Radar data via digital, over-the-air free TV

[rdale]

"A little better resolution for ER vs. real-time weather/emergency info?"

I'd rather have viewers tuned in to ER and get a meteorologist breakin to tell them a tornado is moving into their neighborhood, as opposed to them looking at all those pretty colors on the radar. Very few people can give even a basic interpretation of radar, and those that need the info already get it from other sources.

 

[sebenste]

I'd rather have both. Yes, your weather guy can and should break
in during emergency situations. But weather spotters, emergency
managers, and those in the path of storms that are not tornadic
(or not in the path of any storm) want to see the whole picture,
and this does it. You can serve everyone in this case, and the station gets a huge PR/public service boost in the process. In a time where stations don't give a rat's rear end about that to some or a large degree, this is an inexpensive, welcome channel. 1 or two megabytes for a radar channel
isn't going to hurt you HD if done right. And, during major events, show your main channel on the weather subchannel if you go wall-to-wall. :idea:

Obviously, it's working, as many stations are getting it, even in podunk Illinois. All of the major stations in Lubbock have a weather subchannel.
A station in Houston, TX has an all-news local channel showing text with the AP wire. I saw that setup when I was growing up on cable, and I liked it.

 

[rdale]

"I'd rather have both."

I completely agree... But according to the previous post, apparently you can't have both - and I don't see Survivor Part 13 coming in "less appealing" HDTV because the TV station eats bandwidth with a hi-res vs "normal"? radar channel.