Weather Star XL

Weather Star XL
Manufacturer:	Silicon Graphics
Family:	WeatherStar
Hardware:	SGI O2 variant
OS:	IRIX
Graphics:	Vector/Raster
Release Date:	Beta - 3Q 1998 Final - 1Q 1999
Status:	Legacy - Used in few confirmed cable systems.
Versions:	1, 2 & 3.
Visual Output:	Standard Definition
Available Add-ons	Vocal Local

Weather Star XL is the fifth system designed for The Weather Channel's local forecast. At its rollout in 1998, it came months after a major update to the channel's presentation. The Star XL was a major leap over the much older Weather Star 4000 system, featuring advanced capabilities such as transitions, moving icons, cloud wallpaper backgrounds, and reading the local forecast contents. The WeatherStar XL first appeared in a beta roll out on select cable systems in November 1998 and appeared briefly in Latin America on that version of TWC until its demise.^[1]

Contents 1 Technical 2 Products 3 Timeline 4 Product Playlists 5 Cable headends utilizing the Weather Star XL 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

Technical

The Weather Star XL is a rack-mounted rendering computer, manufactured by Silicon Graphics, Inc., containing a modified SGI O2 computer. The Weather Star XL utilizes the SGI IRIX Operating System with custom written software for The Weather Channel. Because of the proprietary SGI hardware and software, the Weather Star XL remains the most expensive STAR system, having a manufacturing cost of $6,500 US. As a result of the XL's high price, many smaller cable headends retained their Weather Star 4000 or Weather Star Jr. units until the IntelliStar was released, skipping the XL altogether.

The Weather Star XL receives raw video data from The Weather Channel and weather statements from the National Weather Service, as well as forecasts from an Internet connection. It sends back monitoring data to The Weather Channel.^[2] Its crawl controller (which manages the text for local advertising) is accessible via a modem and terminal/terminal emulator. In Latin America, TWC only used satellite to deliver the service.^[3]

The Weather Star XL has two drives; one drive is marked as property of The Weather Channel and contains a serial number.

The Weather Star XL took several years to design and encountered countless issues and set backs. Internal disorganization push the initial release further than anticipated.

Products

A product displays certain types of weather data. Some products were added on later in the life of the Star XL.

• Current Conditions - The current temperature, weather conditions, wind speed and gusts (if any), barometric pressure, dew point, humidity, ceiling, visibility, and (if applicable) the wind chill/heat index.
• Weather Bulletins (added April 2002) - Shows any watches, warnings, or advisories from the National Weather Service in effect for your area. If there are none, this product doesn't display. Before 2002, these were displayed at the front of the 36-Hour Forecast, but was moved by TWC because of text running over with the NOAA logo.
• Latest Observations (branded Current Conditions) - The current temperature, weather conditions, and wind speed in 7 nearby cities/locations and the primary observation site.
• Regional Conditions (branded Current Conditions) - The current temperature and weather conditions for 7-10 cities in the region. Discontinued July 2002.
• Radar - Shows any precipitation in the area and its movement over the course of 3 hours, up from 90 minutes on the Weather Star 4000.
• Almanac - Shows the local sunrise and sunset times for the day and the next day, as well as moon phase data. Calculated on the Weather Star, and thus unique in that the data never expires.
• Tides (in coastal areas) - Replaces the Almanac in coastal areas. Shows the day's low and high tide times for two locations in the area, as well as the local sunrise and sunset times.
• Marine Forecast (select coastal areas) - Similar to the version used on the 4000. Shows the forecast winds (in knots), wave heights, and any marine warnings for area waters for the day. Data was provided by TWC meteorologists along the coasts. Discontinued 2002.
• Air Quality Forecast (southern California only) - Similar to the version used on the 4000. On the left of the screen, three locations are given. On the right, there is a bar graph with four color coded and labeled background sections (yellow: Good, light orange: Mod. Risk, dark orange: Unhealthy, red: Very Unhealthy). The overall Air Quality Index (formerly Pollutant Standard Index) value is given as a number inside or to the right of each bar.
• Daypart Forecast (added March 2002) - The Forecast temperature, weather conditions, and winds at four points either for that night or the next day.
• Regional Forecast - The forecast temperature and weather conditions for 7-10 cities in the region.
• Metro Forecast (added July 2002; select urban areas) - The forecast temperature and weather conditions for the main city and 7-9 nearby suburbs/locations. Replaces the Regional Forecast.
• Local Forecast/36-Hour Forecast - The forecast for the next 24–36 hours in your area. Provided by the National Weather Service until April 2002; the replacement of the NWS product was justified as an alignment with TWC forecast products and as being designed for an area and not a county.
• Extended Forecast - The forecast for the next three days, starting the day after the next (if shown on a Monday, the forecast will be for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday).
• The Week Ahead (added March 2002) - The forecast for the next 7 days (including the current day) from Sunday through Saturday.

