# Formula One announces HD....finally!



## jackinbox (Sep 15, 2005)

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=397532&FS=F1


----------



## Steve_53 (Jul 6, 2005)

The feed will (finally) be available - but will Speed be using it?


----------



## ZBoomer (Feb 21, 2008)

Hmm, I thought it was HD last year, guess I didn't pay that much attention.


----------



## good (Dec 6, 2010)

SD upscaled


----------



## ruralruss (Feb 5, 2010)

good said:


> SD upscaled


Yes it was but they did a nice job of it. I am really looking forward to the better detail, to bad the on board won't be. Maybe next year.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

ruralruss said:


> Yes it was but they did a nice job of it. I am really looking forward to the better detail, to bad the on board won't be. Maybe next year.


One investment at a time ... I'm so used to NASCAR being in HD that it is easy to forget that only a couple of years ago there were SD cameras in the mix. If they do it right, it can still look good.


----------



## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

Steve_53 said:


> The feed will (finally) be available - but will Speed be using it?


Yes, they will be:



> F1: SPEED Welcomes Formula One Move To HD In 2011
> 
> SPEED™ ECSTATIC ABOUT FORMULA ONE MANAGEMENT DECISION TO DELIVER INTERNATIONAL FEED IN HD
> 
> ...


----------



## good (Dec 6, 2010)

James Long said:


> ... only a couple of years ago there were SD cameras in the mix.


Yep, and so was for 3D World Cup matches (i.e. some 2D cameras in the mix).



James Long said:


> If they do it right, it can still look good.


With some 40 to 60 Mbps feed and broadcast upscalers, in the end it's all up to the providers (DBS, cable, IPTV, etc.)


----------



## kikkenit2 (Oct 26, 2006)

I remember reading a thread last year either here or speed forums about F1 some cameras hd and some not. When I watched every race it all kinda looked crappy to me. This explains it. Upconverted standard def, even the improved european version, just doesn't cut it compared to true hd, especially 1080. That means 2011 is the first year I watch 100% hd content.


----------



## James Long (Apr 17, 2003)

So what dimension and aspect ratio will F1's feed be? Fox broadcast is 720p ... will Speed be upconverting for their broadcast or will Fox be downconverting?


----------



## fireponcoal (Sep 26, 2009)

It's so crazy that it's not. The production on F1 broadcasts from my humble perspective always looked to be some of the best around and it seems so odd to me that it took until 2011 for this. That announcer in the lead up to the start of the race always gets me so hyped for what's to follow that I always tend to stick around and watch..hah


----------



## Hoosier205 (Sep 3, 2007)

James Long said:


> So what dimension and aspect ratio will F1's feed be? Fox broadcast is 720p ... will Speed be upconverting for their broadcast or will Fox be downconverting?


Speed is 720p as well.


----------



## 4HiMarks (Jan 21, 2004)

Now if only they had competitive races...


----------



## jackinbox (Sep 15, 2005)

4HiMarks said:


> Now if only they had competitive races...


I suppose you'd be happy with a few debris cautions at the end to artificially bunch the field close together?


----------



## good (Dec 6, 2010)

fireponcoal said:


> ... it seems so odd to me that it took until 2011 for this.


Bernie is a greedy old b*****d and women don't come cheap:nono::nono: ... at all. So, until the last drop of $ was squeezed from ancient investment and some big money start showing for paying HD feed well, it took a while ...


----------



## ruralruss (Feb 5, 2010)

James Long said:


> So what dimension and aspect ratio will F1's feed be? Fox broadcast is 720p ... will Speed be upconverting for their broadcast or will Fox be downconverting?


The HD feed from the F1 owned and controlled video feed is to be 1080i.


----------



## ruralruss (Feb 5, 2010)

4HiMarks said:


> Now if only they had competitive races...


I find F1 to be quite exciting indeed, it is just a bit more cerebral than some other racing series.


----------



## eudoxia (Apr 8, 2008)

MotoGP has been broadcasting in HD for a couple of years now. Last year was the first year SpeedHD decided to carry the feeds. They looked amazing (especially the night race).


----------



## Schizm (Jul 31, 2007)

The upscaling was great. I originally thought it was HD but had some minor distortion because of some European conversion and/or E* compression. Gotta say I was surprised to hear it was never HD. What tricked me was some of the in car cams on the back-markers. Their video quality looked much different than a big hitter like Alonso or Vettle. I thought maybe some of the cars had HD and others SD.

Nevertheless, I'm excited we're just over a month away from the season's start!


----------

