|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 2, 2016 11:14:17 GMT -5
It's almost that time again! My go-tos for Summer Olympics are fencing, badminton, and table tennis. As in, the stuff I will seek out online (because it probably isn't on TV).
Fencing coverage and commentary in particular has gotten really good in the past decade. I don't know why swordfights don't get more TV time. Yes, there's a significant amount of mask-whip-scream, but that's what slow motion replays are for. I guess because the competitors don't have the skimpy outfits of so many events.
Badminton, table tennis, and beach volleyball are all good, fast-paced competition to watch. Large team sports in the Olympics put me to sleep.
Combative sports like judo, wrestling, and boxing are interesting for a while but are harder for me to appreciate without knowing the moves, which is how I feel about professional boxing and MMA. Isn't that why Pro Rasslin' exists, because the fight isn't all that entertaining without a storyline?
The spectacle of Olympics-only stuff is nice to see for a bit because it's only once every four years and it is super impressive: weight lifting, the field part of Track and Field, gymnastics. None for very long, though.
Running, cycling, and swimming: races are boring, sorry. That's why horse racing has to have gambling and drinking. At least things like sailing have nice scenery and obstacles to navigate, but I don't need to see more than a few runs.
|
|
|
|
Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Aug 2, 2016 11:24:56 GMT -5
The good news is that NBC hopefully won't feel the need to stagger coverage into prime time.
The bad news is literally everything else.
|
|
|
|
Post by The Stuffingtacular She-Hulk on Aug 2, 2016 12:51:35 GMT -5
Fencing coverage and commentary in particular has gotten really good in the past decade. I don't know why swordfights don't get more TV time. Yes, there's a significant amount of mask-whip-scream, but that's what slow motion replays are for. I guess because the competitors don't have the skimpy outfits of so many events. Fun fact: I'm longtime friends with the youngest sister of Sada Jacobson, who won the 2004 bronze in individual women's sabre (and is the first women's sabre Olympic medalist), the 2008 silver in individual women's sabre, and the 2008 bronze in team sabre. |
|
|
|
Post by Ben Grimm on Aug 2, 2016 13:25:31 GMT -5
I'm fully expecting at least a couple of people to die during these Olympics, probably more, and probably a few kidnapped as well. I'm also not expecting anyone to learn anything from that.
|
|
|
|
Post by MarkInTexas on Aug 2, 2016 14:43:49 GMT -5
Since this is the first Summer Olympics I'll be working in an office as opposed to home since 2000, this will be the first Summer Games that I'll mostly be restricted to prime-time coverage. That's kind of depressing since NBC only shows swimming, diving, track, gymnastics, and beach volleyball during prime-time, with every other moment devoted to commercials, interviews, and schmaltzy feature stories about the athletes. I love the Olympics, and will watch while I'm home, but I'm also feeling a little over them this year. It should help that everything is also going to be online, and while I don't think I'll be cuing up synchronized swimming while I'm at work, it also means I don't have to worry so much about missing some event or another, since I can watch it in its entirety pretty much forever.
|
|
Baron von Costume
TI Forumite
Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
Posts: 4,683 
|
Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 2, 2016 16:19:30 GMT -5
First summer Olympics in forever that I haven't been on holiday in the States for some/all of it. I'm so happy to be free of NBC coverage!
