Winter Olympics 2010 - Vancouver - BBC TWO/HD/RB/OL/IP

Yes - doubt he did himself many favours doing that. Why ask him back ? Given that he's retired from competitive skiing - perhaps he was hoping for some TV work... Not a great way to endear yourself to people who might book you again?



Yes - it's been quite disappointing that BBC Two have had a few nights with no highlights. (Last night there was BBC HD-only coverage - but again that was curtailed by other scheduled shows)

I think the Snow Board Cross and Ski Cross has surprised many by being so watchable. Fast events with very visible competition between people rather than against the clock.

They're definitely one of the best things to watch, but even the time trial stuff like the downhill skiing is all rather TV friendly - most events wrap up in little more than an hour with very little delay between competitors. Only the curling really drags on more than two hours at a time, but even that can be packaged very nicely into fairly brief highlights as often it's only the last few stones in each end which produce the result.

In addition with most of the skiing and ski-jumping events there isn't loads of qualifying rounds to get through - they're straight in with the medal races.

The only thing which doesn't work IMO - and I don't really understand why they do it at the Winter Olympics - is having the medals ceremonies in a separate event at medal plazas, rather than immediately after the event in the venues as in the summer games (where they have a rather pointless "flower ceremony" instead!). Though easy enough to put on the red button, broadcasters can't really break away from other action for an hour or so to show back to back medal ceremonies - hence why we only see those featuring the Brits.

The Inuit, international extended mix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4JjRTribxo

.... and so the thread emulates Lazarus ...

Weather deteriorating in Vancouver/Whistler today - Giant Slalom being run in flat light such a contrast from yesterday.

Steve Cram and Paula Radcliffe doing the commentary on the men's curling, alongside Rhona Martin. Has the world gone mad? Cram is doing a vaguely ok job of being the interested viewer asking a knowledgeable friend what's going on, but he seems very much out of his depth, and Radcliffe's presence is bizarre.

Is Dougie Donnelly no longer in the BBC's employ? And if not, hasn't Hazel Irvine commentated on curling before?

Radcliffe is in town to do some London 2012 promo activity tonight Vancouver time. She met up with Cram who invited her into the commentary box for this match. She's not a permanent addition to the team.

Well we all know how much the BBC and Cram especially love Paula Radcliffe. Even when that other British girl finished 4th I think in either the Olympics or World Champs they barely mentioned it and instead spent ages creating excuses for why Paula didn't finish the race and how she's still a world class athlete.

No issue with the BBC featuring some of our summer athletes in VTs or even as a brief studio guest, but they shouldn't be in the commentary box (not that she was commentating though!)

Is this still going?

The studio is located in Vancouver. NRK doesn't have studios ready for producing HD in Oslo. The alternative would be using NRKs HD1 OB-van for the studioproduction.



All the video from Canada is produced in 1080i25, but sent in 720p50. The conversion is done in Oslo.

Thanks Johan - though isn't all the OBS stuff produced by the host broadcasters 1080i29.97 (i.e. 59.94Hz interlaced) - as Canada is a 60Hz rather than 50Hz territory?

There is a standards conversion from 1080i29.97 to 1080i25 or 720p50 (i.e. a frame rate conversion) somewhere in the chain. So it sounds as if NRK are doing everything in 1080i29.97 at the IBC in Vancouver, backhauling in 1080i29.97 and then standards converting to 720p50 in Oslo (i.e. converting after backhaul, not before?)

Thanks also for the info about NRK's HD facilities. The BBC have temporarily upgraded one of their sport SD studio galleries in London to HD to handle the Winter Olympics (as the BBC are co-ordinating in London rather than Vancouver - backhauling HD multilaterals and SD unilaterals I believe)

Finland having a nightmare against the US in the Ice Hockey SF 13mins in 5 : 0

(make that 6 : 0)

Was Hazel Irvine closing the programme last night planned? Claire Balding hosted the first four hours or so from Whistler before crossing to Sue in the Vancouver schedule, who introduced the bobsleigh, speed skating and finally the curling which took up the final 3 hours, but once the curling wrapped up it was Hazel in the studio for the last half hour or so of the broadcast, which seems a rather pointless change.