Olympic Tv Coverage In Los?

[jaideeguy]

Just wondering where is best to watch the olympics this next week or [how long]?

Haven't seen any advertising on UBC, or Dream tv and wife hasn't seen any on Thai TV.

Haven't even seen a schedule of events....

Mainly interested in opening cerimonies, woman's gymnastics, diving and a couple of more.

[jaideeguy]

I just found the official schedule and it is quite user friendly....

http://en.beijing2008.cn/schedule/

[PattayaParent]

It's not being shown in Thailand.

There might be some events shown on local Thai TV when a local athlete is involved.

Some pubs with full satellite coverage might have it on if it's shown on Supersport.

[vegas]

Thais are not interested in the world's biggest sporting event. If there was an event where the athletes screamed, slapped and cried all over each other, it would have record TV ratings in Thailand.

[jumnien]

I think UBC is not showing the Olympics in protest of Chinese human rights issues.

[PattayaParent]

I think UBC is not showing the Olympics in protest of Chinese human rights issues.

More likely they don't want to pay the money for the broadcast rights.

[jfchandler]

OK...so...I went to the NBC Olympics web site today to see what could be accomplished here from LOS in terms of video streaming.... For me, the answer thus far, is not much....

The site has a registration and log-in feature, which involves entering a U.S. address and zip code and other personal information... But that process doesn't appear particularly related to gaining the right to view online videos...

To access video on the site, it also requires the installation, if your PC doesn't already have it, of Microsoft's Silverlight software. The NBC site includes a link to this free plug-in download.

Whether trying under my NBC Olympics registered ID or without it, I several times got an error message indicating the Olympics video streaming content was only available to U.S. residents.

When doing some things to obtain a U.S. IP address, one could access the video... But at least during the daytime on a True 2 mbs DLS connection in Bangkok, it ran very choppily and required constant rebuffering every few seconds.... Hardly a satisfying viewing experience.

PS - The viewing didn't work at all using Mozilla Firefox 3....perhaps because the NBC video player is Silverlight based.... It did work marginally with Internet Explorer 7... again... assuming you can get past the U.S. IP issue and have a fast enough connection here...

[jfchandler]

Here is NBC's FAQ on viewing the Olympics online...

PS - It also lists a correction from my earlier post, saying PC users can view Olympics video without installing Silverlight, if they are running XP or Vista and have "a supported version of Internet Explorer" and Windows Media Player installed.

NBC Olympics.com Video FAQ Q: Is it possible to watch the video in full screen?

Users that have Microsoft Silverlight installed will be able to watch the video in Enhanced Mode, which includes a larger size video and the ability to view up to four videos simultaneously.

Q: What is Enhanced Mode?

Enhanced Mode provides an unprecedented way to consume the 3600+ hours of Beijing 2008 Olympics content that will be made available on nbcolympics.com. For more information about the enhanced player, click here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/newscenter/silverlight/index.html

Q: Can I watch Olympics video content on my phone?

Yes, NBC has a complete mobile site at http://mobile.nbcolympics.com. For more information please check out: http://www.nbcolympics.com/mobile.

Q: Can we watch video on nbcolympics.com outside of the United States?

NBC has the right to broadcast Olympic competition video on the internet for the United States & U.S. Territories (excluding Puerto Rico). Users outside of those locations will have access to a limited set of non-event content.

Q: How long is the video content available on the site?

All video content will be available for on-demand viewing until 12/31/2008

Q: What are the minimum web browser requirements for viewing video on nbcolympics.com?

Video is currently supported on the following browsers:

• Internet Explorer 6, 7 for Windows (2003, XP SP2 or greater, and Vista)

• Firefox 1.5, 2, 3 for Windows (2003, XP SP2 or greater, and Vista) and Macintosh (Intel only)

• Safari 2, 3 for Macintosh (Intel only)

Q: What are the minimum hardware requirements for viewing video on nbcolympics.com?

For the best experience, NBC recommends the following minimum hardware and broadband connections:

(using Silverlight):

• Standard Player: 2.4 GHz Pentium 4 with 512 MB RAM or Intel-based Macintosh, 512k broadband connection

• Enhanced Player: 3.2GHz Pentium 4 with 1GB RAM or Intel-based Macintosh, 768k broadband connection

• Live Video Control Room: 3.2GHz Pentium 4 with 1GB RAM or Intel-based Macintosh, 768k broadband connection

Machine and network conditions may vary during playback and affect the end-user experience.

Q: What is Microsoft Silverlight?

