F1 on speed HD picture quality

[robsshadow]

F1 Qualifying from Bahrain looks terrible.
I didn't think Practice from yesterday looked that bad.

[betterdan]

Haha I happened to be flipping through the HD channels just a few minutes ago and saw the rough looking picture on Speed HD and wondered if anyone had posted about it and BINGO! here is the thread.
Yes it does look pretty bad.

[wilbur_the_goose]

Remember - it is coming live all the way from Africa!

[CCarncross]

F1 is not currently HD the last I had heard. Bernie cant seem to get his thumb out of his......nevermind. Truthfully though, this is an issue with lots of sporting events from outside the US...The UK is still broadcasting a lot of 576 PAL that we transcode.

[gcisko]

F1 is not currently HD the last I had heard. Bernie cant seem to get his thumb out of his......nevermind. Truthfully though, this is an issue with lots of sporting events from outside the US...The UK is still broadcasting a lot of 576 PAL that we transcode.

I believe the broadcast is 578i or p or something like that. It is apparently the european SD standard. Check speedtv.com for specific info. You can certainly see pixelation in the pits when the cars go by in closeup. But in general is it a huge improvement over standard US quality 4:3 480i SD broadcasts.

[SPACEMAKER]

I watch every F1 session broadcast on Speed and I didn't really notice much of a difference from any other week.

[Dan Burgess]

Remember - it is coming live all the way from Africa!
Bahrain is an island in the Persian Gulf just off the Arabian Peninsula, which is considered part of Asia.

The conversion from 576i to 720p, coupled with transmission across the planet, might result in a weak picture quality. A similar conversion during the Australian Open on The Tennis Channel in January resulted in picture quality that was inferior to what we are accustomed to.

[Redlinetire]

I thought the coverage had a little less 'pop' than the first two of the season.

Still light years ahead of the SD though...

[shenefie]

something else to remember: speed doesnt do their own camera work for the F1 races. i thought that F1 does all its own filming and since that is the case, the only ones to complain to would be ecclestone and his nazi-loving cronies....

[Ed Campbell]

Bahrain is an island in the Persian Gulf just off the Arabian Peninsula, which is considered part of Asia.

The conversion from 576i to 720p...

Welcome aboard, Dan.

Cripes. Someone who knows something about geography.