How Do You Watch the Tour?
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 17, 2009 6:17 PM EST
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PrintYou've probably heard that the Comcast-DirecTV death struggle has caught Versus in the middle -- Comcast bought our erstwhile Tour TV channel, and DirecTV refuses to pay exorbitant fees for their constant stream of hunting infomercials (and the world's greatest sporting event south of Oudenaarde). So DirecTV subscribers like me are faced with a choice: Comcast or... actually, I'm not sure what, which is why I am writing this post. As much as I want to watch the Tour live, and as little loyalty as I feel to DirecTV, I don't appreciate being a Comcast pawn and their prices don't look good. The internet has solved most of my problems in life (besides that nagging watts/kg issue), and I hope it'll solve this one too.
So, did you watch Le Tour on-line last year? If so, how? I know ASO is pretty proficient about shutting down illicit video streams, but are there any licit ones? Thanks.
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Vesus Streaming
Worked great for me last year
"Some people are like slinkies - not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs."
any charges apply?
and is it live?
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 17, 2009 6:43 PM EST up reply actions
as i remember
it was around $20 for the tour, and yes it was live. It was the TV feed minus commercials and features.
"Some people are like slinkies - not really good for anything but they bring a smile to your face when pushed down the stairs."
Way worth $20
I’ll be looking for that come July. Thanks!
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 17, 2009 7:10 PM EST up reply actions
yes, way worth the 40 bucks.....
when you account for all the commercials, in-show promos, and other excessive crap that versus throws in there, the stream provides twice as much coverage…
specifically, the 2009 tdf versus streaming provided slightly over 83 hours of coverage. the 2009 tdf versus broadcast actual race coverage amounts to about 42 hours. in case you were interested.
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
I bet they still fit in the Lance commercials
How could they not?
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 17, 2009 7:10 PM EST up reply actions
it's the raw live feed that aso provides worldwide -- there are NO commercials, tho, you can't help what p&p talk about
commentary starts with matt keenan, goes to p&p, and then back to matt keenan…
hopefully the video quality will be better for 2010
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
39.95 for the complete ticket... which got you live and video on demand
other option is to get dish as well as directv. dish still carries versus. dish also is the only provider of raiItalia (which gets you the giro) and tv5monde (which gets you a 2 hr nightly highlight of each stage of the tdf), or at least both did last year….
and, of course, don’t forget, tve-i (part of both dish and directv’s spanish language packages) that gets you the vuelta….
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
of course, the ticket access only lasts for about 60 days or fewer
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
i watched versus stream
it was live. it was free. there were no commercials.
i mashed it with eurosport audio so as to avoid suffering through the vagaries of phil and paul.
Yep
The free version quality was good for “on in the background while you work” viewing. Chipped in for the day pass a couple of times, quality better.
ditto that
except I don’t mind the vagaries of phil and paul so I kept them around…. :)
George bunny-hopped my bike somehow. He's like a cat. -- cvv
Our tradition
is to watch the Tour on Versus while curled up together on the couch just as we did the summer my spouse had cancer. This year we expanded the tradition to include posh breakfasts.
However, the Versus coverage was so outrageous in 2009 that we won’t mind starting a new tradition in 2010.
I’m anxious to see what you all have to say about this, to help us plan what we’ll do.
the best sites for links to live streaming are:
www.cyclingfans.com
www.steephill.tv
www.myp2p.eu
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
+1 to umwolverine's links.
They served me well this season for the most part. Sometimes choppy, always free. Comcast had coverage of the Giro and Vuela on Universal Sports with Keenan. That was very nice too.
by Spot of Bother on Dec 18, 2009 11:54 AM EST up reply actions
60, steephill.tv always had a variety of stream links to try.
They would be in various languages and the quality also varied. Steephill pretty much gives you a ton of info and resources but they are not broadcasting anything themselves (and they do carry Gavia content!).
Cyclingfans.com does the same pretty much. Check them out next year, my first full season of following cycling was largely successful due to those two sites and this one.
by Spot of Bother on Dec 18, 2009 4:31 PM EST up reply actions
My new tradition
is going to be to go to Steno’s house for the TdF and posh breakfasts. Breakfasts in my house are never posh. I’m sure you’re welcome to join us.
Yes, you are welcome
to join us for brie en croute with mimosas or freshly made churros with hot chocolate, and we’ll read you your horoscope and Get Fuzzy during the break.
run!
