HD Formula One to kick off in 2010

[Giblet]

To me, for F1, what I see now and what I could be seeing is huge. Will someone who saw a broadcast in mere SD miss anything important? Not really. They can still discuss the race at length by the watercooler next day. But I can also listen to music on AM instead of FM stereo. It make the experience more visceral and generally more pleasing.

Asphalt for example is a grey blur, but it could be a series of stones and tarmac, looking different track to track. I could tell the difference between a sauber and an HRT (or any other cars with like colors) much sooner. Advertisers would benefit from more time that their car and track-side ads are visible. More readable text can be seen on the screen.

I don't need to see every hair of Alonso's eyebrows, but I could. Some movies for me I just only want to see in 1080. In HD, especially 1080, I see textures of things not just colors.

I just can't see how anyone can rightfully think it is a waste of time or resources to move into the future.

[spinmastermic]

Well put Giblet. Its progress, pure and simple.

[andrew]

I just can't see how anyone can rightfully think it is a waste of time or resources to move into the future.

I wouldn't say it is a total waste once HD becomes the standard broadcast format but at the moment it is not really worth the expense (in the UK at least - maybe things are different in other countries). Certainly there are advantages for advertisers and the viewer if you want to freeze frame the picture to view fine detail.

Personnaly the jury is still out (mainly the cost), but I can see why you would go for it.

[agip]

Ecclestone 'not sure' F1 to be in HD in 2011


The likelihood that F1 will be broadcast in high definition next year has taken a backwards step.

Bernie Ecclestone boosted the hopes of F1's global television audience in September when he indicated the sport will be moving to HD "probably next year".

But in an interview with Christian Sylt and Caroline Reid, the F1 chief executive now insists he is "not sure" the 2011 feed will be broadcast in HD.

One of the main problems, he indicated, is that high definition cameras are too big to be installed in the cars for the popular on-board footage.

That would mean the F1 feed is "50 per cent HD and 50 per cent standard definition", the 80-year-old Briton is quoted by Germany's motorsport-total.com.

Sylt and Reid hypothesise that Ecclestone's reluctance to embrace the new television technology could be related to the failure of his multi-channel digital feed for F1 in the 90s.

I thought the on-board cameras were already HD.

[ESPImperium]

Even at that im happy, and dont the current IRL/Cart cars and also NASCAR cars have HD cameras on them??? Not to mention the new "Static Horizon" camera that is on the tail of the Rossi Yamaha in MotoGP is in HD as well i think, that camera system still only weighs 465 grammes seemingly.

He is stalling, again, and it wont be well recived. F1 truely is in the dark ages when it comes to new media opertunities. Technology is there, but Bernie just dosnt want to change and spend the money on it, or is just plain ignorant to it.

[Dukeage]

To be honest I have to agree with you that it's probably possible to have a proper HD world feed, bearing in mind it appears MotoGP - an environment that should be harder to put HD onboard cameras in - are using them. It does not paint a good image of the sport if it is not in high definition - in advertising terms, other comparable sports have gone HD - in some cases 3D (which is gaining a market share, although if it leaves the pub and enters the home is another matter). This is nothing like F1D+ - F1D+ aimed to create a direct revenue stream for Bernie by knobbling the feed most people see, this is about improving the World Feed. HD broadcast is pretty much the standard in major markets like the UK and US, and is becoming bigger in Germany, and is big in Japan. Part of the issue is they are the main markets for F1, not certain other countries.

[spacer]

The HD camera size being too big to fit on the cars is utter BS, mr E has to come up with something better than that.
We've been using one of these for quite a while now, just as an example this thing is full 1080HD, and only has such a "huge" camera housing because of the battery and SD-card slots to fit into the housing.

[segedunum]

HD cameras for broadcast require a little more than that...............

[flynfrog]

I cant think of anything that would make an HD camera any larger I think most of them are smaller than the SD cameras of a few years ago. The glass should be about the same just a denser ccd or larger but we are talking about a part less than a CM wide

[feynman]

The sensor-chip and optics are usually the same size, no? Just higher pixel density for HD. The cabling, power and transmitter block won't get significantly bigger ... maybe a little extra circuitry or fancier signal-routing to get a heavier HD payload off the car and into the FOM truck, reliably, but the current FOM camera housing is already a chunky ol' lump with room to spare.

If they can get HD off a bike, and are talking about 3D, then there is really no worthwhile technical excuse for not getting that same signal off a car.


Even an HD/upscaled SD split is not a real problem ... the onboard video has always been a coupla steps behind their trackside fixed cousins, noisy murky images and picture-breakup, and that clearly obvious differential hasn't been a problem for anyone up to now.

Ecclestone, coin-operated that guy, and that's fair enough, if he doesn't want to put his hand in pocket, that's his call to make, but no need to blow smoke with outlandish tales of massive car-crushing HD cameras.

[ESPImperium]

Personally i can see the advertisers being the ones that kick up a stink before the fans. If they want their logos and slogans clearly displayed on screen, they will simply pressureise Mr E into HD before the fans.

Mr E isnt averse to making fans wait and i think dosnt care about the fans to an extent. Im sure that there is at least one team i can think of that dosnt want HD as well as it would make some details on their car too clear as well.

Im not sure. Personaly F1 should have gone HD before now. Im sure that there is some politicking going on somewhere on this issue.

[ESPImperium]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/88865

More boroadcasters to follow??? And is this why the BBC has changed its commentry lineup for 2011???

Hope so!!!

[forty-two]

I heard that MrE had changed his mind on this matter, apparently because the "cameras were too large to fit on the car" which sounds like total crap to me, not least because you can buy HD camcorders on the high street which give 1080p at 100Hz and they would fit in the car, and they have a HDD included!

Not sure if I can cope with looking at the Coulthard Jaw in HD though!

[ESPImperium]

I think the car cameras will still be standard def for now, just uprated, for the meantime. I think they will change the cameras mid season tho.

[forty-two]

I seriously don't understand why they would not upgrade the onboard cameras too, HD optics might need to be a little bulkier, but I don't think the electronics would need much more space.

The only other consideration I can think of would be the bandwidth required to stream the footage to the TV gallery from the car, but with a known track, that would surely be a doddle for any half decent telecomms engineer?