Setting a matter right. OT

[Weatherlawyer]

From a distant shore:

New Zealand-produced graphics for the BBC television's weather service created a storm of controversy yesterday with complaints flooding in about the new look.

Viewers bombarded a BBC internet site complaining about the graphics, which replace the old stationary "cloud" and "rain" symbols with shadow sweeping across the country and a bird's eye camera that zooms in on different regions.

Many said the new format was confusing and some complained that by trying to show the curve of the earth's surface, the BBC had made it difficult to see what was going on in Scotland and northern England.

Others complained the BBC had turned England's green and pleasant land a muddy shade of brown.

Last March, New Zealand's Metservice sold the homegrown TV weather graphics package to the BBC in a multi-million dollar deal.

The package - Weatherscape XT - is the latest version of software developed by the Metservice using 3D animation and graphics.

New Zealand beat off competition from Europe and North America to close the deal.

The BBC is using the software for all its national and regional channels, as well as BBC World and its internet site.

Network Nine in Australia and stations in Europe, Dubai, Turkey, Beirut, Saudi Arabia and Asia already use the software.

However, Britons appear to be unimpressed.

"Appalling. What an absolute mess," wrote Jim from Glasgow. "Even my 11-year-old daughter thought it was awful and she loves weather programmes."

Another viewer, Ann Walker, from Stratford-on-Avon in central England said: "My husband who suffers from vertigo found the constant movement made him feel quite dizzy."

Danny Vallance, from Ayr, was also offended.

"Coming from Scotland, I am obviously very disappointed in the slanting map which gives England and Wales precedence," he wrote.

The BBC defended its new graphics, saying people always complained about change and would get used to the new format.


Some viewers, however, welcomed the change. "Brilliant! I love them. Well done the BBC," wrote Mark Riley from London.

"Who cares about Scotland?," he added. "It is always raining there anyway."

At the time of the sale, Minister for State-Owned Enterprises Mark Burton hailed the deal as a "huge" achievement and further proof of New Zealand's innovation, creativity and technical prowess in the wake of The Lord of the Rings .

The graphics are used by TVNZ for One News' weather.

MetService developers have been customising and installing the software over the past 12 months.

Metservice chief executive John Lumsden earlier hailed the launch as the culmination of the company's biggest television project ever, and one of the biggest of its kind in the world.

He was unable to be contacted for comment last night.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,328 ... 60,00.html

You can find an hand out just like it on the BBC's website.

What they have done is instituted a so called three dimensional map of the kind that you can find on the back page of newspapers of the type which do not spend a lot of time compiling weather maps.

The 3D bit is the arc of the earth which puts England's South Coast in the foreground and Scotland for the most part out of perspective. The colour of the map is a minor point, in that previous maps were often obscured in the past by temperature scale colourations which would often show green on green with a turquoise sea.

What we are up in arms about is the quick run through, that every presenter is saddled with and the fact it does not show ANY form of fronts or even isobars

Whilst the change is a benefit to the planners of the schedules and possibly an help to the presenters, it is a painting by numbers skate through the subject for those with little or no time for it.

Take a look at the sheer number of hate mail posted about it on the BBC's own forums and on the usenet group uk.sci.weather.

Sorry to come over here just to rant but honest to God, you buggers have upset us!!!

[GraemeWi]

Thats strange, normally when a company buys a product they don't roll it out until they are happy with it.

So I blame the BBC, which is also one of the main reasons why I drank so much when I lived in the UK - the TV was that shite that the pub was always a more attractive option.

G

[NZstorm]

That story was in the NZ herald a few days ago.

Shame about Scotland missing out. Maybe they should turn the whole thing around and angle it from out west. Mind you that would make Ireland bigger than England !!

[Willoughby]

They must've done this to try and rival heavy-weights Sky News...
Which has a good weather presentation. The angle over the UK isn't oblique, but birds eye...

They never really say much, just where it's raining

[Michael]

the software works better in a climate where it always rains.It would be boring watching it in a place like a desert as there would be nothing to see

[Gary Roberts]

Goodness me, people from the UK complaining about something! Who'd a thought such a thing was even possible?

[Weatherlawyer]

Thats strange, normally when a company buys a product they don't roll it out until they are happy with it.

So I blame the BBC, which is also one of the main reasons why I drank so much when I lived in the UK - the TV was that shite that the pub was always a more attractive option.

G

That is exactly right. javascript:emoticon(':?')
Confused

I wonder if the system is also used to compile the forecast? That might be an excuse. No reason for not having a failsafe. I mean you wouldn't accept a scientific experiment such as one of the modern theories that abound these days without a control. javascript:emoticon(':D')
Very Happy

No more than you would get into a car that didn't have brakes and a steering mechanism. javascript:emoticon(':roll:')
Rolling Eyes

[Weatherlawyer]

Emoticons do not drag and drop. (Any more than they insert themselves with a simple click as you would expect in a modern notice board.)

(Loath as I am to complain)

[Willoughby]

I just saw it on the BBC, looks great!

I have NO IDEA why Hobart is grouped with the NZ centres, rather than the aussie ones