I don't want to be overly negative, and I know this topic is beating a dead horse. The truth is that I think a lot of people appreciate a split-screen (2 box) at moments in a race, but the execution is not good. The images I've provided here are a quick and dirty possible solution.
Image 1 (top left): An original screenshot from the actual broadcast. I show rough sizes of the screens for a 75-inch display (which is what I watch the races on). The Blue background takes up around 33.9% of the screen (wasted space)
Image 2 (top right): A potential solution to at least to improve the visibility of each screen by increasing the size of each box a bit more than 25%. The Blue background now takes up around 10.8% of the screen (still wasted space, but less.)
Image 3 (bottom left): An original screenshot from the actual broadcast when they were displaying an interview during the race. The Blue background takes up around 37.9% of the screen (wasted space)
Image 4 (bottom right): A potential solution to this. Display the interview in the race positions graphic. The Blue background now takes up 0% of the screen.
Another thing, they've determined the font for the race positions is a suitable size to be readable on screen. So... Why then are the labels for the separate screens ("Battle for 4th") so large?
It seems there could be much better solutions for the overlays and layouts of the broadcast.
It also might be fun to see some mock-ups as I know there are some talented graphic designers in this community.
What do you guys think?
Add to that the running order could be smashed against the left side instead of having a dead space there
Yeah and have it sort of how MotoGP/f1 does it, where it's a number and 3 letters of their last name. That'd save some real estate for sure.
I’m convinced they’re aware of how much it pisses us off and use it out of spite at this point, lol. I’ve got a 65” and can’t tell who’s battling sometimes, that’s a problem. The current way is so inefficient and wastes so much screen space.
Swap 1 for 2 and 3 for 4. You’ve got it figured out.
If only they gave a single fuck.
The Shop
Free shipping: VITALMX
Luxon 4-Post Bar Mounts
$189.95 - $239.95
It’s that blue all the way around the screens that kills me, can we not go to the edges of the frame? Can no one on the production side see this?
Option 3 and 4 for sure. I will never understand why they have so much dead space on the screen.
I think it’s because eventually they plan to sell that space to advertisers, so they’re getting us used to only half half the screen.
Fuck fixing it...get rid of it...
I would agree that it is probably overused. I think there's a use for it. It's just not good the way it's laid out now.
I really dislike every shot that is not a close up on the floor of the stadium with no split screen. You can barely see what is going on otherwise. We never get up close slow motion shots of the athletes doing amazing things. Every other sport has this. If we want people to see how gnarly the sport is, we have to show them. Right now it just looks like ants around a hill.
Good idea.. but the person that wrote the script (code for this style of layout design) doesnt even work for Feld or even the producers of the moto content. These are purchased from UI creators and I am pretty sure it wont change. 😐
Number 2 looks great, keeps the aspect ratio but maximises the pictures. I would say always keep the live action on top and run replays on the bottom which is the opposite of what they do with pip. Decreasing the size of the leaderboard doesn't do anything if you are going to keep the aspect ratios the same which is pretty much a requirement.
Fully agree with this. They are trolling us at this point.
#3 should be flat out illegal during the live racing. I do not give a rip about ANYBODY talking during the live race. And especially showing someones family member watching the race while the race is going on.. I WANT TO WATCH THE RACE. I do not want to watch someone else watching the race or someone talking.
Its all about ratios. They cant record wider than they are shooting. So if the camera is only set for 16:9 ratio, you cant stretch it out further. So with what you have in photo 2 wouldn't work because that ratio would be closer to 21:9 and they don't shoot in that ratio. I don't know of any TV broadcast that does. The effort that NBC gives its SMX production doesn't match its push for it.
However, I like the idea for what you have for 3 and 4.
I have a 86" tv and see too much of the damn blue background, fill the damn screen up, overlay the video ontop the other in the corner, move the running order to top of the screen like they did in past. So much wasted space on a split screen.
My ratio is the same in image #2. All I did was scale them up while retaining their ratios. They're literally the same images
This might be true, but I have a hard time believing they don't have someone on hand capable of altering this. It's possible with a few clicks in software like OBS studio, which is free. They have to have more robust software than what's available to the public open source.
Pit Row
The wasted space with the blue background is my biggest issue with it as well, but I'll be honest... I like the running order the way they have it now vs how they used to run it scrolling at the top of the screen. I tend to look at it a lot to know what's going on in other positions and the scrolling order always made me wait, and sometimes I would miss it because I was watching something happening in the racing. I was actually watching Daytona 2008 a few days ago and the scrolling at the top was driving me a little crazy.
I hear ya, in this day and age tho just move the running order to the top during split screen only then once goes back to normal screen put running order on the side again.
That's not a bad idea.
I don't see how that changes the picture sizes if you are running 2 16:9 windows at the same time.
Agree. Also please stop going to it when the leader has less than a 2.5 second lead.
stagger them corner to corner, or overlay one on top the other, with the running order moved up top during a split screen that opens up alot more screen space
just get a 200"..problem solved😁
LOL no matter what size tv i watch it on it dont seem to get any better haha
Corner to corner just creates dead space in the other 2 corners. Overlay is ok but if the pip screen is too small what's the point of even showing it. I just hate when they cut away from live action to show replays or anything else.
the running order is taking up way too much of the screen.. let's reduce that rectangle by 30%
Your solution in pic 4 really tickles my fancy. It’s so tidy, I love it.
Me too. There's no reason to show that much of Lars Lindstrom's smiling face while there's a race going on. You could even start out with a larger screen of him, then reduce it to the screen area under the running order after a few seconds.
Post a reply to: The Split-Screen Layout. Let's Fix It!