|
|
|
|
Post by Superb Owl 🦉 on Aug 2, 2016 16:35:32 GMT -5
First summer Olympics in forever that I haven't been on holiday in the States for some/all of it. I'm so happy to be free of NBC coverage! I'm going to be on a plane or in Germany for most of it, I didn't even think about that. |
|
|
|
Post by Nudeviking on Aug 2, 2016 19:36:27 GMT -5
It's almost that time again! My go-tos for Summer Olympics are fencing, badminton, and table tennis. As in, the stuff I will seek out online (because it probably isn't on TV). Fencing coverage and commentary in particular has gotten really good in the past decade. I don't know why swordfights don't get more TV time. Yes, there's a significant amount of mask-whip-scream, but that's what slow motion replays are for. I guess because the competitors don't have the skimpy outfits of so many events. The screaming and weird post-stabbing poses fencers make, make the sport for me. Knowing nothing of the rules of fencing I like to assume that they are awarded points for how loud they scream and how cool their post-point victory poses are. As for me, I am looking forward to the madness that is women's team handball once again gracing my television screen. Other than that I'll watch badminton, archery, table tennis, judo, taekwondo, and gun shooting because those are the things Korea is good at and therefore the things they put on TV in prime time. And as is the case every year the Olympics roll around I count myself fortunate that the things Korea is good at are rarely the same things America is good at, so I don't have to get into weird nationalistic sports based arguments with my wife or coworkers. |
|
|
|
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Aug 2, 2016 20:06:21 GMT -5
I will be Interneting/DVRing as much table tennis as possible and wishing that there were curling or hockey (also, Winter Olympics 2018 complaint: stupid NHL for pulling their players out of the only worldwide hockey tournament that anyone actually cares about). I'll probably also watch swimming and some of the shorter track events. Also water polo.
|
|
|
|
Post by MrsLangdonAlger on Aug 2, 2016 21:38:03 GMT -5
All I care about is when gymnastics is on. Which is actually hard to figure out due to NBC's inscrutable website!
|
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 2, 2016 22:18:04 GMT -5
Fencing coverage and commentary in particular has gotten really good in the past decade. I don't know why swordfights don't get more TV time. Yes, there's a significant amount of mask-whip-scream, but that's what slow motion replays are for. I guess because the competitors don't have the skimpy outfits of so many events. The screaming and weird post-stabbing poses fencers make, make the sport for me. Knowing nothing of the rules of fencing I like to assume that they are awarded points for how loud they scream and how cool their post-point victory poses are. When I was club president, I used to summarize the weapons thusly: Rules: Foil is stab-the-torso. There are rules about whose turn it is to stab that control the points and make it hard. Epee is stab-anywhere. There are no rules, but you'll be better at it if you practice foil first. Saber is slash-anywhere-from-the-waist-up. There are rules like foil, but it's more important who looks cooler/wants it more. History: Foil comes from training soldiers. It's no use to kill the guy if he kills you at the same time, so you have to learn rules. Epee comes from the dueling rapier. Kill the guy, he kills you, whatever. Saber comes from the cutting weapon of the mounted horseman. It would cowardly to attack a man's legs or horse, so only waist-up. Personality (I didn't say this part to non-fencers): Foil is for nerds, control freaks, virgins, fatties, pedants, southpaws, kids, old folks, newbs, and/or veterans. Epee is for the clumsy, the lanky, the tall, the skinny, the lazy, the cowardly, the sneaky, and/or people with bad knees. Saber is for freaks, smokers, metalheads, people with tattoos and piercings, loud talkers, people with personality disorders, non-virgins, and/or LARPers. |
|
|
|
Post by Jimmy James on Aug 5, 2016 13:13:04 GMT -5
The screaming and weird post-stabbing poses fencers make, make the sport for me. Knowing nothing of the rules of fencing I like to assume that they are awarded points for how loud they scream and how cool their post-point victory poses are. I have it on good authority that fencing winners are determined by who has the most withering repartee, though the judges may award extra points for an Errol Flynn-quality mustache. |
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 5, 2016 13:22:03 GMT -5
We're going to an Olympics party Saturday night, when the TV coverage is gymnastics, swimming, and beach volleyball on NBC, judo, weightlifting, and soccer on NBC Sports. I hope we do kind kind of gambling, particularly if they only have regular NBC.