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 17, 2009 8:42 PM EST up reply actions
Triple T
yes. But I know EBH would use it if he studied his office linebacker history.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:26 PM EST up reply actions
Someone better tell him he needs a cover sheet on his history report..
Dat ain’t new, baby!
"My facking goat didn’t wear Robes! Does he look Scottisch?!" Baron von Frinkenstein
re illegal streams
ASO aren’t that proficient. as long as you aren’t fussy about commentary (that’s what this place is for right) and maybe changing streams a few times…it’s fine. i got through 90% of last season that way. grand tours included.
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
If you have silverlight
there is a legal Rai stream, also. And Universal Sports, assuming they still stream free. They do have Giro rights for like four years or something.
Me, I get really tired of chasing streams around, especially since they have a tendency to shut down at the times you want them most. Also, if you really need to see the whole race – like, you can’t spend 5 or 10 km messing with finding a new working stream – the grey market streams for the Giro and Tour aren’t super fab. For the less major races, they’re fine, at least for now.
the rai one is a beauty
and i thought the universal one was america only? (i’m in england). chasing streams is annoying, but i can’t afford to pay for the tv channels, so what can you do..
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
you can get by most geo-restrictions by changing your computer's timezone
I’m in the colonies and watch sporza coverage of races that way with no problems.
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 17, 2009 10:56 PM EST up reply actions
Fuckin' A right it did!
Do I just change my time zone to the one where the race is being held?
Aren't we forgeting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa
depends on what sites you're accessing....
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Yup. It worked for some races last year.
But not all of them. And some it worked for a few days and then stopped. Bah, georestriction!
Good!
How do you think I watch cross races while in the colonies? Not perfect, but works for some sites.
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 18, 2009 9:27 AM EST up reply actions
May I ask what constitutes a colony for you?
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
The US of A
Either Mississippi or Indiana depending on time during the year.
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 18, 2009 10:05 AM EST up reply actions
We want lots of pictures!
Especially of Neils getting dirty
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 18, 2009 10:06 AM EST up reply actions
Just so long as there are pictures!
I’m living vicariously through your cross bike as I don’t have one yet
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 18, 2009 10:12 AM EST up reply actions
In Flanders' fields...
Oh well. At least their UXO is cool and historic.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:41 PM EST up reply actions
is the puppy okay? that's the important thing
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
I believe the little doggy was fine.
If anything had happened to the canine I’m sure it would be all over the front of Het Laatste Nieuws this morning.
yeah man
it’s great how easy you can fool a computer.
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
Heh
They think they can turn on us. We’ll see who’s smarter in the end…
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:42 PM EST up reply actions
ITV4 will be your friend next year...
… though I fear I may stick with RAI for the Italian practice & to avoid throwing things at Phil n Paul
You know I'm almost jealous of you without comcast
who will find a way to watch the Tour without having to endure Phil and Paul’s inane commentating.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
Which commentators do you like?
Just curious. Phil seems to be past his prime and Paul is a little too predictable (although I like his rider perspective very much). Bobke was great at first, but has become a bit too PC. I was appalled when they hired Al Trautwig (sp?), but Al certainly studied the game and became very knowledgeable before he bowed out to do the Olympics. I’ve not been on Cycling TV too much, but those guys seem pretty good.
Matt Keenan is quite good
and then Sean Kelly for Eurosport. Also all the CTV guys I enjoy to listen to, mainly because they know you like and have knowledge of cycling(you did buy CTV after all) and don’t treat you like a moron, Phil and Paul probably have to but it’s annoying. Really I don’t mind Paul and can live with Phil if he could keep his personal bias out of it, or be less extreme with it.
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
Wash your mouth out with soap!
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Why are we both awake? Angels? Six day races?
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Dunno... I got distracted
One thing lead to another, and I ended up wandering around the internet like a lost puppy. Again. As per usual. (you may be interested to know that one tangent I ended up following had me reading up on Shipstern’s Bluff…)
Sorry, had a bit of a nap before replying ;-)
It was 3am Saturday :-)
Well, I went to bed at about 3 this morning.
I’m now at work. I don’t feel too good and I look even worse.
There is no such letter as 'haitch'... check any dictionary ;)
That said, about 50% of Australians say it. We blame the Irish… for no good reason.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Well, there's a good reason
The reason so many Australians say it is that the Irish said it, and they passed it on as teachers, priests, etc. So often you have Catholics saying ‘haitch’, particularly in the country. And lots of Queenslanders. Not sure why that last one is.
