Sky to show final F1 test at Barcelona live

[Knowlesy]

After a year of doing almost bugger all of interest, Sky are finally using their F1 channel properly. And it's in 3D for those of you who like sitting in your own living room looking ridiculous.

http://www.autosport.com/news/grapevine.php/id/105439

Great news!

[Marbot]

Excellent! I've got nothing better to do.

[p-matt]

I was thinking yesterday that it would have made sense for Sky to show the Jerez testing this week. They aren't particularly showing anything else of note, and the die hards would definitely watch it.

Long time in the box for Crofty though.

[Steevp]

Oh good, all I have to do is subscribe to HD, Movies and Sport then I can have 3D... what's that £65 a month? gangsters..

[chillibowl]

i wonder if that means that means they will be updating all the cameras including the onboard cameras to film in 3d as well? i would love to one day be able to see a 3d onboard version of a live lap at Monaco.

if it works then this could be a really cool advancement imo. im sure lots of problems associated with letting one company film and broadcast all the races though...actually not even sure if all the races are even filmed in HD yet but thats another story.

wish i could subscribe to it, but only in the privacy of my own home as to avoid Knowlesy laughing at me in my funny glasses!

[airbusA346]

Just watching the Day 1 Testing coverage.

Who is the woman presenting the programme?

[ghinzani]

Originally Posted by Steevp

Oh good, all I have to do is subscribe to HD, Movies and Sport then I can have 3D... what's that £65 a month? gangsters..

I pay £21 quid a month and get Sky F1, although it does make me feel a tad unclean.

[Steevp]

Originally Posted by ghinzani

I pay £21 quid a month and get Sky F1, although it does make me feel a tad unclean.

I pay the same, though I chose the HD package over sports as I don't care about football.

Would I pay another tenner for 3D? probably not.. maybe a fiver but that's all.

[jobdone]

I'm glad they're showing this, saves me having to fly out to Barcelona for a few days! Hopefully they can make it interesting, would be cool if they manage to fit on board cameras etc!

[MagnetON]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

im sure lots of problems associated with letting one company film and broadcast all the races though...actually not even sure if all the races are even filmed in HD yet but thats another story.

It is already the case that F1 is "filmed" by a single company, FOM. All broadcasters take their race feeds (the "World Feed") from them and it's only their ancillary stuff, commentators, gridwalks, pundits, etc. that broadcasters film themselves.

From memory, FOM have been using higher definition camera for a good number of years as the footage was used for DVDs etc. as well as for broadcast.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by MagnetON

It is already the case that F1 is "filmed" by a single company, FOM. All broadcasters take their race feeds (the "World Feed") from them and it's only their ancillary stuff, commentators, gridwalks, pundits, etc. that broadcasters film themselves.

From memory, FOM have been using higher definition camera for a good number of years as the footage was used for DVDs etc. as well as for broadcast.

yeah im going by old info on that one so good to know. i always though we were just getting an upscaled widescreen version for some races as i do notice some quality differences from race to race and the onboard shots really dont look HD to me either although that could be the fault of my broadcaster.

[chillibowl]

so that was sort of bothering me so i tried looking around to see if i could find any articles on it although couldnt find anything on F1 type sites so take it for what it is worth.

according to this, engadget, 2011 was the first season F1 was filmed in HD.

and this one from late last year, also on engadget, suggests that 2013 may be the first year we get HD for the on boards as, and sensibly so, the teams had problems with the higher weight HD cameras being attached to their cars.

anyways not really relevant for this discussion, however, since teams need to be concerned about weight distribution, if they have a problem with HD cameras they will like the 3D ones even less.

[Rennen]

This is good news!...My basic Sky Package inc F1 HD is £ 36.25...worth every penny!

I remember when all you got on BBC was Monaco and Silverstone and that was in Black & White and fuzzy 428 lines!

So, Thank You Sky...Now I'm retired I get to see every GP Practice day live! Cool!

[ScotsBrutesFan]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

so that was sort of bothering me so i tried looking around to see if i could find any articles on it although couldnt find anything on F1 type sites so take it for what it is worth.

according to this, engadget, 2011 was the first season F1 was filmed in HD.

and this one from late last year, also on engadget, suggests that 2013 may be the first year we get HD for the on boards as, and sensibly so, the teams had problems with the higher weight HD cameras being attached to their cars.

anyways not really relevant for this discussion, however, since teams need to be concerned about weight distribution, if they have a problem with HD cameras they will like the 3D ones even less.

Although not listed by gigawave, FOM has been using their HD Cameras for a several years. This camera has been around since 2009 although I believe that due to channel limitations of the time, FOM operated them on the less bandwidth intensive SD mode to begin with.

