Subscribing to MotoGP

[socalrob]

I paid for the hi def subscription to MotoGP this season. I think it was $140.

My kid figured out how to hook up daughter's Apple laptop to the flatscreen, and it works great. I would put the video resolution on par with a standard broadcast on a hidef TV. Not quite HiDef quality, but close enough (I can't get speed channel in hidef anyway).

For example Germany race had almost 2 hours of commercial free (watching Speed always seemed like they cut to commercial at the wrong time) coverage just for the main race, & you can watch video of the practice & qualifying too. Not to mention having the 125 & Moto2 races.

I bit pricey sure, but really is a good value, works great, and supports the sport which needs the money.

[vintagemxr]

I've wondered about subscribing to the series. You're right, the SpeedTV coverage is chopped up and filled with commercials although the new HiDef quality is great. Speed covers the Moto2 races which is often more interesting than the MotoGP class. Difficult not to be interesting when they have 30 or more hard chargers on the track at the same time. 125 class doesn't do much for me for whatever reason.

We've been talking about cutting our DirectTV bill or even getting rid of it when this contract period ends. Debbie watches most of her TV over the Internet while she works on her art stuff and about the only thing on coming through the satellite that I care about is MotoGP. Would be cheaper just to subscribe to MotoGP and hook the laptop to the big screen like you guys have done.

the other Doug

[socalrob]

Doug,

I posted this because I am pretty happy with it. I see it as the wave of the future. My son had the cable from one of his gaming things - I think the cable might be $80. Probably lots cheaper if you get it online (or shop around). Even those standard HDMI cables can run from $10-$100 for basically the same thing depending on where you buy them. I think you do need a fairly current laptop and TV. My daughter's laptop is the cheaper series IBook, not the pricier MacBook IIRC. My TV has HDMI inputs. Probably good solutions for other input/outputs but I would check that out.

I hate speed after the fiasco early in the season when the did not show the race because the truck race ran long. That was the day I subscribed.

It was great watching today's race coverage which included the restart. Not sure how Speed handled that. Another nice thing is you can watch whenever you want as long as you kind of block the computer screen while logging on and scroll down to "no Spoilers" without seeing any results.

[vintagemxr]

Rob,

I was just looking into the whole 'net-on-the-TV thing just yesterday. Our TV has the requisite inputs: HDMI or PC-DVI. Debbie's laptop has the right outputs but getting her to unplug it from her desk arrangement could be a challenge. What I was doing yesterday was looking at the new generation of Blu-Ray DVD players which have WiFi built into them and can be on your home network to connect to local drives or connect to movie sites on the web and then pass the info through to the TV. Not sure if they can connect to just any old site though like the MotoGP site. There are also devices call "media extenders" to send videos and must from the computer to the TV. Still reading, still scratching my head.

the other Doug

[Deans BMW]

That all sounds so fantastic, only problem is that I don't have a clue of what you are talking about...................:umph:

[DarthRider]

Rob, I sure could have used that yesterday, very poor coverage.
No M-GP2
No pre-race anything.
No warm up lap.
Incessant commercials.
No podium play.
No interviews.
No follow up on injured rider(s).
For one of the best M-GPs I've ever seen.

$140...let's see, how many lawn mows would that be?