I don’t have a problem with it, I must say. ‘I could of’ and ‘less people’ and other such things are far more likely to drive me up the wall.
Ugh, the word 'less' used incorrectly sends me into a rage!
The number of times people on the News get this wrong is ludicrous. Grrrrrrr.
My favorite...
…sportscasters have totally forgotten the adverbial form, entirely. It’s vanished utterly.
(and yes, I know, the thread about thusly, but I really don’t have a major problem with that. It makes perfect, and grammatical, sense as an distinction between the adverbial and the logical usage of that word)
Bobke?? PC??
For some reason he also managed to worm his way onto ITV this year, which was really more than I could bear.
Related question
has anyone ditched TV and switched to internet-based video for movies, sports, shows, etc?? At some point this is viable, I would think. I would dearly love to pull the plug on DirecTV and just upgrade our data rate.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 17, 2009 9:15 PM EST reply actions
getting close here
about the only thing that we really watch on “tv” anymore are Nickolodeon shows.
The others in the house over the age of 6 seem to be watching most of their content via computer.
hook a computer up to the TV permanently...
…and potato across the room from the couch, all proper-like. See below. ;)
yes... no...
…both…er, neither… O.o
The TV isn’t a TV at our house. Ok, it was sold as a flatscreen TV, but (aside from the old GameCube) it only has one video input that we watch: a Mac Mini.
The Mini is simply a do-everything set-top box; it doesn’t sit on a desk. Our single “remote” for controlling the computer is a wireless keyboard with integrated trackball.
So, what do we watch on the TV… er, Mini?
o CyclingTV (heh)
o streams linked via steephill etc.
o Netflix streaming
o DVDs
o rips of Netflix DVDs thanks to Handbrake (big mileage out of that $10/month plan)
o lightly-commercialled streams from network Web sites (Daily Show, CSI, Bones, whatever)
o Hulu
o Boxee
o TED
o Video podcasts
o iTunes “rented” movies
o torrents (yes) of…. well, all kinds of things, including a below-the-radar site of current HD cycling torrents from ‘round the world, which doesn’t actually exist, I’m probably making that up (it would be too easy), I’d have to kill you, etc.
AND…..
…we are Comcast customers (shudder… cable only). We have a couple of USB digitizers hooked up between the cable and the Mini. It’s basically a Tivo-ish deal, but no monthly fees, various levels of HD and analog for the different channels, and storage capacity limited only by the hard drive space hooked up to the computer.
So, for The Tour, I just queue up the multiple Comcast broadcasts through the day, and we watch whatever version(s) suit our fancy each evening… and, of course, skip all of the commercials and the Lancemmercials.
We don’t really ever watch TV live. We just record it and watch when we feel like it. My darling wife has about a thousand true crime and home makeover shows stored up…. effectively infinite Comcast on demand for that kind of content once it’s built up.
I have a family of 3 that would like to live in your basement
And I’m quite handy in the yard.
Aren't we forgeting the true meaning of Christmas? You know, the birth of Santa
By which he means
he’s yard-trained.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:28 PM EST up reply actions
I could get by just fine.
My FIOS service is 20/5, and I 95% of my network tv show watching takes place via Hulu. I sub to HBO b/c I like their programming, but I end up watching most HBO shows on my computer screen (ahem). I can download from my Netflix queue straight to my TiVo HD, but I don’t use that too often. Need to cancel that.
One bright spot in my regular Comcast-then-FIOS video service this year has been UniversalSports – lots and lots of HD cycling. And I supposed I’d miss BBC America. Kinda. (and if I can just sort out a proper proxy with the iPlayer, well . . .).
The only real loss, I think, would be the random gems that you come across when simply flipping through channels. Rare, but they definitely exist.
almost all new shows can be found online, either their network's site or hulu.com or boxee.com.
The last 5 full episodes are available for most shows. Problem to watch out for is some cable internet providers limit bandwidth after 3gb a day or close. They will shut you down to 1.5 MB down for the rest of the day. Streaming video takes a lot of bandwidth.
Many channel’s are are available over the air in high def. Check http://antennaweb.org/aw/welcome.aspx for info for your area and what kind of antenna you will need.
Did some research because I am considering letting cable go too. $65.00 a month is too much!