The HD World feed of 2011 still had the SD on boards, although a few were trialled in HD mode. The picture difference was noticeable as I recall.

But I believe the on boards were all HD last season.

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by Rennen

This is good news!...My basic Sky Package inc F1 HD is £ 36.25...worth every penny!

I remember when all you got on BBC was Monaco and Silverstone and that was in Black & White and fuzzy 428 lines!

So, Thank You Sky...Now I'm retired I get to see every GP Practice day live! Cool!

You're trying far too hard there.

[Flavio Galtieri]

Originally Posted by Rennen

This is good news!...My basic Sky Package inc F1 HD is £ 36.25...worth every penny!

So, Thank You Sky...Now I'm retired I get to see every GP Practice day live! Cool!

Lucky you.

What a shame the vast majority of retired people can't afford to line the pockets of the Murdoch empire.

I hope, when the teams eventually realise that the tiny viewership on Sky is not in their best interest the races, at least, will all return to live free to view TV. Leave the practice and testing on pay to view by all means for the hard core enthusiasts with a bulging wallet, very few people care about that.

[Marbot]

There does seem to be the ever so slightly bitter taste of sour grapes knocking around this thread.

I too have taken early retirement, and will also be looking forward to watching the test in glorious HD.

[Knowlesy]

I don't see any sour grapes. I see one or two bragging about having Sky (congratulations btw) but no sourness.

I have Sky myself (excellent internet service and football coverage) but there are many who can't afford it due to circumstance. So personally I'd be quite annoyed if both my access to F1 coverage had suddenly halved and I didn't have the money for the coverage. To then have people who are obviously more well-off rubbing your face in it would be quite irritating, to say the least.

[bella]

being fair, i think many people have it when really they can't and they've got their first world priorities a bit confused. me, i'd rather spend the subscription fee on something WAY more exciting than sitting on my arse in front of the telly

i don't really care who has what money and who has what services. that's their life choices and none of my business. if we all went round judging each other there'd be no judgement left for the motorsport

[ECW Dan Selby]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I don't see any sour grapes. I see one or two bragging about having Sky (congratulations btw) but no sourness.

I have Sky myself (excellent internet service and football coverage) but there are many who can't afford it due to circumstance. So personally I'd be quite annoyed if both my access to F1 coverage had suddenly halved and I didn't have the money for the coverage. To then have people who are obviously more well-off rubbing your face in it would be quite irritating, to say the least.

That's fair. I'm now in this position where I can't afford it, too.

I asked Virgin to 'trim the fat' and drop my monthly costs by binning the sports, HD's etc. In turn, they upped my internet from 20mb to 60mb.

So now, I can stream VERY well online.

Do the workings out... I feel NO guilt, either.

Selby

[Marbot]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

I don't see any sour grapes.

You did notice the at the end of my sentence.

My response was to this quote in the previous post to my own.

"I hope, when the teams eventually realise that the tiny viewership on Sky is not in their best interest the races, at least, will all return to live free to view TV. Leave the practice and testing on pay to view by all means for the hard core enthusiasts with a bulging wallet, very few people care about that."

There does seem to be a slight undertone of 'sour grapes' in there.

Yes, I've got Sky TV, just like you, and just like a lot of other people. I understand that some people can't afford it, or If they have got it, don't want to pay the £10 extra per month to have the F1 channel.

I don't have the Sports channels because then, I would be sat on my arse for far too long.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by ScotsBrutesFan

But I believe the on boards were all HD last season.

lots of cool products on that website and i spent way too much time checking it all out it last night...mind you it was time well spent so thanks

but regardless of the answer, the point for me is that F1 is incredibly late to the HD party....about 10 years late for the n.american market anyways. is it a coincidence that the move to full HD (including the on boards) only came in 2012 when SKY came in or even is this a case that your subscriptions are actually being used to improve the quality of the broadcasts?

i guess its selfish of me to have an opinion because i dont have to pay for SKY yet i am seeing a trend towards better coverage because of their involvement so i'll just say thanks and im happy to get what i get.

[Knowlesy]

HD was being phased in at the end of 2010, proper HD coverage was brought in for 2011 and onboards would have been fully upgraded in the same amount of time they ultimately were anyways. It has literally nothing to do with the move to Sky as far as I can tell.

I realise that Sky F1 HD has a slightly better quality HD signal than BBC HD of course, but it is a tiny difference.

[Adam43]

I think you're right. There is an indirect link as sky have enabled more HD viewers, but it isn't a direct link.

[ECW Dan Selby]

I'm pretty sure I read the onboards aren't HD.

Selby