The STAR also displays these items:

• Advertising tags with localized addresses for retailers.
• Tagging products, such as a pollen levels report.
• A lower display line with current conditions and forecast information. The LDL, as it is abbreviated, was redesigned in 2003 and received a specific version with more information for non-weather programs like Storm Stories.
• NWS bulletin crawls. There are four types of crawls: red (Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, Tornado Warnings, generic Weather Bulletins), orange (Urban & Small Stream Flood Advisory, Hurricane Local Statement), yellow (Severe Thunderstorm Watches and Tornado Watches), and gray (a color used for testing, using the following text: "The Weather Channel and the National Weather Service are conducting a test of the display of Severe Weather Watch information. This is only a test."). Gray crawls are not output to viewers.

Other Weather Stars can display these items (but NWS bulletins sometimes scroll full-screen).

Products displayed on TWC Latin America included the following (Spanish titles, though Portuguese versions were available):

• Condiciones actuales (Current Conditions) (also included a regional version)
• A Latest Observations product, also branded "Condiciones actuales"
• Pronóstico para ____ (Forecast for ____) (comes in both local (24-36 hour) and regional versions)
• Satélite (Satellite)
• Pronóstico extendido (Extended Forecast) (3 days)
• Mareas (Tides)^[4]
• Pronóstico Marino (Marine Forecast) (winds, wave height, and water temperature)
• Almanaques (Almanacs) (solar and lunar)

Timeline

• Late 1998 - The Weather Star XL first appears on select cable company headends after exiting beta earlier in the year. The XL's graphics first appeared in a The Front commercial from 1998. (The Front was much like a sports bar, but only with weather; it served as the primary advertising campaign for TWC in 1997 and 1998.)^[5]
• Late 1999 - Weatherscan Local debuts on some cable systems as a 24-hour channel showing weather information on a loop. Weatherscan Local launches on Star XL hardware.^[6]
• January 2000 - The Vocal Local system debuts, using the voice of TWC staff announcer Allen Jackson to read current conditions and extended forecast information. Some XLs do not feature Vocal Local.
• May 2000 - The shadow effect is added to the precipitation on the radar segments.
• 2000- Weatherscan Local receives a complete relaunch, giving it a myriad of customizable weather packages and a new look. Among the packages: extra area forecasts, activity forecasts, health information, aviation, international weather conditions, the forecast in Spanish, gardening information, surf and marine information, national travel weather, and airport delays and conditions.
• July 2001 - The radar is updated to show more frames. It now shows approximately 30 frames instead of the previous 8-10 frames it used to show.

