Formula1 2019

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#2175791 10-Feb-2019 11:12

tdgeek:

If the Honda has a few more horses then Renault, then it would be all on this year. But new regs, its a reset and some will have got it right more than others, are 2 seconds a lap better, but after 5 years it will be closer, rinse and repeat

Its so annoying, after 5 years of these hybrids, last year was a 2 team championship, this year likely that RBR is closer, so a genuine 6 car title race (well, 3 car actually....)

I don't know why But I thought the new regs included engines, doh.

So, with that fumble out of the way, it might be darn good this year as the gaps will continue to close. Regs to tidy up a few things, remove aero help, which will help those with good balance and mechanical grip, i.e. RBR

WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2176276 11-Feb-2019 11:46

Following on from my post on Friday, Spark Sport have replied to the Autocar NZ query. Source here

We ran a story last week about Spark Sport offering little clarity on how it intends to broadcast the 2019 Formula 1 season with five weeks left before the Australian Grand Prix.

Issues raised include the lack of a platform, pricing plans and the previous radio silence. You can read the full story here.

We reached out to Spark last week and now have an official reply. Here it is, unaltered:

"We’re on track to screen the first Grand Prix in March on the Spark Sport platform – and are committed to making sure that New Zealanders can watch the Formula 1 without issues.

The F1, F2 and GP3 will be exclusively available on Spark Sport this year. Spark Sport will be a streaming service, a bit like Netflix, that works on any broadband provider.

From launch, it will be available via popular web browsers, Apple iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Google Chromecast and selected Samsung TVs. Over the first six months after launch, Spark Sport will gradually expand to become available on a range of content platforms including Apple TV, Panasonic, LG and Sony Smart TVs and more.

The Spark Sport app will be available from the relevant app store for each brand. Full details on device support and how to get connected will be available via a comprehensive Spark Sport help website in due course. Spark Sport will give you the ability to watch the service live – but also on demand at a later date (useful for those late night races!).

While I can’t tell you exactly when we will launch Spark Sport, we’re really conscious that customers need time to prepare for the first race of the F1 season, the Melbourne GP. So we will launch in time to give fans the chance to get all set up before the race.

We will announce more details about Spark Sport, including pricing options, shortly. In the meantime, New Zealand sports fans can register their interest at www.spark.co.nz/sport.

Please rest assured that we are working hard to ensure that we provide the service you expect. Kiwis rightly have high expectations and we intend to meet them."

So there’s no longer an ominous silence from Spark Sport. It’s good to see on-demand watching officially confirmed. However, the history of live streaming popular sporting events doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Remember Optus Australia and the 2018 FIFA World Cup debacle? It took just one game for that streaming platform to be brought to its knees. While F1 isn’t as big here as FIFA is in Australia, the Rugby World Cup is right around the corner...

tdgeek

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#2176281 11-Feb-2019 11:59

WyleECoyoteNZ:

Following on from my post on Friday, Spark Sport have replied to the Autocar NZ query. Source here

We ran a story last week about Spark Sport offering little clarity on how it intends to broadcast the 2019 Formula 1 season with five weeks left before the Australian Grand Prix.

Issues raised include the lack of a platform, pricing plans and the previous radio silence. You can read the full story here.

We reached out to Spark last week and now have an official reply. Here it is, unaltered:

"We’re on track to screen the first Grand Prix in March on the Spark Sport platform – and are committed to making sure that New Zealanders can watch the Formula 1 without issues.

The F1, F2 and GP3 will be exclusively available on Spark Sport this year. Spark Sport will be a streaming service, a bit like Netflix, that works on any broadband provider.

From launch, it will be available via popular web browsers, Apple iPhone and iPad, Android phones and tablets, Google Chromecast and selected Samsung TVs. Over the first six months after launch, Spark Sport will gradually expand to become available on a range of content platforms including Apple TV, Panasonic, LG and Sony Smart TVs and more.

The Spark Sport app will be available from the relevant app store for each brand. Full details on device support and how to get connected will be available via a comprehensive Spark Sport help website in due course. Spark Sport will give you the ability to watch the service live – but also on demand at a later date (useful for those late night races!).