If you have directv
you have TF5 (or 1)….I saw the tour on TF, giro on RAI and vuelta on TVE. Of course is not the whole stage, about the last 2 to 3 hours.
Ah.. I could get 15% of the things said in french, 50% italian and 100% spanish, of course. This was the only downside. But you can always use the free radio broadcasts in english.
Your bike doesn't want to crash so relax and let it roll!!!
you mean DISH network, not directv
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
and except for the access to raiItalia and tv5monde, i find DISH network to be a royal pain... i much prefer directv.... i only subscribe to dish for may-july
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
and fyi
I have the Tour stage to Barcelona running on-demand from versus right now . . . so the subscription hasn’t run out yet . . .
Love Millar's chat about that
Nothing like an urban stage.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 17, 2009 10:53 PM EST up reply actions
lucky you.... cause it keeps saying my login and password are invalid.... not that i need to watch them from the versus site (you understand)
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
There's DISH of course
I have DISH and they have Versus. They don’t have Universal, but you can get that for free on the computer. So you don;t have to go to Comcast. You can soup up DISH with foreign channels too like RAI.
grrr
I dropped the DISH to get Versus… Three years ago they didn’t have it and DirecTV did.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 12:14 AM EST up reply actions
i has both... what can i say... one must find one's addictions (tho dish only for 3 months)
pity rai international doesn’t show all the races they use to a few years ago…. for the 2009 giro, you didn’t know until the day before the first stage that it was carrying the giro… it no longer shows milano-sanremo…. wonder when the giro is next to go
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
Wouldn't it be a good guess
that there is an increased interest from RCS and the italians in general to be liberal with coverage in an effort to screw the new competition(ToC) a little bit? You can hope.
Pity the foreign stations aren't available in all areas.
Last time I checked, RAI International wasn’t an option around here.
who's your provider: dish network? directv? cable?
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 18, 2009 10:01 AM EST up reply actions
We have Comcast now.
But last season when you (or possibly someone else) were talking about RAI, I checked all the cable and satellite providers for Indy, and none of them offered it.
cable i can understand. the satellite providers, dish and directv, not so much.
dish network has exclusive rights to the raiItalia and tv5monde packages (just as directv has exclusive rights to the nfl ticket, nba full court, etc).
dish and directv (satellite providers) only georestrict for local sports programming and the local channels. any other programming is limited only by the receiver’s ability to access the actual satellite in the sky…. if the line-of-sight is blocked by trees, cliffs, other buildings, etc.
and the type of dish/receiver you have.
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 18, 2009 11:10 AM EST up reply actions
http://www.dishnetwork.com/international/detail.aspx?lang=Italian
can be ordered as a package or a la carte
http://www.dishnetwork.com/international/detail.aspx?lang=French
can be ordered as a package or a la carte
http://www.dishnetwork.com/packages/spanishProgramming/default.aspx
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
by umwolverine on Dec 18, 2009 11:16 AM EST up reply actions
Versus Free Stream
Just another that watched the free Versus Stream. The quality was good enough and the no commercials was great. What was even better was missing all the features – it was just the stream so know in depth on certain riders and such. I would pay for it if I had to!
Like Gav, I used this some this past summer
Europsport audio commentary running in another browser tab. It’s pretty good that way, but kind of amusing when there’s a 20-second lag in between them
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 18, 2009 9:29 AM EST up reply actions
rofl
yes, it can get confusing when they don’t sync up. often at the end of stages, i would drop the audio. i generally know who the riders are anyway.
I watched some stages online
Via our beloved SBS. Others may be able to help me out here… I have a vague feeling that geo-restrictions may have kicked in after a couple of stages? (for once, I was in a position to be oblivious of any geo-restriction..)
It really is 'beloved'...
I don’t give a stuff about Phil and Paul, I just love big pics with no buffering. And even though the aforementioned P an P are buffers, they’re the soundtrack of Le Tour. That said, WHEN Matt takes over, it will be a relief.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
And it's free ;)
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
And their crowning glory...
… free-to-air live Paris-Roubaix :-)
But I REALLY want de Ronde, too. Are you listening, SBS? De Ronde van Vlaanderen, please!
Just
put bungees on the trash can lids though. Or you’ll never get rid of them.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:29 PM EST up reply actions
But it's good to dream... pragmatism is so boring...
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Sorry, I thought the dream was the chalet at the top of the Tourmalet..