Maybe I'll check ahead of time if someone plans to have streaming going on laptops.
|
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 5, 2016 19:45:21 GMT -5
Watching the opening ceremonies. They're pretty good, but like absolutely any other live event you just want the broadcasters to shut the hell up. Now we've got a performance of "The Girl From Ipanema" - the broadcasters just talk over the show so that you can't hear the singing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Aug 5, 2016 22:47:19 GMT -5
Watching the opening ceremonies. They're pretty good, but like absolutely any other live event you just want the broadcasters to shut the hell up. Now we've got a performance of "The Girl From Ipanema" - the broadcasters just talk over the show so that you can't hear the singing. I'm watching it now. I enjoyed how uncomfortable the announcers with the celebration of Alberto Santos do Mont. But seriously? It's only an hours' difference. Hell, I live in California, and they're staggering it by four hours. Are they just doing this with the opening ceremony, or did they not learn their fucking lesson after everyone in the universe shit on NBC!? Fucking hell. |
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 5, 2016 23:04:12 GMT -5
Watching the opening ceremonies. They're pretty good, but like absolutely any other live event you just want the broadcasters to shut the hell up. Now we've got a performance of "The Girl From Ipanema" - the broadcasters just talk over the show so that you can't hear the singing. I'm watching it now. I enjoyed how uncomfortable the announcers with the celebration of Alberto Santos do Mont. But seriously? It's only an hours' difference. Hell, I live in California, and they're staggering it by four hours. Are they just doing this with the opening ceremony, or did they not learn their fucking lesson after everyone in the universe shit on NBC!? Fucking hell. The funniest moment of the night was somewhere in the Ts of march of nations: the flag carrier came out, this ridiculously muscled dude oiled up, shining and shirtless. The lady broadcasters were all like, "slow that down!" |
|
|
|
Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Aug 5, 2016 23:28:32 GMT -5
I'm watching it now. I enjoyed how uncomfortable the announcers with the celebration of Alberto Santos do Mont. But seriously? It's only an hours' difference. Hell, I live in California, and they're staggering it by four hours. Are they just doing this with the opening ceremony, or did they not learn their fucking lesson after everyone in the universe shit on NBC!? Fucking hell. The funniest moment of the night was somewhere in the Ts of march of nations: the flag carrier came out, this ridiculously muscled dude oiled up, shining and shirtless. The lady broadcasters were all like, "slow that down!" That's patriarchal and heteronormative and slut-shaming and Jerry Seinfeld and junk. Kidding aside, I'm enjoying the procession. I'm looking forward to what the Israeli national costume looks like, but I also suspect the US garb will be embarrassingly informal. |
|
Baron von Costume
TI Forumite
Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
Posts: 4,683
|
Post by Baron von Costume on Aug 6, 2016 0:10:41 GMT -5
I swapped over from the live CBC coverage to the NBC delayed to see how bad it was and only lasted about 30 seconds.
|
|
|
|
Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Aug 6, 2016 0:17:10 GMT -5
I swapped over from the live CBC coverage to the NBC delayed to see how bad it was and only lasted about 30 seconds. Thank you! Now are you assholes going to give us access to your live stream? Estonia walks in looking like "I really hope Russia doesn't invade while we're gone." |
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Aug 6, 2016 2:27:39 GMT -5
Watching the opening ceremonies. They're pretty good, but like absolutely any other live event you just want the broadcasters to shut the hell up. Now we've got a performance of "The Girl From Ipanema" - the broadcasters just talk over the show so that you can't hear the singing. I'm watching it now. I enjoyed how uncomfortable the announcers with the celebration of Alberto Santos do Mont. But seriously? It's only an hours' difference. Hell, I live in California, and they're staggering it by four hours. Are they just doing this with the opening ceremony, or did they not learn their fucking lesson after everyone in the universe shit on NBC!? Fucking hell. I fucking hate you, NBC. Not only was the event tape delayed on a STAGGERED schedule, but the streaming online started AN HOUR AFTER the Ceremony started on television. NBC online apparently doesn't realize that Prime Time in Arizona starts at 7pm. Or they don't realize that we're not on Daylight Saving Time? Or some such fuckup. In the era of live tweeting, NBC not only tape delays but STAGGERS the start time. And of course, the coverage was brutal. Lauer and Co talked over everything. They could barely