• September 2001^[7] - The Weather Channel and the Star XL get new graphics. Some XL systems got this upgrade in March 2002, and at least one XL unit only received the update partially until July 2002, intermittently losing Vocal Local and retaining the old regional forecast animation and maps.^[8]
  • The date and time are repositioned to make way for larger title bars.
  • A new cloud wallpaper is added.
  • weather.com is added underneath the Weather Channel's logo.
  • The maps are no longer topographical. (Compare this link with this link).
• 2002- The Marine Forecasts on the XL and 4000 have been discontinued, however, it is unclear when this happened, but it is likely that around the same time as when NWS forecasts or the Regional Conditions screen disappeared.
• March 2002^[9] - A daypart forecast and 7-day extended forecast known as the "Week Ahead" is introduced. The 3-day extended forecast still displays during the 90 second forecast segment.
  • On the 1 minute flavor, the regional conditions map is replaced by the daypart forecast.
  • The radar has been repositioned from the end of the forecast to the middle right after the current conditions. This applies to all flavors except the 60 second forecast segment.
  • The margins on the 3-day extended forecast page are widened slightly. As a result, phrases such as "Partly Cloudy" and "Mostly Cloudy" are now fit into one line as opposed to two like before this update.
• If no gusts are reported, "none" would display for gusts on the lower display line during local forecasts and national broadcasts. This no longer happens. Instead, the gusts are not shown on the LDL if no gusts are reported.
  • The watch expiration phrase for severe weather watches has been changed. For example: "SAT 0900 PM EDT" becomes "9:00 PM EDT Saturday."
  • A Pollen Levels tagging product is introduced.
  • Some glitches involving ad tags are fixed.
  • The moon icons in the Almanac are now displayed correctly for the Northern Hemisphere.
• April 2002^[10] - The forecasts on the system now come directly from The Weather Channel, instead of the National Weather Service.
  • As a result, weather bulletins are now shown on a dedicated page. Bulletins include advisories, watches, statements, and warnings.
  • Some icons, such as "variably cloudy" and "PM clouds" are discontinued. "Partly Cloudy and Windy" and "AM Clouds/PM Sun" is slightly modified.
• July 2002^[11]
  • The regional conditions map, that shows the current weather conditions for the surrounding region, is discontinued.
  • In the top 30 DMAs, the regional forecast map, which shows the forecast for select cities throughout a region, is discontinued and is replaced by a metro forecast map. This shows forecast for select cities in a city's metropolitan area within a 75-100 mile radius.
• Early 2003 - The text that is used on the station ID becomes bolder and slightly larger. Some of the old 1999 text is still in use until later on in the year.
• April 2003^[12] - The "AM," "PM," and "FEW" variations to the weather icons are introduced to the forecast maps; live national broadcasts also received this upgrade.
  • The "AM" and "PM" variations to the weather icons on the lower display line have been modified. They are now in lower-case white text. Previously, they were in uppercase in a white-to-light blue gradient. The national broadcasts, as well as weather.com, however, received this upgrade a month or two earlier.
  • The 36 hour forecast segment has been modified so it is easier to understand. Previously, if the forecast for a time period were to split into two pages (due to its length) it would split in a middle of a sentence. Now, whenever possible, it would split to two pages in between each sentence. A line break was added between each time period.
• June 2003^[13] - On the 1 minute forecast, the daypart forecast and regional/metro forecast screens are replaced by a two-page text-based forecast.
• September 27, 2003^[14] - The lower display line (LDL) graphic that is shown on live national forecasts is redesigned. It is now black and opaque (previously translucent) and the logo appears on the graphic for the first time in Weather Star history.
  • During programming such as Storm Stories, more detailed information is provided on the lower display line.
• September 29, 2003 - The lower display line is now shown for all national segments (except if there is a weather watch, warning, or statement in effect). Previously the LDL was only shown if there was no information on the bottom of the forecast maps that the LDL may block (with either red or orange).
• September 2004 - The 3-day "extended forecast" segment is discontinued due to a discontinuation of the 90 second flavor.
• August 15, 2005^[15] - The XL gets new graphics once again, now featuring a modernized TWC logo, a sunny background, and new title bars. "weather.com" is moved from underneath the TWC logo to a new position underneath the title bar of each screen's segment.
  • During the Severe Weather Alerts in the "Weather Bulletin" page, the NOAA logo is removed, leaving only the National Weather Service.
  • In certain areas, the narration is a second ahead, thus leaving a one-second gap after each narration.
• Late August-Early September 2005 - On the regional and metro forecast maps, many cities are added and removed.
  • On some XLs, a city's icon will be partially obscured with the LDL, however, it is unclear if this is an error or not.
  • The IntelliStar also received this upgrade, but no icon overlaping with the LDL like the XL.
• February 21, 2006 - Since the 90 second forecast is brought back, the 3-day extended forecast returns to the XL at :18 and :48 after the hour.
• June 26, 2006 - The 3-day extended forecast is once again discontinued due the second discontinuation of the 90-second flavor.
• January 23, 2007 - As with the IntelliStar, the XL begins showing wintry precipitation on the radar. However, the precipitation key on the title bar heading is not updated.
• April 23, 2007 - The 3-day extended forecast returns to the XL for the third time.
• May 18, 2009 - As a result of the 1 minute flavors airing at :08/:38 and :18/:48 past the hour from 10am-2pm ET (10am-4pm ET if there's a Special Coverage) weekdays and 11am-2pm ET (11am-5pm ET if there's a Special Coverage) on weekends, the 3-Day Extended Forecast does not display at these time periods.
• July 20, 2009 - Because of the 90-second flavor airing at :08/:38 during Wake Up with Al at 6am and 10am ET, the 3-Day Extended Forecast airs 4 times an hour during these time periods, and the 1 minute flavors start airing at 11am ET.
  • A new flavor has been added to the XL's lineup. Instead of the typical 90 second flavor, which features the 8 city, this flavor takes the front page directly to the radar. The extra time is then used for the daypart forecast. This flavor airs at :18/:48 during Wake Up With Al, and some other times in the morning/midday.
• September 28, 2009 - The 3-Day Extended Forecast always airs at :18/:48 as a result of normal LF lengths resuming during the 10am-2pm ET weekday and the 11am-2pm ET weekend time periods.
• March 11, 2010 - The XL's LDL is no longer cued during regular broadcasts. This is due to the new national LDL introduced on that date that cycles between a small-sized and large-sized LDL, the latter of which is much larger than the XL's LDL, which did not receive a graphical update, making it the first time that a STAR system does not show local weather information during national programming. The IntelliStar received an update to their LDLs on that date. The warning scrolls are still activated when extreme weather is taking place.

