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BBC Launches Linux Powered Weather Format
nzkaha writes "BBC launches new weather format using Weatherscape XT. This may be one of the higher profile deployments of Linux based systems. Weatherscape XT supplies weather graphics for all UK BBC channels plus the BBC World Service. The system relies completely on openGL graphics and there are demonstration clips of the system in use at Metra.info . Developed in NZ by MetService as a cross platform system for Linux, OS X and Windows, the BBC solution has been deployed on Linux with MySQL DB. Data is replicated to remote studios and displayed live by the Weatherscape application using Nvidia Graphics and drivers. Future deployment options will depend on customer choice and platform support."
... even the BBC have admitted that they have had hundreds of complaints about the look of the new service already. They had to tweak it once already because the north of England, and Scotland, were disproportionately small.
People preferred the old format because it was clearer, didn't swoop around, and conveyed all the relevant information quickly and effectively. This new system is unnecessarily complicated and confusing.
Nonono, not "the government", Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum (R) wants private industry to have a monopoly on distribution of weather data. And that's because he took campaign contributions from AccuWeather.
See here on the BBC News site for more comments.
(PS - Go Liverpool for the cup)
The 137MHz transmissions are due to be phased out after the next NOAA satellite launch. So, it'll probably be good until 2010-2015 when the satellite being launched now gets phased out (or it's APT system fails).
Note that while there are only 2 active NOAA satellites, there's normally two older satellites still transmitting in backup duty.
After 2010 or so the HRPT (High resolution picture transmission) digital system will be the only system in use, which requires a tracking antenna and a digital reciever at 1700MHz. The HRPT signal is not encrypted though, and does give better resolution (1x1km vs 4x4km) and more image channels (5 instead of 2)
You are in a twisty maze of processor lines, all alike.
There is a lot of hype here.
I think you want: http://www.emgola.cz/www_fa/meteosat_englisch_how. html
The NZ version is used on TV 1 and TV 3 here.
People have mentioned a lack of isobars, wind direction, strength, muddy colours etc.
On our version we get an isobar map first, which shows the bars changing, fronts coming through etc. Then a broad sweep over the country showing weather effects like cloud/rain + temperature/wind info overlayed by town.
Then a close up on the major centres (6 are shown).
The weather is very nice showing what the temperature will go down to tonight, in the morning, and afternoon.
Perhaps the BBC is doing something different and leaving out some of the info we see here. That would be their decision.
As for the muddy colour of the map. Perhaps the British should wake up and realise that their green-and-pleasant land isn't a vibrant shade of green any more. AFAIK it uses true colour satillite images of the landscape. So that mud colour is what your country looks like.
Pointless must be a Kiwi euphonism for useless...
No, pointless is standard English for without purpose. No Kiwi about it, and no euphony either, although the idea is amusing.
Surely you have heard, or asked, "What is the point of...?"
PS The word is euphemism.
Yours Sincerely, Michael.
TWW
"Encyclopedia" is to "Wikipedia" what "Library" is to "Some people at a bus stop"
The 3D animated weather map has been hugely successful in New Zeland, it is very clear and shows what the weather will be like as the day goes on, complete with cloud, rain and wind (and sun!). It is far, far more useful than a static map.
It is also very reliable, I can only remember a few times when it failed to work properly, mainly due to poor operators rather than a machine crashing.
The BBC has done a terrible job of it- they have made Britain a dull brown colour, (its is quite a green and pleasant land outside London!) the animation is hard to follow and they don't show clouds- just their shadows.
They are about to fine tune it tomorrow from the feedback they have received, so we'll see what they come up with. In any case its a vast improvement from the "sunny, with some rain" forecasts of old...
The recasting of the weather forecast has been a deeply disheartening experience. For those not familiar with the problems of the new (linux powered! I would keep quiet about that if I were an linux advocate) forecast -
(1) Even by its own criteria it does not work well. In terms of presenting information it is a disaster. Masterfully clear and concise icons evolved over decades have been ditched for a series of children's animations that manage to be both impenetrable and suggestive of absurd accuracy at the same time.
(2) Worse though is the BBC's retreat from providing an informative and educational forecast. Over decades skilled forecaster-presenters subtlety explained synoptic charts and the large scale weather story so that the UK weather - and the uncertainty in that forecast - was skillfully conveyed. This meant that you were never in dark - rain not arrived by lunchtime? the front must have slowed, it will be along later.
Now there is no structure or intelligence to the forecast - it is a goldfish view of the weather. One result of this was that, regardless of education, many could make a basic interpretation of isobars, etc: quite possibly the only scientific chart they would encounter. I am not sure that losing this literacy is a good thing.
And why have they done all this? It is a puzzle: the bbc web page condenses the rationale to "Today's media industry is like a shark, either you keep moving forward or you are dead in the water.". Perhaps the weather forecast, previously a high point of the BBC's output - has been handed over those who design programme idents and trailers.
"I'm not sure that the new graphics are running at 50 frames per second... they look more like they're at 25 fps, which is really rather poor."
25 fps? That's the normal frame rate of PAL TV.
25 interlaced frames is not 50 deinterlaced frames. Interlaced means that the picture is made up of 2 half-frames, which is easier and cheaper to record, so It's 50 half frames.
43rd Law of Computing:
Anything that can go wr
fortune: Segmentation violation -- Core Dumped
Same Name maybe, everything else is totally differrent, TVNZ's was running on an IndigoII MaxImpact until last week, when it switched to Linux also. :) ( XT does a vast amount more UI wise & they had some smart AGP->PCIX video transfer, pity the FX4400SDI came along ). :), I used that alot & would not change it.
The big difference is the code base & design philosophy.
The TVNZ one is the original & alot older ( '96 written ), based on a web UI, using perl scripts to start up & trigger events ( unix signals ) & hand drawn regions for clouds, able to be tweaked every hour, generally every 6, then interpolated in real time. It also is tightly coupled data & presentation, which was my fault, but it was built in under 3 months from memory by one person ( me ), 4 years 5 odd people for the WeatherscapeXT
The TV3's Weatherscape XT integrated UI gives a heap more control & flexibility. TV3 WeatherscapeXT is also using modelled clouds.
To even the screwup's equation, they used opengl lines for rain ( it looks that way anyway ), whereas I used antialiased lines on poly's, mine scale width with distance, theirs don't
Nigel