bring themselves to mention any athletes from other countries. Sometimes when a country walked in, their best contribution was "So famous American athlete [insert name] was born in this country!" Shameful. Have you all read any of the interviews from NBC execs about why they are tape delaying the Opening Ceremony and several other events such as Swimming and Gymnastics? John Miller, NBC's chief marketing officer, seems to say that delaying the broadcast is OK because women don't care about the results: "The people who watch the Olympics are not particularly sports fans. More women watch the games than men, and for the women, they're less interested in the result and more interested in the journey. It's sort of like the ultimate reality show and miniseries wrapped into one. And to tell the truth, it has been the complaint of a few sportswriters. It has not been the complaint of the vast viewing public." Dear NBC and John Miller, in particular, FUCK YOU. Sincerely, DesertDweller and many of her female sports-loving friends. Soooooo..... who knows a good, free VPN I can use? I couldn't care less about the "journey". I just want to see the actual competition and results. In 2012 I used a VPN to live stream through the BBC. It was awesome. I'd like to do that again. Also, as MLA says above, the NBC website is inscrutable. I spent over 5 minutes earlier trying to find the actual swimming start times for the heats tomorrow. I mean, the names of the swimmers, what heats they are swimming, and the start time. You know, actual competition/results stuff. First I waded through several pages of videos and athlete profiles (JOURNEY!), then I clicked "Schedule" and was brought to yet more videos and athlete stories. I then tried "Events" and got yet more videos and athlete stories. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!! I was just about to give up and go straight to the Olympics site when I finally found what I was looking for. Due to the earlier screwup with the streaming schedule for the Opening Ceremony, I also don't know if NBC's website thinks I am in Mountain Time or Pacific Time. NBC, there is a difference between MST and MDT. I live in MST. Colorado and New Mexico are in MDT. California is in PDT. These are DIFFERENT when it comes to television schedules!!!! So, when you say an event happens at 6pmMT, you don't really meant MST, right? You mean MDT? So, I should just pretend I live in California for this schedule? Yet, when I log in under my DirecTV login, which would tell NBC where my home NBC station is located, NBC still gives me all start times online in MT. Ugh, I really need a VPN, you guys. I already miss the BBC coverage and the actual sports haven't even started yet. |
|
|
|
Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Aug 6, 2016 8:37:44 GMT -5
Desert Dweller Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Side note: They didn't screw up the timing for Arizona. All of NBC's online content is on an hour delay.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lt. Broccoli on Aug 6, 2016 9:28:30 GMT -5
I swapped over from the live CBC coverage to the NBC delayed to see how bad it was and only lasted about 30 seconds. Peter Mansbridge is still kind of a doofus though. |
|
|
|
Post by Return of the Thin Olive Duke on Aug 6, 2016 10:16:15 GMT -5
I swapped over from the live CBC coverage to the NBC delayed to see how bad it was and only lasted about 30 seconds. Peter Mansbridge is still kind of a doofus though. Is he continually romanticizing the favelas like Bob Costas? |
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 6, 2016 12:32:53 GMT -5
GODDAMN IT NBC
I'm trying to watch multiple rounds of women's epee online. It's split between streams just like the NCAA tournament can't broadcast every game on the same channel at the same time. So I'm going back to watch alternates, and because the live coverage is over it keeps directing me to live "gold zone" coverage of fucking swimming. Who the fuck cares about watching an event they didn't select? What's the point of online streaming if you can't go back to stream any part of it?
Wifemate is like, "tweet at them!" Yeah, this will be the time they finally listen after everyone complaining about the same issues every two years.
ETA: after screaming at my computer for an hour then typing this, they finally put up replay links. Grrrr.
|
|
|
|
Post by ganews on Aug 6, 2016 15:02:12 GMT -5
Has anyone else done any streaming yet and seen the Yellow Screen of Coma? At first I thought they were just cutting the feed in between bouts to save internet money or something, but it also comes in the 60 second intra-match breaks. Or sometimes in the middle of active play. And sometimes doesn't come back until several points have been scored! It will happen right in the middle of the play-by-play broadcasters talking, too, so it's clearly not planned. Backing up the video feed, doesn't help, so it's not a buffering issue (although that happens as well).