Silverlight is a lightweight, cross-platform web browser plug-in from Microsoft that enables rich multimedia experiences like the Enhanced Mode player on nbcolympics.com. You can learn more about Microsoft Silverlight at http://silverlight.net.

Q: Is Microsoft Silverlight required to watch video on nbcolympics.com?

Windows XP, 2003, and Vista users will be able to watch all video content without installing Silverlight if they are using a supported version of Internet Explorer and have Windows Media Player installed.

The enhanced player experience is only available through Microsoft Silverlight. It includes a larger-size video and the ability to watch up to four simultaneous live events at once. For more information about the enhanced player, click here: http://www.nbcolympics.com/newscenter/silverlight/index.html

Q: Silverlight 2 is a “beta” product. Is it supported?

Yes, Microsoft Silverlight 2 Beta 2 is a fully supported product from Microsoft.

Q: What version of Mac OS X do I need to have installed?

Silverlight is supported on Intel-based computers running Mac OS X 10.4.8+ “Tiger” and 10.5+ “Leopard”. Silverlight 2 is not supported on PowerPC-based machines.

Q: I have Silverlight 1 installed on my machine. Do I need to upgrade?

Yes. The NBC Olympics video player uses new features only available in Silverlight 2 beta 2. Silverlight is a small download and installs quickly. Silverlight 2 is backwards-compatible with Silverlight 1.

Q: I have run the Silverlight installation program several times but the website is asking me to install again.

Some users will not be able to upgrade Silverlight due to their OS settings. If you are seeing this issue then you should follow these steps:

1. Uninstall Silverlight as described by this Silverlight support page: http://support.microsoft.com/silverlight#tab3

2. Restart your computer

3. Visit http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/index.html

4. Click on any of the videos

5. When prompted, install Silverlight again

6. When installation is complete, restart your browser

7. Return to http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/index.html

Q: Why do I need to restart my browser after installing Silverlight?

Some users will be prompted to restart their browsers if they are upgrading from a previous version of Silverlight. In most cases, users will not have to restart their web browsers after installing Silverlight.

Q: How do I uninstall Microsoft Silverlight?

See the Silverlight support page at http://support.microsoft.com/silverlight#tab3

Q: I can view on-demand video content, but not the live video. I am using the Silverlight player.

The stream may be blocked by a network proxy that requires user authentication. Microsoft has confirmed that this is not currently supported in Silverlight 2.

Q: How do I contact NBC about my experience on nbcolympics.com?

Please submit your feedback to [email protected]

[Crossy]

For those of you who need your Olympics fix and don't mind the delay (a few hours) of a P2P download, thebox.bz is promising to capture as much (if not all) of the BBC coverage as possible

Membership is open right now, 5000 free slots last time I looked

[bendix]

Thais are not interested in the world's biggest sporting event. If there was an event where the athletes screamed, slapped and cried all over each other, it would have record TV ratings in Thailand.

The fact that Thais are not interested in the world's biggest sporting event suggests that it can't, in fact, be the world's biggest sporting event. Otherwise it would be watched with fervent interest and broadcasters would have bought it at all costs, sponsors lined up etc etc.

Let's face it - how much of the olympics is interesting? Why is it that archery, weightlifting, polo and even swimming and athletics are only deemed broadcast worthy every four years. We wrap unpopular sports in the mantle of the Olympics and expect them to be fascinating suddenly.

Compare that to the Football World Cup. Now THAT is the world's biggest sporting event, without doubt.

[AlexLah]

There is some coverage on NTB (former channel 11).

There was weightlifting, basketbal, beach and normal volleyball, handball and now lady footbon!!!

[mrtoad]

A number of the bars will also be showing certain events. I watched the first hour of the Opening Ceremony on a South African channel last night in the Crossbar on Soi 23. So, if you are are desperate for coverage in English, then I'm pretty sure there'll be places that are able to offer you a fix. As for me, I'll watch a few of the events, but most of it's a load of crap.

[Lotusbluete]

Hallo,

I just watch the Gymnastics: Men's team qualifying on Super Sport GOLD (cable in Rawai). And the commentary is in... Yes, ENGLISH!!!

[jfchandler]

Ya, and add to the tally... we saw the NTB coverage on Sat. begin just about 1 pm and finish about 3:30 pm. It also included quite a few men's boxing contests...including one with an American and another with a Thai competitor... Then they had Japan vs. America in women's soccer.... Then after that, we noticed the coverage switched to Channel 3... I think.

Later in the evening, out for dinner, we caught swimming on one of the Thai channels as well... So they do seem to be going beyond just a few sports...although all in Thai narration, of course.