OT - Crappy graphics on Olympics

[Wayne_Kozun]

Does anyone else find the onscreen graphics to be crap during the Olympics.  This is evident in the golf coverage where the top left info for a golfer doesn't include the current placing, unlike what we are used to seeing.  And they don't have the leaderboard bug in the bottom left corner that we are used to seeing.  It comes up from time to time, but it should be there permanently, the way it is on regular golf coverage.

I am watching on the CBC in Canada and NBC in the US, but I am pretty sure that these graphics are the same for all countries.  For golf I am watching the feed on the CBC Gem website which seems to have the global feed with broadcasters with English and South African accents.

The graphics also crap in other sports, especially basketball.  And in track and field events it is hard to determine where the competitors are standing.

[Kalen Braley]

Its not just you Wayne, I've noticed same.

I assume its because NBC is spread pretty thin having to be at so many venues, all at the same time, and in many cases broadcasting at the same time. It would see their normal attention to detail is being neglected.

P.S.  For one of the US Basketball games I had to log on to ESPN to see the score as they didn't show it for nearly 5 minutes of game time.

[Wayne_Kozun]

Its not just you Wayne, I've noticed same.

I assume its because NBC is spread pretty thin having to be at so many venues, all at the same time, and in many cases broadcasting at the same time. It would see their normal attention to detail is being neglected.

P.S.  For one of the US Basketball games I had to log on to ESPN to see the score as they didn't show it for nearly 5 minutes of game time.

It isn't just NBC as being in Canada I can watch on both NBC and CBC and the graphics are the same.  So the graphics seem to be a global feed for all countries. The audio will be different for NBC and sometimes different for CBC although sometimes they use the global audio feed - as is the case for golf as these aren't Canadian announcers.  And sometimes when streaming events, like the Mens Hammer Throw, there is no audio at all.

[Kalen Braley]

Its not just you Wayne, I've noticed same.

I assume its because NBC is spread pretty thin having to be at so many venues, all at the same time, and in many cases broadcasting at the same time. It would see their normal attention to detail is being neglected.

P.S.  For one of the US Basketball games I had to log on to ESPN to see the score as they didn't show it for nearly 5 minutes of game time.

It isn't just NBC as being in Canada I can watch on both NBC and CBC and the graphics are the same.  So the graphics seem to be a global feed for all countries. The audio will be different for NBC and sometimes different for CBC although sometimes they use the global audio feed - as is the case for golf as these aren't Canadian announcers.  And sometimes when streaming events, like the Mens Hammer Throw, there is no audio at all.

Thanks for that Wayne, makes sense.

P.S.  I've really enjoyed watching the golf and more specifically played on that course with "built in drama" type features...in addition to my usual faves like track & field and basketball.   And Mike Tirico has been an absolute stud to complement terrific coverage overall, (notwithstanding the graphics).

[Craig Sweet]

In my opinion NBC is horrible when it comes to covering golf of any kind.  The multicolor scorecard they show for each golfer is also a pain in the ass to figure out in the 5 seconds it's on the screen.  I haven't watched too much of this Olympics but I hope the coverage and graphics have been better than the golf coverage.

[Tim_Cronin]

All the golf graphics are matched to the standard IOC look for all graphics in the Olympics. My big peeve is the lack of the continuous score bug that we’ve quickly gotten used to.


I believe NBC is producing the world feed for golf, plus adding a few cameras of its own for Golf Channel. The IOC TV operation has each sport produced by a leader in TV for that sport. BBC does track, for instance (though NBC produces its own track, gymnastics and swimming coverage).

[Erik J. Barzeski]

The graphics are standardized.

That's why golfers who are tied say "=3" instead of "T3" because "Tied" is an English word, and "=" is a universal math symbol.

[Wayne_Kozun]

The graphics are standardized.

That's why golfers who are tied say "=3" instead of "T3" because "Tied" is an English word, and "=" is a universal math symbol.

Agreed and they also show both metres and yards in the top left bug. But there is no reason to be standardized with poor information - like no indication of the players' current place, the way that we would normally see.
When a player is hitting a shot what you see a graphic in the top left that is something like this

10  PAR 4 321M/361YDS
NZL [Flag] L. Ko                     -7
2ND Shot   91M/99YDS TO HOLE

Nowhere does it tell you that she is in first place.  The 10 is the hole that she is playing.  And no leaderboard bug in the bottom right like we get on pretty much any tournament for the last decade.

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Nowhere does it tell you that she is in first place.  The 10 is the hole that she is playing.  And no leaderboard bug in the bottom right like we get on pretty much any tournament for the last decade.

Yeah, I dunno. I'm just backing the fact that it's a "world feed" of sorts. They could have the mini leaderboard on the screen at almost all times. The top left area is pretty crowded.

[Matthew Rose]

I think I'm more bugged by them using green for birdies / under par scores and red for bogeys / over par scores. As far as I know nobody does it this way.

[Tommy Williamsen]

I have enjoyed the coverage. It could be better, I suppose, but the athletes leave me speechless. If I miss something, I get it on Peacock. Doing the Olympics must be a logistical nightmare.
NBCUniversal, the media company owned by Comcast, agreed to pay $7.75 billion for the American rights to all Olympics telecasts between Beijing in 2022 and Brisbane in 2032.
Discovery (as it then was) secured exclusive multimedia rights to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris across 50 European countries, including the UK. It is difficult to know whose cameras do what.

[Tim_Cronin]

I have enjoyed the coverage. It could be better, I suppose, but the athletes leave me speechless. If I miss something, I get it on Peacock. Doing the Olympics must be a logistical nightmare.
NBCUniversal, the media company owned by Comcast, agreed to pay $7.75 billion for the American rights to all Olympics telecasts between Beijing in 2022 and Brisbane in 2032.
Discovery (as it then was) secured exclusive multimedia rights to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris across 50 European countries, including the UK. It is difficult to know whose cameras do what.

If there’s a replay and you see the Olympic rings, it’s the TV pool. If it’s a Peacock, it’s an NBC-produced broadcast. There’s a pool broadcast for every sport (NBC produces golf for the IOC), but any rightsholder can add its own cameras to that or do an entire separate production. NBC does for track, swimming and gymnastics, it’s three biggest draws.

[Wayne_Kozun]

NBC may have produced golf but the full golf coverage that I have watched is not NBC announced.  It is two Brits and a Saffer, Tony Johnstone, Alison Whitaker and one other person who's name I didn't catch.  This is what is available on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) website but it seem to be the international pool coverage.  I can go back and replay the entire 9:33:52 of the Men's final round if I want to.

[Tim_Cronin]

NBC may have produced golf but the full golf coverage that I have watched is not NBC announced.  It is two Brits and a Saffer, Tony Johnstone, Alison Whitaker and one other person who's name I didn't catch.  This is what is available on the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) website but it seem to be the international pool coverage.  I can go back and replay the entire 9:33:52 of the Men's final round if I want to.

Correct. NBC produces that, then adds its own announcers for its domestic telecast. Everyone else can do the same or just that the pool announcers.