ETA: we're between bouts now and watching the Yellow Screen. Every few minutes there's 30s of crowd shots and empty piste (that's the platform for fencing) before back to yellow. I'm starting to think it's just being controlled by some dude in New York occasionally peeking in to see if the action has restarted yet.
|
|
|
|
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Aug 6, 2016 15:56:41 GMT -5
Just watched American table tennis player Yue Wu pull off an upset. Yay table tennis!
|
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Aug 6, 2016 17:52:08 GMT -5
Tried to watch some of the qualifying rounds of men's gymnastics on NBC's streaming service. What a disaster.
Seriously, does anyone have a recommendation of a VPN I can use for these 2 weeks? The BBC streaming service was much better.
|
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Aug 6, 2016 18:12:35 GMT -5
Desert Dweller Don't worry your pretty little head about it. Side note: They didn't screw up the timing for Arizona. All of NBC's online content is on an hour delay. No, you aren't getting it, the times on the website are all wrong, too! When I log in with my tv provider, which would show them where I am, the site converts all the times to "MT". Except what they mean is MDT. I am in MST. So all the times on the website are wrong. It does not allow me to change this to say ET. Or even the actual start time of the event Rio time. Those would be easy for me to see, recognize and convert. When it shows me MT, everything is an hour wrong, even though I am in Mountain Time! |
|
|
|
Post by Desert Dweller on Aug 6, 2016 22:44:41 GMT -5
GODDAMN IT NBC I'm trying to watch multiple rounds of women's epee online. It's split between streams just like the NCAA tournament can't broadcast every game on the same channel at the same time. So I'm going back to watch alternates, and because the live coverage is over it keeps directing me to live "gold zone" coverage of fucking swimming. Who the fuck cares about watching an event they didn't select? What's the point of online streaming if you can't go back to stream any part of it? Wifemate is like, "tweet at them!" Yeah, this will be the time they finally listen after everyone complaining about the same issues every two years. ETA: after screaming at my computer for an hour then typing this, they finally put up replay links. Grrrr. I swear to God, could their Olympics website have a worse design? I don't think so. And I want to point out the the BBC's Olympics website is also a total mess. Why are these sites designed to make it so hard to find the stuff I want? The media may not think the Olympics are sports, but I THINK SO! I want schedules and results! Stop burying these! And YES! The way the streaming is used on the website is ridiculous! I tried to watch live streaming of gymnastic qualifying. This was curated coverage by someone, I don't know who. I missed Group 1, which had the Japanese team aka World Champions. So, I tried to watch the replay. This is a mess. It doesn't let you follow one team. It didn't even let me stay on one event. It may as well have been NBC's prime time coverage, just flitting from athlete to athlete with no discernible pattern. On the plus side, there was no inane commentary. On the minus side, no commentary meant I had no idea why it was switching from athlete to athlete, except in cases where I knew it was showing me a top gymnast on a specific apparatus. So, roughly 60% of the time? By the time the replay of Group 2 got posted, they at least let you stream per apparatus. That is not quite what I was looking for, but it was closer. Here's what I actually wanted for replay streaming: Click on the results or schedule of competition - Have a link next to each athlete's name that lets you watch that event. If it is team results, link to the replay of that team's event. If you select an athlete, link video(s) showing all of their events. For a specific match or round, post the video of just that match or round. For live gymnastics streaming, I want the feed to stay with whoever the highest scorers/favorites are, and then cut to their nearest competitors during breaks in their schedule. Same thing for Swimming replays. If I click results of a race, I want to see a link to watch video of that race. These replays are awful. They are 2-3 hour feeds that make it extremely hard to jump ahead to see what you want. Results page has no links to video. The SCHEDULE page frequently doesn't have links to video, unless it happens to be live. Live Swimming is so far the best live stream feed. That is because that venue stays pretty consistently busy. Yeah, yeah, I know I am asking for NBC to actually EDIT their replay streams. I also know this doesn't take very long to do now. And MLB can post video clips within about 5-10 minutes for specific plays from a game. They also post videos that are an edit of a specific inning, all of a players ABs, or a look at the entirety of one specific pitcher's game. (Once again, MLB proves why their streaming service kicks the ass of every other sports organization.) I feel like BBC's 2012 streaming service was set up much better than theirs is this year, too. Basically, I am really irritated with my attempts to stream Olympic events today. |