While I can’t tell you exactly when we will launch Spark Sport, we’re really conscious that customers need time to prepare for the first race of the F1 season, the Melbourne GP. So we will launch in time to give fans the chance to get all set up before the race.

We will announce more details about Spark Sport, including pricing options, shortly. In the meantime, New Zealand sports fans can register their interest at www.spark.co.nz/sport.

Please rest assured that we are working hard to ensure that we provide the service you expect. Kiwis rightly have high expectations and we intend to meet them."

So there’s no longer an ominous silence from Spark Sport. It’s good to see on-demand watching officially confirmed. However, the history of live streaming popular sporting events doesn’t paint a pretty picture. Remember Optus Australia and the 2018 FIFA World Cup debacle? It took just one game for that streaming platform to be brought to its knees. While F1 isn’t as big here as FIFA is in Australia, the Rugby World Cup is right around the corner...

You are quite out of date. There has been no change to the so called ominous silence for Spark Sport. What you have quoted from them is old news, its been like this for some time, there is nothing new, and its been posted here or in another like thread well before now, as has the advice that SS will be up and running before the first race weekend

I'm sure it would not be a good idea to advise dates, times, costs, etc, etc,etc well before release, so that competition can jump in first. I'm sure you can easily imagine how delicate all this is. Competitors will no doubt react, that's norrnal, do you really want to give them everything they want to know 4 months prior to release?

Oblivian

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#2176282 11-Feb-2019 12:00

So they've been allowed to say as much as was said at NZNOG :p

I was going to point it out earlier, but figured someone else would have

https://youtu.be/Z-wWUKxeQ-s?t=1982

Benoire

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#2176284 11-Feb-2019 12:03

I've got a concern with the on demand aspect. With BEin sports, if the game is live and you join in part way through I haven't yet been able to find a way to rewind it back to the beginning... that currently means that I either have to wait for the game to go on demand later in the day or watch from that point... I'm hoping that Spark Sport will allows us to join a game/race that has already started at the beginning... I'm thinking of the north american races which start at 5 or 6 am and I watch them in the morning but not that early and I could simply start the recorded TV while it was still recording. I'd dislike it it was either live or on demand and you couldn't watch a live race from the beginning.

Oblivian

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#2176297 11-Feb-2019 12:38

Guess it comes down to akamais infrastructure, if their Cache can really.. Cache

There will be no alternative commentary with radio simulcast as easy if you are into that sort of thing. A bit more spoiler alerting with targeted <30s delay.

Jaxson

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#2176299 11-Feb-2019 12:38

Nice to see Sony TV listed in the mix, even though that's basically Android anyway, albeit with no touchscreen interface.

Like anything there are pricing options out there, but it's easier if it's a local service is all.

Options at the moment look like F1TV Pro via dns4me or VPN to a country that supports this. Cost is around $148NZD + smartdns/vpn

KAYO Sports from Australia via VPN (KAYO via dns4me isn't formally supported) yet. Costs is around $27NZD per month (basic 2 device plan) + vpn and requires an Australian phone number to establish.

Whatever Spark provide.

Try and route one of these to NZ instead:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Formula_One_broadcasters#Official_internet_broadcasters

(still lists Sky TV as an NZ Broadcaster for 2019, but I guess Spark aren't a broadcaster as such in the traditional old sense of the word)

Assume no live support for F1 at all via Sky Sports now.

Interestingly the UK is hitting our scenario now, with no real free to air coverage any more for the next 6 years or so:
https://www.givemesport.com/1330995-david-coulthard-reveals-his-plans-for-liberty-media-ahead-of-next-season

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WyleECoyoteNZ

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#2176302 11-Feb-2019 12:44

Hey, don't shoot the messenger...

A lot of people wouldn't know about the information from NZNOG (whatever that is, I didn't know about it)

This mainstream media extracting some information from SS, is more than what is available from there website.

I get the feeling that the first adopters\customers will be the guinea pigs in ironing out any bugs\gremlins before the RWC.

