Widescreen F1 in 2007?

Sodemo · 2 Jan 2007, 02:14 (Ref:1803126)

I read something maybe a year ago that Toyota and their principle sponsor Panasonic, were behind a big push for widescreen & HD widescreen broadcasts of F1, talking about upgrading all the cameras that go to events etc.

However, I can't recall if it related to last season (and it all fell through), or if it was intended for this season (2007)?

Anyone care to venture an opinion?

I've only had a widescreen TV since, ooooh, 1997...

hgmonaro · 2 Jan 2007, 11:39 (Ref:1803344)

yes, it would be welcome!

Here in Oz, one year (2005 I think) on the digi channel they added RED sidebars to pad the picture out to 16:9. How ugly was that! Last year they reverted to black.

**Adam43** · 2 Jan 2007, 11:56 (Ref:1803361)

It would be great and, I feel, a must nowadays. Some countries can't (or won't) take advantage, but it is easy to down grade.

hgmonaro, Sky do a similar thing when they broadcast Rugby from the backwards French. Very annoying. Black is best.

Sodemo · 2 Jan 2007, 15:25 (Ref:1803651)

Yeah, the horrid side borders aren't ideal, however for a nation which hasn't even gone widescreen yet, they can always ARC the (16:9) image.

UK terrestrial broadcasts today are ARC'ed as the native broadcast is 16:9, the image is just cropped (or ARC'ed) to 4:3.
The production team & cameramen then just have to remember to shoot whats called "4:3 safe".

Knowlesy · 2 Jan 2007, 18:12 (Ref:1803839)

F1 should have been widescreen for the last decade. It continues to baffle me immensely how this is not the case.

It is often said, I know, but it is worth repeating: for a sport that see's itself as high-tech, it sure doesn't bloody show it in it's presentation to the audience!

Marbot · 2 Jan 2007, 19:07 (Ref:1804174)

If we could have even wider screens,then perhaps we could see more overtaking.

To be honest,it's not the quality of the picture that's the problem.

What ever happened to the picture-in-picture and all the inter-active stuff that Bernie was supposed to be conjuring up for us?

It doesn't matter how wide the screen is,watching paint dry on a bigger wall is just as bad IMO.

**Adam43** · 2 Jan 2007, 19:11 (Ref:1804176)

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyn bott

If we could have even wider screens,then perhaps we could see more overtaking.

To be honest,it's not the quality of the picture that's the problem.

It does matter amnd when we do have overtaking it is nice to see it in the best quality. It would certainly havebeen nice to see it at Brazil.

Quote:

What ever happened to the picture-in-picture and all the inter-active stuff that Bernie was supposed to be conjuring up for us?

No body wanted to pay for it. Directly or indirectly.

Quote:

It doesn't matter how wide the screen is,watching paint dry on a bigger wall is just as bad IMO.

I think you have already expressed this. Twice.

Knowlesy · 2 Jan 2007, 19:15 (Ref:1804178)

The overtaking is not the point here, it is bringing the coverage to the masses in the best quality.

Boring race or not, I like to see it in high quality please. Widescreen is a widespread format that should be utilised by all, F1 has no excuses!

Sodemo · 2 Jan 2007, 19:18 (Ref:1804180)

Well, as I said in the first post, there was a push to get F1 in widescreen some months ago, though it seems to have passed by the wayside.

As I said, there really is no excuse now, not unless the cameras which are filming the event itself were made before say 1996.

Marbot · 2 Jan 2007, 19:22 (Ref:1804183)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

It does matter amnd when we do have overtaking it is nice to see it in the best quality.

I was actually pointing a finger at the FOM coverage and not at F1 racing itself.It's no point having cars that can overtake in glorious HD technicolour if the damn camera is pointing at the wrong thing.

**ScotsBrutesFan** · 2 Jan 2007, 20:28 (Ref:1804222)

As has been pointed out it is in the hands of the host broadcaster how it's filmed.
If they don't have 16:9 and HD facilities then they can't produce a programme that way.
Even if a country does have these facilities, they may not be able to or wish to provide them that way for the "World Feed" (NFL being the perfect example).

For UK viewers it wouldn't matter whether the World Feed was in HD or not since ITV don't currently have an HD platform to broadcast it on.
Also a full 16:9 image would only be available digitally, the Analogue channel would be broadcast in "adjusted letterbox" format which is most of the width but with thin black bands along the top and bottom so that the height isn't stretched too much

**Adam43** · 2 Jan 2007, 21:24 (Ref:1804264)

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyn bott

I was actually pointing a finger at the FOM coverage and not at F1 racing itself.It's no point having cars that can overtake in glorious HD technicolour if the damn camera is pointing at the wrong thing.

Ah! Cry wolf I guess.

Sorry.

The times it is FOM coverage it is pretty good I thought, it is the host broadcasters that you have to worry about!

