Hasta La Gadget!

As we enjoy our first F1 action in the US since 2007 we’re glad that it’s in HD this time, however it still falling short in one area — in-car camera shots. Although the racing series belatedly made the jump to high definition broadcasts last year, protests from the teams over weight and space issues caused it to stick with standard-definition cameras for the on-board shots. Now that a couple of years have passed and presumably the technology has improved, that may be addressed next year, at the same time US broadcasts of the series move from Speed/Fox to NBC Sports. Formula One Supporters Association caught up to F1 journalist Christian Sylt who got a peek at future plans that include the possibility of HD in-car cameras, multi-channel formats offering different views of the track and an interactive 3D replay feature. We’ll have to wait and see how much — if any — of that is actually implemented any time soon, but if you’d like to check out the technology in use today, Speed TV has a live stream from several of the cars currently racing around the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas.

Filed under: Home Entertainment, HD

Formula 1’s on-board cameras may switch to HD next season originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 18 Nov 2012 14:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen Angry Birds go into strange places both figurative and literal, but Formula 1 racing? That’s a less natural mix than a peanut butter cup. As a way of backing race driver and fellow Finland native Heikki Kovalainen, Rovio has crafted Angry Birds Heikki, a free web game themed all around its namesake’s escapades during the F1 race year. The gameplay changes are more cosmetic than functional, although that leaderboard matters a little more in spirit than it might otherwise. Perhaps the biggest draw is simply that your gameplay schedule is intrinsically linked to Heikki’s: new sections only unlock as the real-world races get near, so you’ll have an incentive to keep coming back until the Sao Paulo race determines the F1 championship on November 21st. Let’s just hope that there aren’t too many road hogs spoiling either Heikki’s fun or our own.

[Thanks, Rodrigo]

Angry Birds Heikki: because F1 and fort-breaking games are like peanut butter and chocolate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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