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Just you wait - it'll happen to you, too
Seahorse Disease creeps up on you when you least expect it ;-). I, too, once thought that I had the reply function mastered. I now know better than to make such a foolish assumption…
Thank you for your understanding ;)
I’ve realised that when I’m replying (or thinking I am), to a comment at the bottom of the page, I have a better than fifty percent chance of forgetting the reply function. Sigh…
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Really? So does that mean that you were talking to Albertina about marmottes?
Now it makes sense I think…
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
OK! I think replying to ehades is always important..
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Well, when I was ten...
I used to watch the Tour in my living, with Michelin maps spread all over the floor and Robert Chapatte and Jean-Paul Olivier voices filling the air :) But yeah, while at work in the US, free VS stream did the trick for me last year ! Plus a couple of breakfasts with friends for the big mountain stages…
I meant my living room (is there no edit function?)
by FrenchKheldar on Dec 18, 2009 5:41 AM EST up reply actions
No, we have to face the public humiliation.
At least you understand the reply function. I spend half my life apologising for remarks that seem like non-sequitirs. (sp?)
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
Easy solution
Just stop apologising. The readers that want to know what you’re talking about will figure it out eventually and the others won’t even read it anyhow. ;-)
It's a girl, and a boy!
Or
use the preview function. some poor software designer spent many hours on this thoroughly overlooked feature.
Besides that though, welcome!
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:31 PM EST up reply actions
House Hearing on Piracy of Live Sportscasts Over the Internet
Some (okay, one or two of you) might be interested in this CSPAN archive of Wednesday’s hearing in the US House of Representatives. It might be eye opening, to hear the various perspectives on what it means to society to find a stream of an event online (hint: your perspective probably isn’t well represented at this hearing). Witness list:
Michael J. Mellis
Sr. Vice President and General Counsel
MLB Advanced Media, L.P.
New York, NY
Lorenzo Fertitta
Chief Executive Officer
Ultimate Fighting Championship
Las Vegas, NV
Michael Seibel
Chief Executive Officer
Justin.TV Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Ed Durso
Executive Vice President, Administration
ESPN, Inc.
Bristol, CT
Christopher S. Yoo
Professor of Law and Communication
University of Pennsylvania Law School
Philadelphia, PA
Well hell, if they are going to watse their time on that
then they might as well also force the BCS system to die a horrible death!!!!
Look, it's a bird...no, it's a plane....oh never mind it's just fucking balloon boy
Gotta admit
it’s a little over the top. Soccer matches and such. Totally, shamelessly pirated.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:32 PM EST up reply actions
Er
south of Ypres then.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:32 PM EST up reply actions
Living in Ireland
Is great for Tour coverage. I’ve got Eurosport for 2 or 3 hours of live coverage every day with David Harmon and Sean Kelly. Then there’s the ITV4 highlights package in the evenings with Paul & Phil. And as if that wasn’t enough, the Irish station TG4 show live coverage and highlights every day. And yet a still find myself searching for an internet stream with Matt Keenan commentating as I find him to be way better than the other main commentators. A combo of Matt Keenan and Sean Kelly would be perfection.
http://www.irishpeloton.com/
ES Tour
coverage was good, some great interviews etc. what was not good was the Planet Armstrong stuff. it was a joke.
I am proud to say I never watched a single episode
I don’t even know if i missed out on something good, it was just so annoying with the eternal ads for the show.
better than us english speakers
Erm, he is speaking English! Oh right, you meant ‘U.S. english speakers’…. ah I know what you mean, he has a very thick accent.
http://www.irishpeloton.com/
Come on now
That is not a thick accent. Sean barely has an accent, relatively speaking ;-)
He's much better these days
When he first started doing commentary, his accent really was difficult. But now, it’s no worries at all. In fact, quite amusing. Soiffering big time!
Is his a regional accent?
I had Irish roommates — Dubliners — and their speech was crystal clear. Kelly… not so much. Though I heard him in a bad auditorium here once and after 15 minutes or so it was no problem.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:33 PM EST up reply actions
it certainly is
He’s from Waterford, I think, way down south. Your Dubliner mates would probably think he sounds like a country hick.
Sometimes I’ll listen to the ES audio feed, though, even though the timing is about a minute out of sync with our footage, because he’s a very interesting commentator.
