F1 TV Pro

[aaron8831]

First of all, I didn't want to start this thread to rub in the fact that F1's new OTT streaming service is available in the United States and not the U.K., but instead to share with everyone what my experience is like. Obviously if F1 TV Pro is successful the Sky deal will more than likely have to change and eventually everyone will have the option.

So, as the Spanish Grand Prix weekend approaches this will be the first opportunity to use F1 TV Pro and I'm beyond excited to try it out. Subscriptions opened up to the public two days ago here in the U.S. and I went ahead and jumped in with both feet and signed up for twelve months. At the moment there is nothing available on the website even though I've already paid so take that for whats it's worth. Supposedly all of the press conferences are going to be streamed so I'll be interested to see if that happens tomorrow. As the weekend progresses I will try to update this thread with how my experience is going and will be happy to answer any questions you all might have.

 

[vintly]

I'm glad of your potential report aaron8831. I'm slightly envious being here in the UK. I find Sky Sports pretty good on the whole but would have jumped in with both feet as well given half the chance. Look forward to hearing what you think.

 

[aaron8831]

It's a bit of a dilemma for me honestly because I'm one of apparently the few that has been very please with ESPN's takeover of F1 coverage in the U.S. We now have the Sky broadcast and we have it commercial free and it's honestly miles ahead of NBC in my opinion. However, the ability with F1 TV to basically control my own broadcast and select any of the driver cameras at any time is very exciting.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Can I ask how much the 12 months subscription cost pretty please?

 

[aaron8831]

It was $89.99 for 12 months or $11.99 month to month. For reference, I pay $44.99 a month for my tv package that includes ESPN and numerous other channels.

 

[aaron8831]

So the website went live this evening and I have to say there's real potential there. For the replay's of the 2018 races you have the ability to switch between any of the driver on board cameras and back to the main broadcast and it doesn't skip a beat. The archive is limited at the moment, but they have years listed all the way back to 1980 so it's a promising sign that it could eventually be full of content. So far so good, but the race weekend will be the real test to see how the website handles traffic.

 

[Greenlantern101]

Reasonable price as well. Way cheaper than paying for Sky sports in the UK.
Just a shame we are being excluded until 2024 by which time F1 UK audiences will be tiny.

 

[RasputinLives]

aaron8831 thanks for this thread and please keep us updated.

My main question at the minute is can all sessions be watched on catch up? I'm one of these people who doesn't usually get to see them all live and will record them on my TVO box and catch up a few hours after. Will I be able to do that on this service?

Also any word on the screening of the junior formula races?

 

[aaron8831]

I don't know what the delay is going to be like yet, but yes you will be able to go back and watch the race after it has happened. I'm curious to see if you can start the stream from the beginning while the race is ongoing. Some of the European races start at 0700 local time or earlier for me and there are times that I'll turn on the race and play catch up with the DVR.

I have read that by the end of the year the junior formula races are going to be included as well.

 

[Bill Boddy]

For a few years I have subscribed to F1 Access. Today I have had an email from F1 offering me a free upgrade to "a new service called F1 TV". Included in the email is a full F1 TV Content Schedule. As you can see the coverage for the UK is limited, presumably due to the Sky contract (damn Ecclestone), whereas the US is fill access. It is necessary to specify the country where you intend to use this facility, the card that you used for the original purchase has to be for the same country.

Formula 1

 

[Greenlantern101]

In other news the F1 app on my phone for live timing discharges my phone quicker than the phone charger it is plugged into can charge it. Well done all twats involved.

Not plugged in it takes half the phones charge in 90 minutes. Outstanding.

 

[aaron8831]

Sorry for the lack up updates through out the weekend, but there’s a very good reason for that. I woke up yesterday to watch qualifying and logged on to F1 TV and the stream was terrible. Kept dropping in and out and the onboards were hit and miss.

Received an email from F1 last night to apologize for the poor service and to inform me that it wouldn’t be fixed for the race. With that news in hand I didn’t even bother trying it for the race. They did refund two weeks worth of the price so I do have to give them credit there.

All in all I think it’s a promising idea with a lot of improvements needed to make it great. If I had to purchase it again I would probably hold off. ESPN has really done a good job so far this year, including streaming F2 and GP3 yesterday. Until there’s more improvement I can’t see F1 TV being more than a second screen during the race or for replaying the race and using the onboard selector for the replay. Hopefully they fill out the archive more than they have at the moment. That alone could be worth the price of admission.

 

[gethinceri]

In other news the F1 app on my phone for live timing discharges my phone quicker than the phone charger it is plugged into can charge it. Well done all twats involved.

Not plugged in it takes half the phones charge in 90 minutes. Outstanding.

Buy a better plug.

 

[RasputinLives]

aaron8831 I think you lucked out by not being able to watch the Spanish Grand Prix to be honest. The refund was probably an apology for how bad the race was.

 

[jez101]

I'm one of apparently the few that has been very please with ESPN's takeover of F1 coverage in the U.S. We now have the Sky broadcast and we have it commercial free and it's honestly miles ahead of NBC in my opinion.

You are certainly not the only one. With all the ads and poor commentary, I had stopped watching races on NBC.