How Does it Work?
The Virtual Weatherman™
System is the latest in automated voice weather tecnology
from Virtual Voice™, a name broadcasters trust. Not repackaged
old software, but an entirely new concept in delivering custom
voiced weathercasts and bulletins to websites and cable, television,
and radio stations.
Where Other Outdated
Technologies require the use of maintenance intensive
dedicated hardware and large complicated software libraries, a
Virtual Weatherman™ system maintains all the software, voice
libraries and configurations on our dedicated internet servers,
so that clients need only load and run a tiny FTP engine to automatically
download the completed weathercasts. The ingest engine uses less
CPU time than an open web-browser! So, it can reside on practically
any computer or operating system, including your main automation
system, and be loaded and ready to use in fiveminutes or less!
Frequently Asked Questions
Q
- At my station, the jocks read the weather. Why would I need
the Virtual Weatherman? A - Most stations can't
afford live jocks 24/7. Even in bigger markets, voice-tracking
of some dayparts is now the the norm. Regardless of the time,
day or night, the Virtual Weatherman is always on duty to keep
your listeners informed. Plus, having your own station meteorologist
makes your station sound more credible.
Q - I already have a local TV meteorologist
doing my weather. How is Virtual Weatherman better?
A -Virtual Weatherman is on duty 24/7 and updates your weather
hourly, complete with local conditions. You can't do that with
a pre-recorded forecast that's updated just a few times each day.
Q - I've heard the really bad synthesized
speech used on NOAA weather radio. How is the Virtual Weatherman
different? A - Virtual Weatherman utilizes real
human speech, stored as WAV files on the Virtual Voice servers
to produce your weathercasts. Nothing is synthesized. Think of
it as "voice-tracking" for your weather.
Q - Where does the weather data
come from? A - By default data collected and sent
from the NWS is used to build your forecasts and current conditions.Optional
weather sensors are available for you to place locally. And the
software allows use of Weather Channel or any other 3rd party
forecasts. So your local TV guy, or the weather whiz down the
block can write the actual forecasts for you should you choose.
Q - How does the Virtual Weatherman
handle emergency situations like Tornado Warnings?
A - By acting as a source to your EAS unit, or through an optional
USB relay, the software can interrupt your regular programming
at anytime to air emergency weather information. And it's all
customized for your station. Instead of the annoying NWS voice,
your own meteorologist delivers the warning message, including
your call-letters and slogan.
Q - Can I make money with the Virtual
Weatherman? A - Certainly. Just sell local sponsors
and precede each weather forecast with a mention for the sponsor.
Some stations even sell the warning announcements
