BernieEcclestone
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Ecclestone proclaims no 3D broadcasts for F1 as the sport prepares for HDTV this weekend
If you thought that the upcoming debut (delayed after Bahrain withdrew due to unrest in the region, leaving Australia on the 27th) of Formula 1 racing in high definition this weekend would finally put an end to Bernie Ecclestone commenting about broadcast technology, you were wrong. According to PitPass, the F1 chief said "I've always said 3D will never be used," when asked about it recently. This, despite LG's tests of the technology last year and curious declaration by Korean provider SingTel that it will actually broadcast races in 3D this year, according to Crave Asia. Of course, this is the same guy who claimed we would have to wait until 2012 for HD, but the article also notes he may have a personal objection to the technology due to being blind in one eye. We haven't seen any footage of F1 action in 3D yet, but after the long, long wait for F1 HDTV broadcasts, we wouldn't expect it to lead the way in other formats regardless of any potential health issues.
Formula 1 could see high definition broadcasts (except for in-car cameras) next year
In our last crazy Bernie Ecclestone update, the F1 boss had suggested we could be two years away from high definition Formula 1 broadcasts, but since then he's apparently indicated it could happen as soon as next year. Last week, he apparently told German media that he's "not sure" whether the series will be in HD next year, citing problems fitting HD cameras on the cars. That other series like IRL have no problem squeezing the cams in has apparently gone unnoticed. At this point, we don't expect anything better than the current widescreen feed until well into the era of Super Hi-Vision, but just in case things change, we'll keep you posted
F1 boss Ecclestone says no high definition feed until 2012
Bad news for Formula One fans worldwide, as Bernie Ecclestone told the media we will likely have to wait until 2012 to get a glimpse of the racing series in high definition. Trailing every other autosport federation we can think of, and nearly every sport in existence, F1 spent the weekend during the Canadian GP testing HD and even 3D cameras and feeds, but according to Ecclestone there aren't enough viewers that want it. Andrew Barratt, vice president of F1 sponsor LG backed Ecclestone's assertions, calling F1 "the most technical sport in the world to shoot" and saying the differences in the varied locales make it tough to get right, in his comments to Autosport. From our perspective, it was shocking when we couldn't watch the US GP in F1 in 2007, that it could take five more years to make the jump is nothing short of ridiculous.
