NormanD
Lunatic Asylum Escapee
- Location
- Heworth the other side of life!
I've watched a number of the pro tours this year and so far the TV break up on each tour seems to be greater than any other year, or do I need my eyes tested 
Has TV technology gone backwards
- Thread starter NormanD
- Start date
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the_mikey
Legendary Member
- Location
- South Gloucestershire
Are you referring to general signal outages from moto-cameras? I don't think there's much that can be done other than move the race to flat open countryside.
The signal will be transmitted from the on road camera to a helicopter and then relayed back to a relay satellite uplink which will relay the signals again via satellite, which is then ultimately picked up at the broadcast control room where what you see is controlled, so there may be 3 or 4 moto-cameras and maybe one or two helicopters all providing video, someone will be selecting the best video feed to give you the best coverage, but the signal might not always be so great, that's why sometimes you will only get helicopter footage, and in really difficult terrain or due to restrictions on flying, or poor weather you might just get coverage of the finish line ,this happened at the Giro last year where there was no coverage of a mountain stage until the last few minutes.
Regardless of whether the technology is analogue or digital, the physics involved in transmitting radio waves remain the same, so trees, rocks, mountains, tall buildings and interference (don't forget the pressure on bandwidth is high so outside broadcasters don't always have the frequencies and bandwidth they'd like) will have the potential to disrupt a signal, and it's not really possible to have a moto-camera with a powerful transmitter so couple low power transmissions with environmental factors it becomes more likely that signal drop outs will occur.
The signal will be transmitted from the on road camera to a helicopter and then relayed back to a relay satellite uplink which will relay the signals again via satellite, which is then ultimately picked up at the broadcast control room where what you see is controlled, so there may be 3 or 4 moto-cameras and maybe one or two helicopters all providing video, someone will be selecting the best video feed to give you the best coverage, but the signal might not always be so great, that's why sometimes you will only get helicopter footage, and in really difficult terrain or due to restrictions on flying, or poor weather you might just get coverage of the finish line ,this happened at the Giro last year where there was no coverage of a mountain stage until the last few minutes.
Regardless of whether the technology is analogue or digital, the physics involved in transmitting radio waves remain the same, so trees, rocks, mountains, tall buildings and interference (don't forget the pressure on bandwidth is high so outside broadcasters don't always have the frequencies and bandwidth they'd like) will have the potential to disrupt a signal, and it's not really possible to have a moto-camera with a powerful transmitter so couple low power transmissions with environmental factors it becomes more likely that signal drop outs will occur.
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Booyaa
Veteran
- Location
- South Staffordshire
No. I don't recall HD and 3D in the 90's.
Booyaa
Veteran
- Location
- South Staffordshire
No. I don't recall HD and 3D in the 90's.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
We get a lot of interference from a nerk riding a Kiddie-Quad up and down the road (he's not a child) its caused by an unsuppressed spark plug 
. I'd love to chin him but she won't let me, Only lead to more trouble 
just hope it breaks down soon, it sounds about ready to.
. I'd love to chin him but she won't let me, Only lead to more trouble just hope it breaks down soon, it sounds about ready to.
Hont
Guru
- Location
- Bromsgrove
Indeed. There is a difference in the effects of poor signal though. With a weak or corrupted analogue signal, as long as there was some signal, you still got pictures (albeit snowy, ghosted, indistinct pictures) with digital if the signal is bad enough you get no picture at all - manifested as freezes or breakups.
It's the same with radio. I can listen to Radio 4 on LW in most of northern France. It's noisy, buzzing and indistinct but you can hear it. With DAB I can lose all sound as nearby as the M40.
The flip side is that digital doesn't need a perfect signal for perfect pictures/sound.
GrumpyGregry
Here for rides.
That is cos DAB radio is parp for millions of listeners.
Two identical radios in our bedroom. Whichever one is on her side works. Which ever one on mine? Gargling all the time. Even with two different DAB radios results are the same, and as for listening to DAB on the ground floor. forget it.
Flick of the Elbow
Guru
- Location
- Pentlands & West Lothian
One thing I've noticed is that the picture resolution from most US races is often awful. Can anyone offer an explanation ?
the_mikey
Legendary Member
- Location
- South Gloucestershire
Depends on a number of factors:
- Quality of the trans-atlantic satellite feed; If the feed is only a 576 or 420 resolution feed then it will look bad. HD feeds aren't always prevalent.
- Even if a feed is HD it will be broadcast at a different frame rate to European Broadcasts and will be down converted at the European TV studio meaning the picture quality will be affected slightly.
- Quality of the original video.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
ITV 4 is hardly a lesser channel, its more dependant on the original countries camera/edit suite kit.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
ITV HD is an online or Satelite feed, whereas ITV4 is a DTV channel so therefore you need to adjust the settings on your TV if it does not do this automatically (cheaper sets do not have this auto function)