And as the WRC has already started, and Spark Sport have the rights to that, the service and pricing should be up and running now. By the time the F1 in Melbourne starts, the WRC is already 3 events down.

tdgeek

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#2176305 11-Feb-2019 12:48

Jaxson:

Interestingly the UK is hitting our scenario now, with no real free to air coverage any more for the next 6 years or so:
https://www.givemesport.com/1330995-david-coulthard-reveals-his-plans-for-liberty-media-ahead-of-next-season

NZ never had FTA F1 as far as I know. So Sky Sports UK had it, and it was also on FTA???? Maybe it was cheap for SS as its already on FTA?

In any case welcome to the real world where we will have to pay for everything.

This internet stuff really helps things progress......

Talkiet

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#2176307 11-Feb-2019 12:49

Unfortunately not all sports series/events start on a suitable schedule for our releases. It's unrealistic to expect any provider to be able to mesh perfectly with season dates. The other options are a very complicated multi-provider deal for a few events (not feasible and not attractive to other providers), or to simply not bid for events for up to what? 11 months after the service is started.

The approach taken is a pragmatic one. The WRC coverage is still available on an event by event basis for fans that really want it. (I'd be ponying up for it myself if Hayden was still in it)

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.

Talkiet

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#2176322 11-Feb-2019 13:00

Benoire:

I've got a concern with the on demand aspect. With BEin sports, if the game is live and you join in part way through I haven't yet been able to find a way to rewind it back to the beginning... that currently means that I either have to wait for the game to go on demand later in the day or watch from that point... I'm hoping that Spark Sport will allows us to join a game/race that has already started at the beginning... I'm thinking of the north american races which start at 5 or 6 am and I watch them in the morning but not that early and I could simply start the recorded TV while it was still recording. I'd dislike it it was either live or on demand and you couldn't watch a live race from the beginning.

The Spark Sports platform will support rewinding to the start of a live event if you join midway. You won't have to wait for the VOD asset to be created. The live channels also have a rewind window (some hours big) when you join them.

(Note I'm not sure how the rewind would work for a monster event - if for example there was a 24 hour race I don't know how far back it would go - but for any of the F1 sessions, it would easily fit... at least now there are limits unlike the Canadian GP in 2011!)

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.

Benoire

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#2176395 11-Feb-2019 13:08

While your answering questions, will it support auto bookmarking? I.e. want to to go the race 5m countdown for the start rather than start at the beginning with all the pre-race stuff? With Sky you can simply ffw x30 and see the content move so you know when to stop. With ondemand you do not have that ability and so guessing how far to skip becomes problematic, will the stream have thumbnails when skipping around otherwise this is much poorer solution and was one of the problems with BEin's EPL and Colosseum's setup before it.

Talkiet

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#2176398 11-Feb-2019 13:12

Benoire:

While your answering questions, will it support auto bookmarking? I.e. want to to go the race 5m countdown for the start rather than start at the beginning with all the pre-race stuff? With Sky you can simply ffw x30 and see the content move so you know when to stop. With ondemand you do not have that ability and so guessing how far to skip becomes problematic, will the stream have thumbnails when skipping around otherwise this is much poorer solution and was one of the problems with BEin's EPL and Colosseum's setup before it.

Sorry, that's a detail I don't know. When I get Beta access myself in a few days (hopefully) I also won't be able to tell you due to the NDA... Might have to wait for official word on that, or for early retail adopters to help out.

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.

tdgeek

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#2176399 11-Feb-2019 13:14

That's excellent. MySky is so easy to use, and based on what Neil said, it will be little different. Turn it on, go back to the start, play.

We still have the first world problem of needing to mute the TV and look away to avoid seeing the live spoiler..... :-)

Benoire

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#2176402 11-Feb-2019 13:19

It seems like it will be similar to the other internet distributed sports; poor usability. Netflix et al. have got around this by thumbnails and can generate them prior to release but live sport doesn't have that benefit as its live and you need to keep the data flowing. Meh I was happy with DVB-T/S as it offers a good picture with advantages of local recording etc. for skipping around easily, but to be honest I'm not a fan of internet distributed TV content anyway.

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