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So after a long search we have decided to make the switch to IntenseDebate.  IntenseDebate is a commenting system that supports WordPress and several other blogs.  It also has many features that makes it easier for us to administer.

The million dollar question is… Do I have to register?

For now, the answer is no.  But we encourage users to register and log in when posting comments.  If you have a WordPress.com account, OpenID or IntenseDebate account, you can use that profile to comment on WOODTV.com.  That way you can include your avatar.  To register, check the register button the first time you post a comment.

On the news front, you’ll see where we’ve categorized the state of Michigan into 15 different areas so you can quickly find the stories that are relevant to you.

You can find the Local News section by using our main navigation of News > Local. On our homepage, you’ll find highlights of these sections for Grand Rapids and Kent County.

Some of the nice features of these new areas include relevant weather conditions, local event listings, and aggregated news content for that area. The Grand Rapids section is a good example, but don’t miss out on Kent County, Ottawa County, Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, the Gun Lake region, and others covering the entire state.

In the weather section, we’ve expanded our forecasts and conditions to include five other regions of the state of Michigan. So, when you are travelling to Northern Michigan for the weekend or Detroit for business, you can find the weather conditions at woodtv.com.

Based on your feedback, we’ve made several changes to the home page.

1. We’ve replaced the thumbnails of video stories with the text of the latest 10 local news stories.

2. The day planner graphic has reappeared.

3. A link to Bill’s Blog is directly below the day planner graphic.

We’re still addressing the problems you’ve described about site slowness. If you have some specific info on what’s occurring to you, please pass it along.

And to those people who have shared how they’ve used the site in the past and how they want to use it in the future, your feedback is especially appreciated. Concrete examples of what you want will really help us make the improvements you want to see.

I can assure you, we will not stop making changes to the site until it is better than the previous version. Your support for the last version of the site gives us something positive to build on for the future.

Previous post …

> Your input on the new website helps
> A new website is coming Friday

Feel free to leave your comments and questions below, or email us directly at webcentral@woodtv.com.

Many of you have shared your feedback and it is much appreciated. Your input will help us build a site that’s useful, informative and enlightening to you.

I’ve answered many of your questions personally, but do notice some recurring questions I can answer…

> Many have mentioned trouble finding more of our news stories. During the first few hours on the new platform, local news wasn’t as current as it will be in the future. Nevertheless we hear your concerns and we are evaluating the organization. In the meantime, be sure to check the under all the tabs at the top of the homepage. That’s where you’ll find the most topical stories. On the News page, we’ve increased the number of local stories viewable. Soon, you’ll see even more there. Under the News navigation, you’ll see various categories like National and Politics.

> We’ve had numerous reports of the site being slow to load. That’s a major concern and my top priority. If you can share specific information about what elements are slow to load, it will be helpful.

> RSS Feeds have changed with the new site platform. Sorry for that change. Early next week we’ll have the RSS locations finalized for you.

> The text for the printer-friendly forecast will be in place next week.

> Many weather maps are still available. Try using the main navigation at the top of the page for things like Currents, Forecasts, Radar, Severe Weather, and Webcams. While you’re there, be sure to check out the new HiDef and SuperTracker maps. You can see weather on a national scale or on a hyperlocal scale for anywhere in the U.S. Many of you have asked for maps like this.

> A more prominent link to Bill’s Blog will be coming to the homepage next week.

> The Topix forums are still around. You can find links at the bottom of many news stories or under the main navigation of Participate.

We always want to hear your comments and questions. Feel free to post them below or email them to webcentral@woodtv.com.

For the past decade or so we’ve used WorldNow as the technolgy platform for our website. This Friday, we’re making the switch to Fox Interactive Media (FIM).

WOODTV.com is one of many sites owned by LIN TV that are making this move. You can read about it at Broadcasting & Cable and Media Week.

It’s an enormous change for us. In fact, we’re still very much in the middle of the transition.

Nearly all our main content has been duplicated on the new platform but we still have much more to do. You’ll see many more additions in the next few weeks.

In addition to the content you’ve seen and used before, we’ll begin adding more social networking and mapping features so you can get deeper into a story. One of the neat features of the site is a Flash-based, expandable video player.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll post updates on more new elements.

Come back on Friday and into next week and let us know what you think. Feel free to post below or email us directly at webcentral@woodtv.com.

We have received emails and telephone calls from our viewers in Northern Kent, Muskegon, Newaygo and Oceana counties, who have indicated they watch the WOOD TV analog signal but cannot pickup the digital signal when they purchase a converter box or a new TV.

WOOD TV operates on digital channel 7. This is the same channel WPBN in Traverse City uses for its analog broadcast. Viewers in the northern part of our viewing area may experience problems with this interference. This interference is most prevalent for about 4 hours after sunrise and the early evening hours. The viewer may do a simple test to see if this is the reason they are not able to receive WOOD DT digital signal.

To test for interference, connect the antenna to the analog TV tuner. Tune to channel 7. If there is any picture or sound, this interference will unlock the digital tuner and prevent WOOD’s digital reception. If the viewer has a rotor on their antenna, turn the antenna until the analog signal is minimized, then re-connect the antenna to the digital tuner and try to rescan.

The interference from WPBN, Traverse City should go away after February 17, 2009. This is the date that WPBN will turn off their channel 7 analog signal.