I watch it however I can
While I was in Cambodia in 2000, a Singapore channel would announce the Tour tape-delayed in Chinese over the barely audible Eurosport commentary. The Chinese pronunciations of Armstrong, Ullrich, and Beloki were priceless. In Slovakia, the Czech Eurosport announcer (announcing the Tour live from Prague!) gave us regular 20-minute phone interviews with Pavel Padrnos while ignoring the fireworks were happening in the mountains.
Next year I’ll probably only have the Sean Kelly Eurosport feed, which I’ve had in other countries. To be honest, I’d rather have Phil and Paul, who I had for the past two Tours. They’re homers for English speakers, sure, and don’t play any drinking games based on their commentating mistakes. I just like the sound of their voices better than Kelly, who is addressing fans more at our knowledge level but to me is like listening to Billy Packer announce college basketball.
Armstrong in Chinese
translates to “summer dragon” or something, right? And Ullrich is “mountain of rice” if my character reading is correct.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 1:35 PM EST up reply actions
Chris does I think...
Like me, he lived in Japan… doesn’t always pan out, but a lot of Kanji works in Chinese as well.
"How strange it was to see men doing something beautiful. Something pointless and elegant." Tim Winton, 'Breath'
A few
though I take liberties… just like with my blogging.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 19, 2009 11:09 AM EST up reply actions
Um...
Yeah! He’s made up. So call off your dogs.
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 22, 2009 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
I paid for the high res Versus coverage last year and was happy. You can
watch it on demand (pause, rewind, etc.) and no commercials! I hook my TV up to computer and use it as the monitor. Check monoprice.com for inexpensive longer cables. I have my desk near my TV and hard wired CAT6 so the wireless doesn’t become an issue.
I do have wireless keyboard and mouse so that makes it very convenient to sit on the couch and control the computer.
it's a lot easier when you have a mini-tower server that sits right next to the sony bravia ....
and then use vnc to operate the machine from the laptop… cause it’s so much easier that way than using the logitech dinovo…. plus, i can still work on the laptop and run vnc on the other two computers in the house as well… so, from one laptop, i can work on three other computers at the same time…. is cool
"Wizard's first rule. People are stupid. They will believe anything they want to be true or fear to be true." -- Terry Goodkind
I won't switch
to Comcast either. I like Direct TV more, plus I have Verizon for the internet and don’t want to go back to comcast for that either (the verizon/direct TV combo is much more reliable than my old Comcast one). Bought a new TV for xmas with PS3 and plan to buy the on-line coverage for versus and watch it either on the computer or the tv depending on how much my kids are whining.
by Peter Fontecchio on Dec 18, 2009 5:34 PM EST reply actions
I know most here don't speak French
and most don’t get French TV …. and it’s too bad
but for me it is pretty amazing Tour coverage.
- Every day they have hours of previews, round table discussions, etc.
- the race commentators are excellent and passionate
- live reports from guys like Jalabert sometimes on a motocycle just behind leaders
- they NEVER leave coverage before the podiums
- they often post stage have features of historic years – eg live footage and a doucumentary on what happened in say 1949, etc.
in a perfect world, everyone would get such amazing coverage
Below: Brothers Schleck and contador AND jalabert on the motorcycle just behind and to the right (and my Belgian domestique on the left)
Moo
Which one is your Belgian domestique?
For the record, the girl in the orange is not me but if we fast forward a bit, the girl in orange furrther up the road will be me ;-)
Not the guy
waving the cone? [disappointed…]
"The only pain I got time for is the pain I put on fools who don't know what time it is." Edvald Boasson Hagen
by Chris Fontecchio on Dec 22, 2009 12:23 PM EST up reply actions
Haha, thought you might.
That is not Pippo but it is one of his cousins. He lives in a very well appointed burrow on the Croix de Fer.
You should come to Montreal next year for the new race
Plenty of marmottes to see around here too. Yes, marmottes. It’s Montreal, they are french speaking :-)
You can even see them on the F1 circuit…
Age and treachery will overcome youth and skill (F. Coppi)
Awwww the poor little marmotte!
I hope it got off the course pronto and lived to tell the tale. The thought of a cute cuddly marmotte being squished by an F1 car is almost too much to bear! My marmotte Pippo speaks French. He comes from Alpe d’Huez and he is also a huge cycling fan.
he's awesome.
"well...you live in england so: you love the rain. loves the queen. hates cycling. based on mr bean had a tremendous amount of humour. all ride in a mini cooper. all getting drunk before the age of 12. getting drunk at least 3 times a day."- frinking, 7/9/09
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