Formula One coverage options

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Jaxson

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#96284 24-Jan-2012 12:42

Hi all,

Having sold my 1.8m dish I'm considering alternative options for F1 coverage this year.

Does the iSKY web connection offer F1? -Last time I checked it had rugby mostly but no F1.

Has anyone found any web based options that actually work? The BBC iPlayer didn't work for me with a basic free VPN service. Is it worth going this way and paying for a VPN ~ as in is it actually watchable?! I'm on a full speed Vodafone home broadband line so I should have enough speed to play with.

Igloo is not likely to offer sports, though I'd happily pay to add just this one channel to my line up. Sky annoys the pants off me that you have to sign up to 50 or so channels just to get to live sport which is all I want.

Appreciate any ideas/thoughts. Thanks.

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#572715 24-Jan-2012 13:09

I went on this quest for the 2009 season, and came out empty-handed.

In the end, I bit the bullet and got mySkyHDi with Sky Sports in HD. Best decision.

iSKY does seem to broadcast Sky Sports 1, 2 and 3 live, so F1 should appear as well.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

jbard

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#572724 24-Jan-2012 13:18

I have never watched BBC live but just tried it now with Astril VPN and a fairly average Xnet connection and it worked great.

Quality is probably just below SD but not noticeable on a TV. Not sure if the quality increases if your line speed is quicker. I had no buffering watching for 20mins.

As a far cheaper option than Sky for me it is worth the quality decrease.

jbard

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#572729 24-Jan-2012 13:21

As a side note, to the using the vodafone UK london speedtest i can pull down 1.7Mbps with the VPN on and 0.6Mbps with the VPN off.

vexxxboy

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#572735 24-Jan-2012 13:28

this site will have the F1 , they usually have an HD feed if you can handle it , mind you,like all streaming sites it has nothing on a full HD feed from Sky on a big TV

http://www.wiziwig.tv/

Common sense is not as common as you think.

Jaxson

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#572765 24-Jan-2012 14:33

Thanks guys,

Yeah it's an annual quest really to see what's available. The iPlayer seemed fine when I tried it during the day but it gets swamped when the race began and the basic VPN's just didn't seem to cut it for me at crunch time.

I will check the iSKY thing out to see if that is watchable. I didn't know that they did the channels live, maybe I was looking at the early online replay only service they had a few years back, which didn't include F1 coverage.

Zippity

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#572778 24-Jan-2012 14:51

I wouldn't like to put my eggs all in one basket and rely on isky for my source of Formula One race coverage.

This year there are two networks providing F1 coverage - but not both at the same time.

Hopefully here in NZ it will not matter too much as Sky will just screen the events at their normal start times - fingers crossed.

That is why I subscribe to HD Sky Sport.

Talkiet

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#572790 24-Jan-2012 15:04

I subscribe to the sports Sky package at the start of the F1 season, and cancel it after the last race

There are many dodgy online options and I use them to watch the preshows which aren't broadcast by Sky, but the quality is usually variable.

F1 in HD on a big TV is gorgeous.

Cheers - N

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magu

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#572793 24-Jan-2012 15:07

Talkiet: F1 in HD on a big TV is gorgeous.

That alone convinced me to subscribe to Sky Sports HD.

BBC's pre-show is also awesome.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

6FIEND

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#572799 24-Jan-2012 15:16

It's probably also worth mentioning that AFAIK you can't watch the F1 coverage live on iSky unless you have already subscribed to the Sky Sports package. At which point - you may as well watch it on your big screen via Satellite. (unless you're away from home)

I searched and searched all year last year for "catch up" viewing options to re-watch the Grand Prix after it had screened and always came up empty-handed. Here's hoping that Sky provide a useful offering in this respect for the 2012 season...

Zippity

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#572801 24-Jan-2012 15:18

I record, edit and burn, for my own library collection, a DVD after each F1 race

Talkiet

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#572805 24-Jan-2012 15:25

magu:
Talkiet: F1 in HD on a big TV is gorgeous.

That alone convinced me to subscribe to Sky Sports HD.

BBC's pre-show is also awesome.

Ditto on the HD... I forgot to mention I also cancel/reactivate the HD ticket for the F1 as well.

I really hope they carry the pre-shows this year... Both the Quali and Race preshows were some of the best bits of the season... Hopefully there's enough continuity of presenters / expertise and will, to do the same.

Cheers - N

Please note all comments are from my own brain and don't necessarily represent the position or opinions of my employer, previous employers, colleagues, friends or pets.

Jaxson

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#572811 24-Jan-2012 15:42

And honestly I hope the racing is better too.
No one wants to admit it, but the dominance of Red Bull has hurt the sport, much like the Schumacher era with Ferrari did. Last year had some good racing, just for 4-2 spots.

magu

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#572814 24-Jan-2012 15:48

Jaxson: And honestly I hope the racing is better too.
No one wants to admit it, but the dominance of Red Bull has hurt the sport, much like the Schumacher era with Ferrari did. Last year had some good racing, just for 4-2 spots.

Indeed. Keen to see what Senna does for Wiliiams, and Ferrari's Frankenstein of a car.

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads." - Doc Emmet Brown

P1n3apqlExpr3ss

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#572818 24-Jan-2012 16:04

For what it's worth I used this site to watch a few qualifying sessions that Sky didnt broadcast cause of some stupid Netball games between two worthless teams and other times they didnt show it. Quality is crap to average depending on the stream you choose at the time

http://kickofftimesoccer.blogspot.com/p/sport-live-stream.html

Where were you guys watching the pre-race shows? Never remember them being available on Sky

Jaxson

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#572825 24-Jan-2012 16:07

And Kimi is back too. Lots of personalities now, with Alonso, Schumacher, Hamilton and Button etc. Just really wish they all had the cars to take it to each other. I read a great article recently about how with the additional assistance there has been far less opportunity to make mistakes, ~auto gear changes with an auto clutch etc.

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