WOOD TV and WOOD DT both transmit from our tower in Middleville, MI.

If have not yet made the transition to digital TV, do it this summer! You will not want to mess with it in February! Find out more about DTV here.

At one click you’ll be able to zoom into Grand Rapids, Grand Haven, the Soo Locks, etc. Look for the links at the top and bottom of the map.

I’m hearing that some people are having trouble using the map. Here’s the thing, it’s a good idea to learn how to use it. Why? Because Google maps, and maps like it, are everywhere on the Internet. It’s the way things have moved. Static maps are a thing of the past and this is how it’s done today. (Did you read about the local mapmaker going out of business?)

The new map happened for many reasons …
– The old one was very labor intensive to update, thus didn’t get updated often.
– The high-bandwidth version was just as difficult to update.
– The old map ran out of space to add more cameras.
– We’d get emails almost weekly asking why we haven’t added a newly discovered camera or why we didn’t update the map.
– The new map can be updated quickly and easily.
– Once zoomed in, you can view more cameras more quickly with this version.

Yes, change can be tough. But sometimes it’s needed.

Want to see something super-cool that’s being done with maps today? Check out our building using the bird’s eye view on Live Search Maps from Microsoft.

Regarding this change to a digital lifestyle, here’s a story that comes to my mind.

A relative of mine made the switch to a digital camera about 3 years ago. At that time, she also had a nice laptop and printer from Dell.

Most of us know these things go together very nicely. You take pictures with the camera, hook the camera to the computer, and put the pictures on the computer. Then you can view, print, email, etc.

Despite repeated attempts to explain this to her, she didn’t get the concept. She still doesn’t.

Instead, when her camera card gets full, she buys another card. Actually, she calls them “megapixels”.

In the past three years, I’ve never seen a picture she’s taken. And neither has she.

“We have received many emails and telephone calls from our viewers who have indicated they watch WOOD TV analog signal but cannot pickup the digital signal when they purchase a converter box or a new TV.

“WOOD TV does not recommend indoor antennas for digital reception. We do understand that many people have used indoor antennas with varying results for analog reception. The reason was that a certain amount of degradation of the signal still produced acceptable results. Viewers were able to accept some pictures that were slightly snowy or had a limited amount of ghosts. With digital those kinds of imperfections may cause the receiver to unlock, resulting in no signal at all.

“Rabbit ears may work if the viewer is within 15 miles of the tower. In this area, WOOD TV, WXMI TV, WOTV, WLLA-TV, and WWMT are all located in the geographic center of the intended coverage area. WOOD TV and WXMI TV are just Southwest of Middleville, MI. WWMT TV is located east of Shelbyville and WOTV and WLLA-TV are located East of Orangeville. All of these are about 20 miles from the population centers of Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Holland and Battle Creek. Muskegon is about 50 miles.

“In areas like Detroit, most viewers are within 15 miles of the tower, because the population center is a metro area, many times indoor antennas work in this type of area. Grand Rapids is considered a hyphenated market because it serves multiple cities and their transmitters must be located in the center of the area intended to be served.

“What makes the indoor antenna problem worse is that many retailers are selling amplified indoor antennas that supposedly are designed for digital television. There is no difference in antennas sold for digital and the old tried-and-true antennas used for the past sixty years for analog.

“These amplified antennas are usually designed for UHF signals even though the box may say UHF/VHF. Testing has proved these antennas as having worse performance than plain $8.00 rabbit ears antennas at VHF channels. This area is mostly VHF. WWMT-TV (CBS), WOOD-TV (NBC), WZZM-TV (ABC) and WGVU-TV (PBS) will all be on VHF channels eventually. If the viewer has no other choice than to use an indoor antenna, we recommend a simple set of rabbit ears antenna located near a window that has a view to the Gun Lake area between Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo. WOOD-TV will come in best with the elements collapsed to half of their length.

“WOOD-TV highly recommends that you buy your converter box early. This will give you the time and weather to acquire our signal by having an outdoor antenna installed. Make sure the antenna is a VHF/UHF model. They may be purchased from places like Radio Shack, T&W Electronics in Grand Rapids, Bursma Electronics, Menards or any antenna dealer that also may do installations. A listing of antenna dealers that do installations can be found at Techhome.com or http://www.homeblue.com/electrical-1-antenna.htm

Michael Laemers
Director of Engineering
WOOD TV / WOTV / WXSP

I’ll certainly buy one converter box because I have a TV in my house that’s not hooked up to cable and it would be a big pain to run cable to it. Not sure if I’d buy two. As I checked out the various converter boxes, I see that some have some cool features like a program guide. If you know any other ways to comparison shop for the boxes, leave them in the comments section.

WOOD TV8 and all the other broadcast stations across the country are beginning to run commercials talking about the transition to DTV. What bothers me the most is that they are focused on the February 17, 2009 change. If you wait until then, you’ll be in trouble.

I think it’s really important for anyone affected by the change to convert to DTV while the weather is nice this summer. If you currently use rabbit ears in West Michigan to get TV, you might need an outdoor antenna on your roof. Do you want to try putting up an outdoor antenna in January? Didn’t think so.

Take my advice, try making the switch now! You’ll get more channels and you’ll know if you need help with your antenna.

We’ve got all kinds of info online about making the switch. If you have a specific problem with your reception, let us know about it.