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27 comments on BBC to show F1 practice live

1. 

   Seb C said on 19th February 2009, 19:36

   That’s great news, because with this seasons testing ban friday practise sessions could be rather entertaining with teams getting as much mileage as they can. Bring on the new season!

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2. 

   Robert McKay said on 19th February 2009, 20:21

   The guy in the know on the Digital Spy forum is confident that Saturday practice will be shown on the Red Button, and moreover the extra feeds will be available for all the sessions as well.

   If so, this is going to be sweet

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   • 

     Keith Collantine said on 19th February 2009, 22:28

     Fingers crossed! Saturday practice is usually the better of the three as well.

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3. 

   hitchcockm00 said on 19th February 2009, 20:24

   Fantastic, any news about GP2?

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     Keith Collantine said on 19th February 2009, 22:29

     Nope but I’ll let you know when there is. BBC is holding a press conference on it next week.

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4. 

   Chaz said on 19th February 2009, 22:00

   This is partial good news although I think it should not be exclusively on the red button but rather on one of the many other channels unused during most of the day (i.e. BBC3 & BBC4) so it can be recorded (which it can’t be on the red button). In addition to the red button I sincerely hope all the practices and race will be on the iPlayer to watch for up to a week thereafter. In fact, the BBC need to seriously think about getting a dedicated sport channel.

   Still no news on GP2 yet I guess…

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     Ginger Gitt said on 23rd February 2009, 0:35

     Unfortunately BBC3 and BBC4 are used during the day, when they aren’t broadcasting as those two the channels digital frequencies are used for CBBC and CBeebies. But I know what you mean, it’s a great idea, but not beneficial to anyone who works Monday to Friday, which is most of us.

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5. 

   StrFerrari4Ever said on 20th February 2009, 2:50

   great news hopefully the BBC dont disappoint practice sessions this season are going to be more entertaining and more crucial for teams and fans alike and with the BBC’s red button facility this is shaping up to be a great year ahead and Keith i do agree with you Saturday practice is generally more entertaining as the teams get prepared for qualifying and run a last few bits

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6. 

   Pete Walker said on 20th February 2009, 9:07

   Live practice sessions now as well? My girlfriend is going to kill me.

   I’m assuming these sessions will have commentary?

   Fingers crossed for GP2 as well, although I’m quite keen to see F2 too. Anybody had any news on that?

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7. 

   Chalky said on 20th February 2009, 9:35

   Well if they don’t you’ll always have FiveLive to tune into. I used to watch the ITV website and have listen to FiveLive for the commentary.

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8. 

   Robert McKay said on 20th February 2009, 10:25

   “This is partial good news although I think it should not be exclusively on the red button but rather on one of the many other channels unused during most of the day (i.e. BBC3 & BBC4) so it can be recorded (which it can’t be on the red button).”

   BBC3 and 4 don’t come on till 7pm in the evening, as they share bandwidth with other channels. You’re not going to see practice on BBC1 or 2, so red button and online will have to suffice. As for the red button recording – certain platforms can’t, that’s true, although there are still some ways to get round that, I think.

   “I’m quite keen to see F2 too. Anybody had any news on that?”

   I think Eurosport are picking it up, as it’s supporting the WTCC at a few rounds.

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   • 

     Phil said on 20th February 2009, 22:40

     You should be able to record on freeview by pointing to channel 300 or 301 (depending which of the 2 they use).

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9. 

   Stewart said on 20th February 2009, 11:44

   I’m glad they’re continuing the evening highlights show. If it were not illegal you could record and keep a copy of all the races. You might even have been doing that since the 1981 season. Of course having hundreds of hours of VHS recordings might be a pain to transfer to a digital format. Arghhhh!

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   • 

     Pete Walker said on 20th February 2009, 11:49

     I did that from 1997 to early 2007 and let me tell you, life’s a damn sight easier now I’ve stopped!

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10. 

    Pointer said on 20th February 2009, 11:52

    I think the red button content is now shown as an indiviual channel (down in the 70′s or 80′s on freeview), so i assume you can record from there. Does anyone know if it will all be on iPlayer for watch later anyway?

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    • 

      Keith Collantine said on 20th February 2009, 13:44

      Yep I think you’re right, there is a red button channel lurking away somewhere.

      I expect it’ll be on iPlayer for a limited time.

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    • 

      Chaz said on 20th February 2009, 16:48

      @ Pointer – do you have any idea what those numbers channel numbers might be if you have Sky?

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11. 

    Chris said on 20th February 2009, 16:31

    There will be live coverage of every on-track session online, as well as all the television broadcasts. from bbc website

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12. 

    Chris said on 20th February 2009, 16:33

    The BBC’s red button service will offer alternative video streams, such as on-board cameras and F1 data. also from bbc website

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13. 

    Ginger Gitt said on 23rd February 2009, 0:44

    If the Red Button is going to be used during races that could be entertaining. One thing I’d like to see added is in qualifying though, or more specifically after quali, and that is when comparing drivers’ laps. TV coverage of WRC sometimes uses overlapping video of two drivers, as does TV show Fifth Gear in their Car Shootouts, or to those not familiar with these like the Ghost function in most driving games. This way we can see the quali laps of Kimi, Lewis or Fernando side by side to see who gained and lost where.

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14. 

    EGC said on 23rd February 2009, 20:52

    Lucky boys…
    Lets see if we, out of the UK, are able to watch something online…
    I hope Justin works as well as last season
    Cheers.

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15. 

    terry9675 said on 25th March 2009, 15:33

    I watched the practice sessions last year on ITV website, but without the commetary it got a bit stale.

    so this year if they do it via the red button with commetary, thats whats expected when you think how much the TV license is.

    the bbc best do something special with it, cause the last time they had F1 on the beeb, there were none of this red button stuff to play with.

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