weatherscan