The Olympics-on-telly thread

[andygates]

Gotta start this because I'm so psyched.  Its going to be a spectacle, the guys behind Gorrillaz have done the Beeb's mascots (punkiest monkey that ever popped!) and I've got a Local Hero to root for as WELL as the cycling machine.

Local Hero?  Michaela Breeze, women's 63kg weightlifting.  Charlotte, thighs, thighs, Charlotte.   

Fair chance in the triathlon too - Tim Don's strong and I've a suspicion that young Hollie Avil is going to surprise everyone (yet again). 

[little miss mac]

I'm really looking forward to it too. I'm gutted that my maternity leave finishes on Monday as I might have been tempted to retire to the sofa for the duration and teach minimac about the heroic chase for gold.

[Wowbagger]

I'm really looking forward to it too. I'm gutted that my maternity leave finishes on Monday as I might have been tempted to retire to the sofa for the duration and teach minimac about the heroic chase for gold.

You could cover him in fudge and then he'd be Caramac.

Sorry, couldn't resist...

[Rob S]

I can't wait...though I have to admit I haven't even looked at the tv schedules to see what time of day all the action is happening...3AM probably!!

[Rob S]

We will be broadcasting from approximately 0200 to 1800 BST each day

An evening round-up show at 1900 BST will allow those of you who have been at work to catch up with all the highlights and key moments.


At least I'll be able to listen to it on the radio at work

[Chris S]

Oooh - Olympics's - Excellent  . I've been pining for the TV spectacle of drugged up cheats doing daft things in the name of "Sport"  ever since the end of the Tour de France .

[Rob S]

Hopefully the roundup show at 1900hrs will last 3 hours!!!

[andygates]

Meanwhile in China, local restaurants are using web translators to get their names up in English... with sometimes unexpected results. 

[nuttycyclist]

We will be broadcasting from approximately 0200 to 1800 BST each day

An evening round-up show at 1900 BST will allow those of you who have been at work to catch up with all the highlights and key moments.

Oh my goodness me - it's going to be even worse than I feared.

Is it just me, or is anybody else finding that BBC olympics song really really irritating?

[geraldc]

My couch potato preparations have begun. I went to Maplins at the weekend and got one of these with a 10% discount.

So it will be my first high definition Olympics. I did spend most of yesterday afternoon clambering over my roof in the rain, replacing LNBs, and aligning (or to be more accurate misaligning) redundant satellite dishes.

It's actually stupidly easy to get HD tv, just cancel your Sky subscription, get a cheap HD satellite receiver, plug in the satellite, and connect up via component cables or HDMI.  I didn't realise that the if your satellite is set up for Sky Digital it can get Freesat HD just by swapping the box over. No dish realignment required at all. Plus no need to pay Sky 10 quid a month just to watch high def TV.

Admittedly several hours work clambering through the attic and roof, dropping coaxial cable through windows etc, only resulted in my being able to watch a film about Beatrix Potter in glorious high def (the last thing I actually would have chosen to watch), but thought of watching hundreds of hours of sport at 1080i gets me very excited.

[mattc]

Can i be the first to mention the now ubiquitous use of the word
medal
as a verb?

[alchemy]

I'm only interested in some of the cycling events (BMX - give me a break  ) and the mens road race is on from 1100 - 1700 this Saturday  . Yay for being in the same time zone. I won't sit down in front of the telly for the full xx hours but I'll certainly try to catch the last couple of hours.

Swimming, athletics, weightlifting etc - frankly I'd rather have my teeth pulled out than sit down and watch that.

[andygates]

    U.S. cyclists fly into China with face masks
| Sports
| Reuters



Wusses!

The British squad had a man out on the road course riding hard.  Our verdict: "We can work in this."   

[andygates]

Scuttlebutt from the Bermuda camp: "not worried about pollution as our lads have been on the cigars"

Now that's classy.

[Valiant]

I have to give it to them for the opening, it's really quite something!

[Chris S]

I have to give it to them for the opening, it's really quite something!

Yes indeedy - cracking show. One has to crank up one's Denial Level a wee bit - given that they've missed out some important parts of their history from the floor show - and that last "Green" "Eco" section was a bit rich coming from China TBH.

But - enough of the whining - that screen that goes right round the stadium is cool.

Them Chinese can sure do fireworks too. I suppose they did invent them after all...

[Basil]

I’ve just been out to lunch and seen some of the Olympics opening ceremony.  WOW!  Really impressive and spectacular.

I think we might have to re think the “Boris waving from the top of an open top Route Master Bus” for 2012.

Perhaps a couple of bendy buses and some Morris Dancers?

Oh dear, I'm going to hide away from the 2012 Opening Ceremony.  It's going to be just too embarrassing.

[Valiant]

I feel the same Basil. Politics aside, technically I'm amazed so far. That screen is uber cool and just how big is that stadium

[Jasper the surreal cyclist]

It is all CGI you know. There is really only a wooden shack and some clever rafia work.....

[Jurek]

'sgonna be hard to match that.

[Chris S]

The images on that Silk Road scroll-type widget - clearly not projected (#2 Son and I speculated about the possibility of there being a huge projector on a satellite in geo orbit above the birds nest, but decided if the sun can't make it through the Beijing mirk, nothing would ) so what is it - some vast LCD computer screen laying on the ground?

Ver ver neat stuff.

[Jasper the surreal cyclist]

'sgonna be hard to match that.

Yeah, they got the peoples Army, we have the Women's Institute. Not that they would not put on a damn fine show.....

[Valiant]

Chris, I thought it was rear projection.

Now it could be the drugs talking but god damn there are some truly fine women around the world, I's got to visit some of these countries.

[Chris S]

Chris, I thought it was rear projection.

Well, I know 0 about what technologies are available - you're much more likely to know than me .

It was very luminous though - would a projection create that much light - for that size?

[Valiant]

Yup it would.


PS - I really feel sorry for those girls in the short white dresses around the track who having been jumping and clapping forever lol.