generic
style0 class
color pink
name ''IntelliStar''
lbl1 Manufactured:
row1 Wind River Systems
lbl2 Family:
row2 IntelliStar
lbl3 Hardware:
row3 Custom computer using Intel x86-based processor
lbl4 OS:
row4 FreeBSD
lbl5 Graphics:
row5 Vector/Raster
lbl6 Final Release Date:
row6 March 2004
lbl7 Status:
row7 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 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.

IntelliStar's design

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.

IntelliStar's timeline

Late Summer 2003
  • The IntelliStar begins its beta testing in select markets.


    • March 2004
  • The IntelliStar has gone out of beta and begins its debut in select cable companies, including Comcast. Some of the first major markets to get the IntelliStar through Comcast are Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia.


    • 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.


  • The narration 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 TWC ID number like in the 90s on the upper right hand corner 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 only displayed on the local forecast, but later on this month, this started displaying during live national broadcasts as well.


    • September 2004
  • "Regional Forecast" maps returns for those who have the metro forecast.


  • "36 Hour Forecast" now renames it to "Local Forecast" when it becomes a 48 Hour Local Forecast.


  • The AM/PM Commute Metro Maps are introduced.


  • 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).


  • As a result of the addition of these screens, more screens are used in each flavor, making the duration for each screen shorter. This also required the 90 second forecast to be discontinued, leaving only 60 and 120 second forecasts to be aired.


  • 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'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 2004
  • 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".


    • January 2005
  • More cities are introduced to the Metro Forecast maps such as Lincoln/Omaha, NE.


    • April 2005
  • Traffic products begin beta testing in Atlanta.


    • May 3, 2005
  • Weather Channel Announcer Allen Jackson (no relation to the country singer)'s narration was changed from "Your" to "Our" in each applicable narration, such as "Our local Doppler Radar", "Our 7-day outlook", etc.


    • Mid-May 2005
  • Traffic conditions from Traffic Pulse made its debut in the top media markets, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Detroit. Also showing the "Traffic Pulse" logo on the bottom left hand corner during the local on the 8's intro.


    • August 15, 2005
  • The IntelliStar received new graphics, including a sunny background to replace the cloud background, and the new The Weather Channel logo.


    • 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 just shows the air quality for one city.


    • December 15, 2005
  • The "L-Bar" (aka Corner Forecast) 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.


  • The "Traffic Overview" map similar to one seen on WeatherScan was added on.


  • From this date through January 2, 2006, Allen Jackson's narration for the "Regional and Local Doppler Radar" segment is removed.


  • There is a bug in the 3-day extended forecast where the narration only reads 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 is discontinued for many IntelliStars with traffic products.


    • December 29, 2005

  • From this date until January 19, 2006, the narration says "Our extended forecast" over the 3-day "Extended Forecast" segment, which is much similar to the XL.


  • The narration for the "Traffic Incident" and "Traffic Flow" segments were 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 IntelliStars 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 IntelliStars with traffic products.


  • The morning and afternoon commute maps return after a hiatus.


    • March 31, 2006
  • HiRAD Technology makes its debut. This allows TWC to choose almost any location, landmark, or neighborhood as a weather reporting station. Only certain IntelliStars received this update during this time, however by summer 2006 all IntelliStars had HiRAD technology installed on them.


    • 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. While most can, only certain receiver boxes can carry this TWC service.


    • December 12, 2006
  • Weather icons that were used on The Weather Channel since 1998 are replaced by more realistic icons. The changes were also made on DirecTV/Dish Network satellite, weather.com , and Weatherscan. Some IntelliStars have not received 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 not to show traffic map for some IntelliStars with traffic products.


    • May 2007
  • The 90 second forecast is brought back, which causes the 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 7, 2007
  • Allen Jackson's narration is discontinued for all local forecast segments during the "primetime" hours (8:00 PM ET through 1:00 AM ET).


    • May 9, 2007
  • The narration for the "traffic incident" segment was brought back for certain areas.


    • 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.

  • As of May 2007, Allen Jackson no longer says the current condition at the beginning of forecast, it's now the temperature only. It's been confirmed this is a glitch, and this feature will return in a future update, scheduled to occur around October 2007.


    • June 4, 2007
  • The narration for the "Traffic Flow" segment was brought back for certain areas.


    • Late September, 2007
  • Some Getaway Forecast locales change. It is confirmed that in the near future, likely in October, that the IntelliStar will have sponsors for Getaway locations and the Getaway product will soon get a facelift.


    • October 1, 2007
  • Allen Jackson's "primetime" narration returns after a 6-month hiatus from 8:00PM-1:00AM ET.


    • October 8, 2007
  • The sound effects were added during the 36 to 48 Hour Local Forecast segment.


    • October 16, 2007
  • The backgrounds on some Intellistars, including the Comcast system in Cobb County, GA (where TWC is located) recieved a brand new cloud background and color schemes. In addition, an animation of the sky conditions forecasted appears on the right-hand of the screen during the 36 to 48 Hour Local Forecast segment.

  • The IntelliStar update for most headends slated for this day was delayed for about a week due to debugging.


    • See also
  • The Weather Channel

  • Weather STAR 4000

  • Weather STAR XL

  • WeatherStar

  • WeatherStar Jr


    • Icon Gallery

    Image:Partly Cloudy (TWC).PNG|Partly Cloudy icon used on the IntelliStar from 1998-2006
    Image:Partly Cloudy (TWC) V2.PNG|Realistic Partly Cloudy icon currently in use on the IntelliStar. Unlike the previous set, the "Haze", "Dust", and "Smoke" icons are not worded.


    References

    External links
  • An article on FreeBSD's role in the operation of the IntelliStar


    • Category:Television technology
    Category:The Weather Channel