prototoast

Boy, today's stage was exciting. A strong breakaway with a chance to succeed, GC favorites fighting for position, and a dynamic uphill finish that tore the race apart in just a few kilometers... and if you were watching the live video, you didn't get to see any of it. The breakaway hit the climb with about 40 seconds on the main field, and from that point on, all the camera showed was a close-up of whichever rider happened to be in front at the moment. No perspective shots to show his position relative to the rest of the field, no shots of the peloton blowing up, no shots of the big favorites picking off the remnants of the breakaway one-by-one. There was absolutely nothing that would give us any indication of what was happening in the race, until "out of nowhere" Van Garderen and Vande Velde come flying into the lead. Even the helicopter couldn't be bothered to zoom out to give us some glimpse of what might have been unfolding.

It was amateur hour all over the place. Whatever company provided the video work had better step their game up, or be prepared to never work another bike race again. I hope their was a "****ty camera work" clause in their contract, so the race organizers don't have to pay them for that travesty.

gpsblake

I hear ya, but they simply don't have the budget or resources that the Tour de France has for television coverage. I do like the idea of a motorcycle reporter giving live information though. They also say the crowds are disappointing. I agree though, if this race is going to stay around, they need to work on production of the event.

curiouskid55

commentary was also hilarious. i lost count of how many times sherwin declared a rider will be "riding in yellow tommorrow"only to see them swamped by the field a few seconds later. Granted the comentators are watching the same ****ty coverage we are. Would be nice if they made the events less confusing instead of more confusing.

gpsblake

Much better job today with the coverage of the 3rd stage today.

Mithrandir

There's literally no video coverage today. They keep playing highlights from previous stages.

I guess it has something to do with the cameras not able to communicate with the satellites.

Bahnzo

It's not satellites. I saw a short thing on our local news about the company providing coverage. They use helicopters and airplanes to relay the signal.

They are saying on the broadcast that some ridges were keeping the signal from being relayed, but shouldn't that have been worked out before the race? I understand they had some terrible issues last year as well.

gpsblake

Complete disaster today on the coverage of stage 4

Hezz

Most likely this portion of the country does not have good satellite coverage. Satellites are put in geosynchronous orbit so they kind of stay in one place above a major population area. It could be the satellite antenna are very directional and steep angles have poor reception. Moving up in elevation to keep from having a mountain block the signal only makes the problem worse. The method of beaming the signal to cell towers would probably be even more of a problem as they are designed to receive the signal from the ground.

The TDF requires a lot more money to get the good coverage that they get. They have to have several stationary trucks that have a good signal to the satellites and then the airplanes and copters beam the signal down to those trucks first. The trucks have stronger transmitters and a good lock with the satellites. They are put in strategic positions along the course. Probably at 20-30 mile intervals. Also, the airplanes and helicopters have to constantly be turning and moving. This can disrupt a weak directional signal with a satellite easily.

merlinextraligh

There were thunderstorms in the area today also which may have played a part. I just dodged them, but some of our group got drenched.

gpsblake

I agree with you but NBC Sports and the organizers should have known this from last year's tour and from other experiences. I think NBC Universal should be airing this race on a tape delayed basis, sort of how they do it with "enhanced" TDF coverage in prime time. This would give them time to get the actual tape footage from the ground and not be completely reliant on the live links. I suspect however this would add greatly to the cost of airing this event.

kleinboogie

Yeah, the video coverage sucks. I think the crowds weren't bad, a lot better than Utah had. It's fun to watch as always.

Bahnzo

Again, it's NOT satellites. They use microwave transmitters, from the the motorcycles and the aircraft to relay the signal to transmitters located along the route. These in turn relay the signal to the trucks, I'm guessing at the finish site. Satellite time is VERY expensive and a small time event like this surely can't afford a satellite, dedicated for hours, to relay their signal.

And sat's don't hover above "major population areas". One sat can cover the entire area of North America. I worked for a major sat TV company, and one sat can cover the entire US, including Alaska and Hawaii.

That said, the company responsible for the signal needs to be fired. They couldn't even keep a clean signal while in the town of Colorado Springs. That kinda stuff is inexcusable.

Bontrager

Do you guys have _any_ idea about what the mountains look like here in Colorado? They were in Telluride for cripes sake! It's a box canyon surrounded by 12,000+ foot (and some 14,000 foot) peaks - some of the tallest in the lower 48 states. Unless you have a great 4 wheel drive vehicle, there's only 1 way in and out. I'm happy just having 3G service when I'm in Telluride.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...s_by_elevation

kimolop

It is immaterial what the mountains are like. If you are hired to do a job, any job, it is your responsibility to do it correctly. If you can't do it correctly, you shouldn't take the job.