Product Playlists

A product playlist (also referred to as a "flavor") is an arrangement of various types of products. Weather Bulletins displays immediately after the Current Conditions if active NWS bulletins exist.

Playlist Letter	Length (minutes and seconds)	Products
DE (Original)	1:00	Current Conditions, Regional Conditions, Regional Forecast, Extended Forecast, Radar
DE (Modified)	1:00	Current Conditions, Local Forecast, The Week Ahead, Radar
K (Original)	1:30	Current Conditions, Latest Observations, 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast, Radar
K (Modified)	1:30	Current Conditions, Latest Observations, Radar, Regional Forecast, 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast
K (Alternate)	1:30	Current Conditions, Radar, Daypart Forecast, Regional Forecast, 36 Hour Forecast, Extended Forecast
LM (Original)	2:00	Current Conditions, Latest Observations, Regional Conditions, 36 Hour Forecast, Regional Forecast, Extended Forecast, Almanac or Tides, Radar
L (Modified)	2:00	Current Conditions, Latest Observations, Radar, Daypart Forecast, Regional Forecast, 36 Hour Forecast, The Week Ahead
M (Modified)	2:00	Current Conditions, Latest Observations, Radar, Almanac or Tides, Daypart Forecast, Regional Forecast, 36 Hour Forecast, The Week Ahead

Cable headends utilizing the Weather Star XL

This television-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The following is a list of cable headends that are known to still use the Weather Star XL.

