You guys with HDTV, Eurosport, E-I-E-I-O coverage SUCK! [he says, as he slinks away to his old skool 20" CRT indestructable TV...]

https://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/434409...ports-cycling/

On my 55" LED HD TV, yeah right I'm married... So it's to the spare room to watch it on a 47" LED HD TV.. The races I have watched so far this year look crazy good in HD...

Went to Best Buy today and looked at an 20" HP flatscreen LCD screen on sale for a good price. Then I found an HP 23" flatscreen LCD screen online, also on sale. Both are HD. However, the 23" has two 2W built-in speakers. Wonder if they could be turned off, because I much prefer the sound over my headphones, and the speakers would probably just annoy my family as the Tour will be on for extended periods at all times of the day and night. So I'm still in "find a good monitor" mode.

Stoned..........with a big box of chocolate chip cookies.

Brad,
I think you have the right idea. I did it that way last year and it worked fine. My cable package does not have Versus, so the internet route is a good choice. There were no technical problems at all.
D

Here is a view from the saddle of a 105" screen from 13' back. Can't wait for the Tour.

I put my helmet and gloves on, plop myself down in front of the big screen and turn up the surround sound really loud.

From the saddle of a bike, just in front of the peleton.

At home on my 32" LCD with DirecTV and the Versus HD channel. My recliner with theside table for my laptop handy and a cold soda are hard for me to beat.

Bill

There were some problems at first with the internet feed on the first day but they got that fixed quick,and i received a appology from versus.All good after that.

I feel that given the opportunity to spend 2 hours on my bike, or watching some one else on his, I would rather ride. There are a few other activities like that, golf, fishing, bowling and (that last one is a team sport).

Had the chance to see the TDF while sitting in sidewalk cafe back in the 80's.

Looked down to take a bite of croissant and missed the whole race.

TV coverage is better. You get to see the whole (somewhat boring) stage. Maybe even three or four times a day.



Might take a day trip to see a stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge (Colorado). Need to fine a spot where I can fish while waiting for the race.

+1

Depending on my schedule for the day I sometimes choose to switch the recording to the evening re-broadcast that crams all the action into a 2 or 3 hour segment. If I have to do something after work and will not be able to watch until the next day, I opt for the shorter broadcast so that I can get it all in before I go to work so that I don't get behind.

On days when it's a high mountain stage a co-worker and I go to a local sports bar that has little business during the day and get them to switch a TV to Versus so we can watch the first rebroadcast of the day's events. This bit us in the ass last year when they would only put one TV in a giant bank of them on Le Tour and we saw the finish in a recap on another station. Oh that made me mad. We just finished eating fast and left. Now I make sure the TV is off to the side so we don't have it all spoiled for us.

My main frustration with the coverage is that Phil and Paul only have access to the French feed so often they won't know what's really going on -- like is the guy they are isolated on in front or was he just dropped. This was evident in the Tour de Suisse when that Rabobank rider flatted and was trying to chase back to the lead group. It took them a bit to figure out where he was and they didn't know what really happened until much later (they thought he'd been inattentive on a cat 3 climb and got gapped). While I understand this for some of the races where they are simply calling it from a studio that isn't even in the same country as the race, they send them to each town in Le Tour. It really would be nice to provide them with a little better information and maybe a director who could flip them between the different cameras.

Bob

Stapfam has everyone else beat in a multi-minute breakaway. I vote that he organizes a 50+ trip to France next year, to one of these small town bars. We can bring or rent bikes, and do some (drunken) riding, too.

Not any more. Several years ago, they dropped coverage of the Giro and Vuelta, (except for a recap show on Sunday afternoon). That first year, I paid for a month RAI to get the Giro, and in September I had to drop my gringo programming to get Dish Latino Max, which has TVE for the Vuelta.

Phooey on that. I now have nothing ... and miss it terribly. Saving about $90 a month, but I miss the cycling and tennis on The Tennis Channel. Roku is okay for some stuff, but not sports. I'm just about ready to get Dish again.

On l'Alp d'Huez we sat in the bar and watched until they were 3km down the road. Then stepped out front to watch it all go by.
That is best way I know.

I sometimes record computer stuff to my old Panasonic DVR. It's not simple, so I need to keep these notes on how to do it.
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Note: steephill.tv, not steephill.com

I should be retired by the TDF next year and just say the word and I'll be sitting in the bar educating you about the finer points of Pierres Plonk over Guillaumes Vintage Vinegar.

We just upgrade our service every year for the month of July only...and then downgrade it back to Basic as soon as the Tour is over. That way we don't worry about the Expense vs Number Of Channels ratio, we just consider it a one-time fee for the privilege (sic) of being able to watch the TdF at home.

Pretty darned tempting. Nothing much better than hanging out in bar, having some good drinks and food, and lieing about cycling feats. There could actually be enough interest here for it happen!

Wish Universal Sports would broadcast at least a daily summary of the TdF. They are free on-air digital sub-channel of NBC (not HD) in the Atlanta market. They do cover a lot of the classics/euro races as well as cyclocross and track events, and most importantly cover the Giro and Vuelta.

Our condo satellite service dropped Versus a few years ago, so I bought the paid coverage for the laptop and iPhone last year, was acceptable with only a few blips. The Versus/NBC website indicates that the iPhone app is "coming soon", which I hope means before Saturday! Will try to connect the laptop to the HDTV to watch live/recorded as an experiment...

I found that it would cost $50 to add the Versus channel for one month to our Suddenlink cable lineup. Forget it.

I have a standing rule not to get on airplanes (it's actually the airports that are so unpleasant), but a Europe trip for 50+ers next year is very, very tempting. What could be cooler than watching the TdF with a bunch of people all sharing the same interest--and basically the same age?

Get all access via the internet on versus.com for $29.95.