|
|
|
Post by Roy Batty's Pet Dove on Aug 6, 2016 23:52:17 GMT -5
GODDAMN IT NBC I'm trying to watch multiple rounds of women's epee online. It's split between streams just like the NCAA tournament can't broadcast every game on the same channel at the same time. So I'm going back to watch alternates, and because the live coverage is over it keeps directing me to live "gold zone" coverage of fucking swimming. Who the fuck cares about watching an event they didn't select? What's the point of online streaming if you can't go back to stream any part of it? Wifemate is like, "tweet at them!" Yeah, this will be the time they finally listen after everyone complaining about the same issues every two years. ETA: after screaming at my computer for an hour then typing this, they finally put up replay links. Grrrr. I swear to God, could their Olympics website have a worse design? I don't think so. And I want to point out the the BBC's Olympics website is also a total mess. Why are these sites designed to make it so hard to find the stuff I want? The media may not think the Olympics are sports, but I THINK SO! I want schedules and results! Stop burying these! And YES! The way the streaming is used on the website is ridiculous! I tried to watch live streaming of gymnastic qualifying. This was curated coverage by someone, I don't know who. I missed Group 1, which had the Japanese team aka World Champions. So, I tried to watch the replay. This is a mess. It doesn't let you follow one team. It didn't even let me stay on one event. It may as well have been NBC's prime time coverage, just flitting from athlete to athlete with no discernible pattern. On the plus side, there was no inane commentary. On the minus side, no commentary meant I had no idea why it was switching from athlete to athlete, except in cases where I knew it was showing me a top gymnast on a specific apparatus. So, roughly 60% of the time? By the time the replay of Group 2 got posted, they at least let you stream per apparatus. That is not quite what I was looking for, but it was closer. Here's what I actually wanted for replay streaming: Click on the results or schedule of competition - Have a link next to each athlete's name that lets you watch that event. If it is team results, link to the replay of that team's event. If you select an athlete, link video(s) showing all of their events. For a specific match or round, post the video of just that match or round. For live gymnastics streaming, I want the feed to stay with whoever the highest scorers/favorites are, and then cut to their nearest competitors during breaks in their schedule. Same thing for Swimming replays. If I click results of a race, I want to see a link to watch video of that race. These replays are awful. They are 2-3 hour feeds that make it extremely hard to jump ahead to see what you want. Results page has no links to video. The SCHEDULE page frequently doesn't have links to video, unless it happens to be live. Live Swimming is so far the best live stream feed. That is because that venue stays pretty consistently busy. Yeah, yeah, I know I am asking for NBC to actually EDIT their replay streams. I also know this doesn't take very long to do now. And MLB can post video clips within about 5-10 minutes for specific plays from a game. They also post videos that are an edit of a specific inning, all of a players ABs, or a look at the entirety of one specific pitcher's game. (Once again, MLB proves why their streaming service kicks the ass of every other sports organization.) I feel like BBC's 2012 streaming service was set up much better than theirs is this year, too. Basically, I am really irritated with my attempts to stream Olympic events today. I'm assuming that they're not playing it right now in AZ because it's earlier, but it's 12:50 am EST as I write this, and I left the TV on in the background during the local news after prime time coverage and now there's men's gymnastics, the event with the one bar that they do flips and stuff on, so if either you or MrsLangdonAlger or anyone else who wants to watch gymnastics if you see this in time, perhaps your local NBC station will be showing the same coverage after your local news? |
|
