Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

I have worked on the TV business for 47 years. I still work some primarily doing Regional Sporting Events. I call myself semi-retired.  I like racing in general but really like Sprint Cars and Midgets on dirt. I like to sit in the stands for races much better than watching races on TV most of the time.

I'm curious what people think streaming and broadcast coverage is desirable vs acceptable? The events I watch seem to range from one camera with the track announcer(s) to multiple cameras, multiple replays, split screens, dedicated announcers, commercials, etc. in other words full scale broadcast tv level productions. The single camera events can be pretty decent although without the timing and scoring graphcs they are not so good.

What do you think is acceptable?

What do you think is desirable?

At what cost?

The VA deposits a disability payment in my account every month for wrecking my hearing working on an aircraft carrier.  Loud noises bother me more than they used to and I have always used ear plugs at the races.  That kind of makes it hard to interact much and have conversations at race tracks.  I've got a surgically repaired neck that hurts like hell and other health problems that make travel and attending races more of a pain than fun.

I rely almost exclusively on streaming and really like it.  Sitting in a comfortable recliner while watching Sprint Car races without windshield time or motel expenses and meal not to mention doing all the drivings to see a race I can watch in comfort wearing headphones to hear the dialog is awesome.

As far as expectations I like the Netflix type price point that Flo offers but get Dirtvision as well for the Knoxville and Husets weekly.  Brent Larson in WoO Late Models came from our local track so I keep an eye on his progress as well.

Everyone is going to age out of chasing races at some point in their life.  I spent my race nights in the infield behind a camera so I know very few fans and even fewer potential travel companions so I will do streaming as long as the price point is affordable.  

Stan Meissner

I can understand Stan's viewpoint, but to answer original question, there's NO WAY PPV or TV can ever be as good as live racing. I watch it cause i can't go to every race.... duh

I think I'm a year older than Stan, but not as banged up. Last couple of years, my stomach really bugs me if I sit in a car for 4 hrs. (my minimum time to get to good racing) I've been to 2 different gastro specialists, no help. Getting old kinda sucks....

So what is affordable?

I like the WoO but not the price of DirRVision for just that series. Flo has a lot of what I want to see.However I may change my mind and add DirtVision.

We can respond to a lot of racing chatter with our "expert" observations but planning your finances isn't in our job description.  I should probably clarify that I'm not decrepit and still bust my ass out in the yard.  I think when it comes to attending races I was so hooked on taking photos and hanging in the pits with the people putting on the show that sitting in the stands alone is for lack of a better term boring as hell.  I can be on my feet in the yard all day but two hours on a metal bench turning my head left to right locks my neck up where I can barely turn my head for a couple days.  Besides the hands on approach with a camera I'd tow an old pop up camper to the track and camp out.  We had some great times hanging out in the campground.  Nowadays a race night is basically a solo thing and most track seating sucks.  Every now and then I might pitch a lawn chair or splurge on a seat with a stadium back and that isn't bad.  It's more a out traveling alone to watch a race I can see at home for free.  My son and I went to a lot of races together but his kids are teens and he's putting his former racing budget into getting them through school.  

Obviously somebody who has gone to races since 1960 would prefer being at the track.  Another thing about going to the tracks is seeing people I know still doing their thing.  Sitting up in the stands solo watching the guys I traveled and took photos with is hard for me to accept.  I thought I'd be doing that way into my retirement but the heat is just too much anymore.  

Stan Meissner

For dirtvision, I also enjoy the WoO Late Models and Extreme Midgets series.   If you are a 410 only type person then they still have Attica, Knoxville, Sharon, Williams Grove and Husets Weekly also.   I usally goto the tracks Friday and Saturday and stay off social media until I can watch the Attica, and Knoxville shows before Husets runs their Sunday show, if I have time I watch Sharon and Grove also.   Definately worth the price (more really) IMO, but everyone has to figure their own budget I understand that for sure.   We are lucky I think to have such low prices for what we can watch. 

People make me laugh when they bitch about commercials on FLO, but I'm sure they would rather pay less subscription fee to put up with the 30 second commercials, I know I'm glad they are so affordable.   Maybe them folks could pay 400$ a year instead of 150$ for a no commercial option on FLO, they surely wouldn't bitch about that....or would they?  Lol. 

Desirable = Being at every race live.  But more than 99% of all races I want to see live are several hundred plus miles away.  So...

Acceptable = streaming.

Now when it comes to streaming, desirable would be the same camera coverage/replays, etc as the stick and ball games get.  But knowing that would come with a completely unaffordable subscription cost, what we currently get is acceptable.  Including the stupid commercials.  Watching a short commercial every so often is ok when my other option is not seeing any racing at all during our nine months of winter.  

Realisitically, any of the stremaing services are affrodable.  But for me, Flo gives me tons more bang for my buck.  Having both doesn't really make any sense for me, since most of the time they are both racing at the same time and I only have one set of eyes.  Given I can watch the WoO races a couple days later without a $300 subscription if I want to, and Flo gives me hockey and a bunch of other games, Flo is the one for me.  I thnk the $150 proce point is more than fair for Flo.  I may even go up to $200.  Dirtvision just isn't worth $300 to me.  if it was also $150, i probably would do both.

If I broke HH rules by sticking to the topic and trying to answer the posted questions, I apologize.

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DirtVision cost is a little high but the production values of their broadcast is much better than Flo. I also prefer the crew on DirtVision, Raudman is much better than Wilner for example. But to each their own.