Ecclestone: No F1 in HD before 2012
- Thread starter robbiemc
- Start date
sorry I dont believe that - for the BBC to make it justifable (in HD) they would have to get much larger viewing figures , so only ppv would make sense imo
(I would love it for free from the BBC, I just dont think it will happen - HD freeview tv's are of the premium variety only at the moment, and the seperate set top boxes are £180+ , so not everyone will be buying them for some time to come)
Soldato
Why would HD be (much) more expensive than SD?
Isn't it as easy as using a HD camera instead of an SD one and allocating a bit more bandwith to the channel?
Isn't it as easy as using a HD camera instead of an SD one and allocating a bit more bandwith to the channel?
It's about pushing the quality of broadcasting and the F1 'product' further. That is, in essence, Bernie's job. His excuses seem poor, we've seen so many other sports in HD now, F1 should be easy. I don't care if the in-car footage isn't always in HD as there are some small technical (read financial!) difficulties in making that happen, but as for circuit cameras, many will already be good enough for HD, and it's just the broadcasting side that needs improvement.
F1 is the only thing on TV at the moment that I'd actually care about watching in HD, I'd go out and buy a box for that as I really enjoy the F1 and the extra picture and sound detail would be great. Slow-mo shots, pitstops, all the coming togethers with carbon fibre flying everywhere, I'd love to see that in HD and I reckon almost all the fans would.
We have to ask ourselves, why not Bernie? I think it's because at this point, he'll be the one to foot the bill, whereas usually he's brokering deals where someone else is writing the cheque. No point in using silly excuses, why not invite the sponsors to contribute, it will improve brand recognition to an extent, and with so many sponsors involved, only a small amount of funding from each would be needed? I'd like to think he's doing this behind the scenes anyway, so I wouldn't give up hope just yet, it's also clear it's what the fans want.
F1 is the only thing on TV at the moment that I'd actually care about watching in HD, I'd go out and buy a box for that as I really enjoy the F1 and the extra picture and sound detail would be great. Slow-mo shots, pitstops, all the coming togethers with carbon fibre flying everywhere, I'd love to see that in HD and I reckon almost all the fans would.
We have to ask ourselves, why not Bernie? I think it's because at this point, he'll be the one to foot the bill, whereas usually he's brokering deals where someone else is writing the cheque. No point in using silly excuses, why not invite the sponsors to contribute, it will improve brand recognition to an extent, and with so many sponsors involved, only a small amount of funding from each would be needed? I'd like to think he's doing this behind the scenes anyway, so I wouldn't give up hope just yet, it's also clear it's what the fans want.
This weekends race had 7.4 million viewers on BBC - Thats very good for a regular sporting event.
Soldato
Soldato
Let me get this straight.
If here in Holland the F1 is broadcast on a HD channel it means that it will still be upscaled SD instead of true HD because the recording is done with SD equipment?
If here in Holland the F1 is broadcast on a HD channel it means that it will still be upscaled SD instead of true HD because the recording is done with SD equipment?
Associate
It's pretty frustrating really. Sure it'll cost some money, but the cost is peanuts in F1 terms.
He's just playing brinkmanship with the broadcasters to get them to pay more for HD. Remember that in (almost) all other countries it's shown by commercial broadcasters like RTL who would certainly charge either their subscribers or their advertisers more money for HD, so wanting something in return isn't unjustified.
OTOH the recession has pushed ad revenue down so the broadcasters aren't budging yet. I wouldn't be surprised if he says 2012 because there is some important rights deal coming up before then that he wants to use to apply pressure and get more money.
Personally I think he's too senile and old now to successfully handle the future of the sport in a changing broadcasting market. Hoepfully he'll retire soon.
He's just playing brinkmanship with the broadcasters to get them to pay more for HD. Remember that in (almost) all other countries it's shown by commercial broadcasters like RTL who would certainly charge either their subscribers or their advertisers more money for HD, so wanting something in return isn't unjustified.
OTOH the recession has pushed ad revenue down so the broadcasters aren't budging yet. I wouldn't be surprised if he says 2012 because there is some important rights deal coming up before then that he wants to use to apply pressure and get more money.
Personally I think he's too senile and old now to successfully handle the future of the sport in a changing broadcasting market. Hoepfully he'll retire soon.
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Associate
Yep. The only thing that might be in HD is the before and after coverage.
TV stations do have much, much better real-time upscalers than you get on your TV though. So it's not all bad.
Soldato
I did notice that with some other HD channels and upscaled SD but the difference between upscaled HD and true HD is quite big, Le Mans on Eurosport HD made that quite clear.
Soldato
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The thing that makes this more annoying is they are using HD cameras filming the races this year so they can record in HD for a end of session DVD/Blu-Ray release.
The support races are filimed on the same cameras and in HD so the whole infrastructure must be there and working for HD yet they are not providing a HD feed that the BBC have already said they would use if it was provided.
The support races are filimed on the same cameras and in HD so the whole infrastructure must be there and working for HD yet they are not providing a HD feed that the BBC have already said they would use if it was provided.
Associate
I didn't say the upscalling was good, just better than your TV 
It can be hard to tell what's been done to video before you see it these days. For instance NRK (Norway's state broadcaster) have switched most of their broadcast chain to HD now, but what this means is that SD material is upscaled to HD and then downscaled back to SD again before broadcasting. This has the added advantage of making SD look even worse in comparison to their HD output
It can be hard to tell what's been done to video before you see it these days. For instance NRK (Norway's state broadcaster) have switched most of their broadcast chain to HD now, but what this means is that SD material is upscaled to HD and then downscaled back to SD again before broadcasting. This has the added advantage of making SD look even worse in comparison to their HD output
Soldato
Ecclestone is a ****.
Caporegime
up close he does look a bit of a twerp
no wonder he doesnt want his face seen in HD
no wonder he doesnt want his face seen in HD
Soldato
Oh, absolutely. I mean, the cheek of it - a businessman trying not to spend money when he doesn't have to. Whatever next?
Yes, it would be lovely if F1 caught up to where NASCAR was several years ago as far as broadcasting goes. But NASCAR broadcasts to a much tighter market than F1, and Bernie isn't going to throw good money at something if he doesn't absolutely have to. If that's truly a deal-breaker for you, then do as I do and watch NASCAR
Caporegime
watch out lads here comes the bernie appreciation society.
Soldato
*sigh*