Video provider and city	Observation site	Channel	STAR ID	Notes
Cobridge Communications Ozark, AL		34		Replaced a WeatherSTAR 4000 around 2005.
NPG Cable Bullhead City, AZ
Charter Communications Marchfield, CA[16]	Big Bear Lake, CA	46	.	Unit displays Air Quality Forecast (:58) and Current Conditions Map (blank)
Time Warner Cable Yucca Valley, CA
Baja Broadband Estes Park, CO[17]	Fort Collins, CO	11	5256
Comcast Trinidad, CO[18]	Trinidad, CO	24
Comcast Lakeville, CT	Salisbury, CT			Confirmed in January 2011. Replaced a Weatherstar 4000 sometime after February 2007.
Mediacom Carroll, IA[19]	Carroll, IA	57	1443
Project Mutual Telephone Rupert, ID
Mediacom Effingham, IL[20]	Effingham, IL	26
Mediacom Geneseo, IL
Mediacom Mattoon, IL[21]	Mattoon, IL	26	3465	Mattoon also utilizes an IntelliStar on Consolidated Communications.[22]
Mediacom Peoria, IL	See notes			The observation site is a rare combination of Central Illinois/Peoria, IL/Bloomington, IL.
Madison Communications Staunton, IL
Mediacom Sullivan, IL[23]	Champaign/Urbana, IL	26	6315
Insight Communications Burlington, KY[24]	Cincinnati, OH	30	187
Time Warner Cable Georgetown, KY[25]	Lexington, KY	27	1056	Vocal Local not enabled.
Comcast Canton, MA	Taunton, MA
Comcast Bad Axe, MI[26][27]	Bad Axe, MI	31	2335	Replaced a STAR 4000 in 2006.
Charter Communications Big Rapids, MI[28]	Big Rapids, MI	30	2007
Charter Communications Coldwater, MI[29]	Coldwater, MI	36	5482
Charter Communications Gaylord, MI[30]	Bellaire, MI	26	2392
Charter Communications Houghton Lake, MI[31]	Houghton Lake, MI	49	1089
Charter Communications Ludington, MI[32]	Ludington, MI	30	1498
Charter Communications Petoskey, MI[33][34]	Harbor Springs, MI	26	2920	When the XL received its first graphics update in 2001, this XL did not acquire the new maps included in the update. This XL also serves Mackinaw City.
Charter Communications Sault Ste Marie, MI[35]	Sault Ste Marie, MI	95	1624	Observation site used is from Sault Ste Marie's municipal airport, not nearby Chippewa Airport to the south.
Charter Communications St Ignace, MI[36]	Mackinac Island, MI	26	5779
Charter Communications Traverse City, MI[37]	Traverse City, MI	26	724
US Cable Hannibal, MO[38]	Quincy, IL	22	4876
Fidelity Communications Rolla/Salem, MO[39]	Vichy/Rolla, MO	17	1898
Charter Communications Washington/Sullivan, MO	Spirit STL Arpt, MO
Bresnan Communications INC Havre, MT[40]	Havre, MT
Charter Communications Corolla, NC[41]	Currituck, NC
Charter Communications Marion, NC
Consolidated Telecommunications Dickinson, ND[42]	Dickinson, ND	21
Midcontinent Communications Wahpeton, ND[43]	Fargo, ND	22		TWC is on Channel 22 on Analog, 16.6 on Digital, 22.5 PSIP, 22 STB.
American Broadband Blair, NE
Charter Communications North Platte, NE
Comcast Lincoln, NH	Plymouth, NH			Confirmed in January 2011.
Cable Artesia (PVT Networks) Clovis-Cannon, NM[44]	Artesia, NM	23	2632
Baja Broadband Elko, NV
Provider unknown Laughlin, NV
Time Warner Cable Fulton, NY	Fulton, NY	40	300	It is possible this unit was replaced with Intellistar 24828, currently in use in nearby Oswego, NY.
Grafton Cable LaGrange, OH[45]		17		Did not receive the 2005 graphics update. Replaced a 4000 sometime in late 2008/early 2009.
Time Warner Cable Dunkirk, NY
Time Warner Cable Piketon, OH
Time Warner Cable Zanesville, OH
Wave Broadband Aurora, OR
Charter Communications North Bend/Coos Bay, OR[46]	North Bend, OR	48
Charter Communications The Dalles, OR[47]	The Dalles, OR	5	9302
Charter Communications Tillamook, OR	Newport, OR	54	3970
Comcast DuBois/Punxsutawney, PA[48]	DuBois, PA	44	457	Vocal Local not enabled.
Coaxial Cable TV Corporation Edinboro, PA	Erie, PA
Armstrong Cable Fawn Grove, PA	York, PA
Time Warner Cable Sharon, PA	Youngstown, OH	25
Atlantic Broadband Warren, PA	Jamestown, NY	68		Backup site: Bradford PA
Comcast Sevierville, TN[49]	Knoxville, TN	18
Suddenlink Andrews, TX
Grande Communications Corinth, TX[50]	Denton, TX	51	14181
Cox Communications Mount Pleasant, TX
Insight Communications Rockford, TX
Time Warner Cable Zapata, TX	Zapata, TX	52		Uses a IntelliStar stationed from Laredo, TX as backup.
Comcast Provo, UT
Suddenlink Narrows, VA	Bluefield, WV
Comcast Bennington, VT[51]	Bennington, VT	19	1945	It is believed this cable headend used the Weather Star 4000 as recently as February 2006, however as of December 2008, it now uses the XL.
Charter Communications St. Johnsbury, VT			5925
Comcast Waterbury, VT
Comcast Bremerton, WA	Bremerton, WA	78
Coast Access Ocean Shores, WA	Hoquiam, WA	27
Oconto Falls Cable TV Oconto Falls, WI
Suddenlink Princeton, WV	Bluefield, WV			Serves central northern Mercer County, WV and much of Summers County, WV
Rapid Communications Weston, WV				Vocal Local not enabled

See also

• The Weather Channel
• IntelliStar
• IntelliStar 2
• Weatherscan
• WeatherStar
• Weather Star Jr
• Weather Star 4000

^[52]

References

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

External links

• The Weather Channel
• The Weather Channel Star Operations