(click thumbnail)Q. What kind of products or services does your company offer for broadcasters?
A. Baron Services provides weather detection tools that enable stations to communicate day-to-day weather forecasts and severe weather events to their viewers. We focus on providing graphics to broadcasters that are easy to use and even easier for viewers to understand. Our scientific analysis, combined with innovative tools like our HD Doppler radar, give stations the ability to tell the complete weather story in high-definition, in real time and with no rendering.
Q. What’s new that you will show at the NAB Show and what should broadcasters look for there?
A. Dual-Polarization Radar / HD Doppler Radar
NAB visitors should take time to ask us about our high-definition dual-polarization radars because they are capable of telling the exact type of precipitation that is falling at any given point, rain, sleet, hail or snow. Conventional Doppler radars send out only a horizontal beam, but Baron’s dual-polarization radars send out both horizontal and vertical energy, making the detection of specific precipitation types much easier. This technology enables meteorologists to identify where and what type of precipitation is falling anywhere across their coverage area. We currently have eight TV stations across the nation using our dual-polarization radars. And, in October, we were excited to be part of a team that won a five year, $43 million contract from the National Weather Service to provide the design, development and production services for a comprehensive upgrade of their NEXRAD network to dual-polarization capability. To date, Baron Services has installed every broadcast polarimetric radar in the world.
HD Weather Displays: VIPIR, FasTrac & StormWarn
Past attendees will remember when we first debuted HD weather about two years ago. We pioneered true high-definition weather and our systems gave broadcasters the ability to manipulate images live-on-air when no one else could—and we believe we are still the only weather company that offers this ability.
Our HD displays come right out of the box ready to go with no need for upconversion in native 1080i or 720p. Stations that choose to add HD weather to the mix really take their weather coverage and the station as a whole to the next level. HD weather from Baron allows stations to see more detail in the data, providing viewers with a clearer, more accurate picture of the weather environment—once again, in real-time with no rendering. With our alert crawl, StormWarn, stations have the ability to incorporate live Doppler radar feed including county watches and warnings all in high-definition.
Clients like Fox, CBS, ABC and Media General are currently using Baron’s HD solutions in many large markets.
Q. How is your new product offering different from what is available on the market?
A. A lot of times when people think about scientific data, algorithms and forecast models, they automatically believe it is going to be too hard to understand. Our products are the very opposite. The company’s patented weather tools are accurate, easy-to-use and even easier for viewers to understand.
We set the standard when we introduced our HD display solutions two years ago. Our HD solutions are different because they come right out of the box ready to be integrated into any HD environment. The big news here is that stations can use these displays in native resolution live with no rendering, so stations can update their graphics minute-by-minute as weather situations develop live on air.
Q. Where are you based, and how many employees do you have? Anything else we should know about your company?
A. Our primary office is based in Huntsville, Ala., with satellite offices in Okla., N.C. and Fla. Five specialized divisions make up the company, which is over 90 employees strong.
Baron Services Inc.
Founded 17 years ago with a mission to develop life-saving weather tools, Baron Services continues to build on that heritage with the debut of the Baron Tornado Index (BTI). The most revolutionary tornado detection tool to be developed in the last five years, the BTI provides an easy one-glance diagnosis for a storm’s tornadic potential.
BAMS (Baron Advanced Meteorological Systems)
BAMS delivers hyper-local 96-hour forecast data products and was thoroughly involved with the Romanian SIMIN project, where it worked with Lockheed Martin and Harris Corporation to modernize that country’s national weather service. The follow-up Romanian Destructive Waters project will result in the most advanced flood prediction system in the world.
Baron Radar
Baron radar systems are renowned for their sophistication, featuring seamless integration with our industry-leading weather displays. Most recently, Baron Radar was part of a team that won a five year, $43 million contract from the National Weather Service to provide the design, development and production services for a comprehensive upgrade of their NEXRAD network to dual-polarization capability.
WxWorx
WxWorx is the exclusive weather data provider for award-winning XM WX Satellite Weather, a trusted information source for professional pilots and mariners. Founded by Meteorologists in 2002, the company supplies both hardware and software solutions for onboard weather to the aviation, marine, and emergency management industries. Currently 90% of all general aviation aircraft come standard with XM WX weather or as a standard option. Some of our aviation and marine partners include: Garmin, Honeywell, Rockwell Collins, Jeppessen, Nauticomp and many others.
Baron Mobile
Baron Mobile’s patented and patent-pending Threat Matrix™ technology provides pre-analyzed, location-specific weather advisories, warnings and forecasts for the XM NavWeather system. XM NavWeather is currently available on the Bushnell ONIX 400 portable handheld outdoor navigation device and will soon be available on Acura’s 2009 RL luxury sedan.
If I could leave you with one more thought about our company, it would be that we truly love what we do. Our passion to save lives drives the innovation that goes on here and it propels our products and our people to be the very best. This small point, in turn, makes our products and our weather tools the market standard.