JeremySmith · 2 Jan 2007, 21:41 (Ref:1804273)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

F1 should have been widescreen for the last decade. It continues to baffle me immensely how this is not the case.

It is often said, I know, but it is worth repeating: for a sport that see's itself as high-tech, it sure doesn't bloody show it in it's presentation to the audience!

It does not care about the audience it seems...

**Adam43** · 2 Jan 2007, 21:46 (Ref:1804281)

After the audience itself did not care enough for F1digital+ it probably thinks it will make no difference as the average viewer doesn't care. The average view with a widescreen telly probably just puts it in 16:9 anyway!

Notso Swift · 2 Jan 2007, 21:59 (Ref:1804290)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

After the audience itself did not care enough for F1digital+ it probably thinks it will make no difference as the average viewer doesn't care. The average view with a widescreen telly probably just puts it in 16:9 anyway!

That is to make the car's look like the fat early '80's jobs

JeremySmith · 3 Jan 2007, 01:23 (Ref:1804400)

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamAshmore

After the audience itself did not care enough for F1digital+ it probably thinks it will make no difference as the average viewer doesn't care. The average view with a widescreen telly probably just puts it in 16:9 anyway!

It could be the case..

Marbot · 3 Jan 2007, 09:14 (Ref:1804576)

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremySmith

It could be the case..

It happens automatically on my 28" TV.You just notice that the braking distances seem a little longer.

I recently bought a 32" HD TV.Maybe they'll be able to overtake more easily on that one.

JeremySmith · 4 Jan 2007, 00:48 (Ref:1805727)

Quote:

Originally Posted by martyn bott

It happens automatically on my 28" TV.You just notice that the braking distances seem a little longer.

I recently bought a 32" HD TV.Maybe they'll be able to overtake more easily on that one.

Just brilliant martyn, brilliant..

spanner · 4 Jan 2007, 21:30 (Ref:1806577)

I thought that Bernie controlled all the tv pictures from his lorries, and there was just a host director controlling which feed to have. I remember ITV did a feature on the TV setup at each race.

strider · 5 Jan 2007, 01:05 (Ref:1806735)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

F1 should have been widescreen for the last decade. It continues to baffle me immensely how this is not the case.

It is often said, I know, but it is worth repeating: for a sport that see's itself as high-tech, it sure doesn't bloody show it in it's presentation to the audience!

I think the problem is that most of the countries that take the world feed still use a 4:3 aspect ratio.

A few years ago a friend of mine who is in TV production said that at that time really only Japan and the UK had adopted the 16:9 aspect ratio. I'm sure more countries have done so now, but probably not the majority.

Sodemo · 5 Jan 2007, 02:47 (Ref:1806764)

Quote:

Originally Posted by strider

I think the problem is that most of the countries that take the world feed still use a 4:3 aspect ratio.

A few years ago a friend of mine who is in TV production said that at that time really only Japan and the UK had adopted the 16:9 aspect ratio. I'm sure more countries have done so now, but probably not the majority.

This matters not.

As I posted earlier, its possible for broadcasters to ARC any broadcast image to a given ratio, so you could convert 16:9 images quite easily to 4:3 using an Aspect Ratio Converter, which all good broadcast hubs should have.

strider · 6 Jan 2007, 20:22 (Ref:1808426)

Thanks. At least I know what ARC means now!

There must be something more to it, though, because the same situation applies in WRC coverage and I'm sure there are others.

safc_fan89 · 6 Jan 2007, 20:31 (Ref:1808435)

I have no problems with the actual broadcast in terms of quality, it's the content of the broadcast that I think needs an overhaul. Why not have one of those scrollbar things at the top of the screen that contunually updates the positions? I know they don't change as often in F1 as in IRL or NASCAR, but it would save having the live timing on at the same time!

**Born Racer** · 6 Jan 2007, 23:18 (Ref:1808557)

Quote:

After the audience itself did not care enough for F1digital+ it probably thinks it will make no difference as the average viewer doesn't care.

Adam, that was years ago before many people had digital and were into interactive TV. It would be far more successful nowadays.

Knowlesy · 6 Jan 2007, 23:26 (Ref:1808565)

Interactive and digital TV was reasonably well established in 2002 though. We have had it since late 1998 up here for example.

If F1 Digital ws released again, I don't know whether it'd be a different story. Of course, being launched in 2002 in this country was absolutely dreadful timing because people did not want to pay to be bored silly.

They wouldn't have been bored of course, because digital made it interesting again. But how is Joe Public to know this?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Is formula 1 available in widescreen?	esorniloc	Formula One	19	20 Mar 2007 01:19
What you doing in 2007	Steve Lowdon	Club Level Single Seaters	17	22 Nov 2006 21:03
2007	Triple J Motorsport	Club Level Single Seaters	33	9 Nov 2006 17:37
F1 in widescreen?!?	ATF	Formula One	25	4 Mar 2004 22:57