I was at a bar last night and the TV had some crap reception that got snowy and then completely went to crap. I thought it was rather lame that they didn’t make some effort to make sure that the Olympics were actually viewable on their TV. In any case, does anyone know where if there is an internet site where I can catch a repeat of the opening ceremony? I specifically did not look at any web sites all day long that mentioned the opening ceremonies so I could see them without any prior knowledge. Crap, a lot of good that did me.
It’s worth seeking out. It was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen.
BBC iplayer.
Thanks, but that’s an extremely abbreviated version. They don’t even show the initial crazy drum sequence. It’s still pretty great though, but I’d like to catch the whole thing.
UK only, unfortunately.
Shame, because it’s ad-free (The BBC is not funded by Advertisement revenue)
It’ll probably turn up on the internet ‘black market’ if it hasn’t already.
Well Qwisp, the abbreviated version was still spectacular, so thanks. They skipped all the teams marching which I didn’t really care about anyhow.
Hell, I’d buy a DVD of this. I watched with the sound off so I didn’t have the, um, benefit of the announcers’ interpretations of what I was seeing, but it was still amazing, especially the stuff with the boxes, and those footprints in the sky, and the drummers, and the tai chi guys, and those guys with the suits that lit up.
I can see future Olympics cities just throwing up their hands. How could you compete with that?
I give up. NBC made this way to difficult.
- Their site won’t work with my default browser, Opera.
- I open it in IE, and they suggest I install a plug-in. Since I’m not interested in the features of that plug-in, I decline. Then it asks for my zip code and cable provider. I give them that, and I get a message saying I can’t get any live footage or full replay because of some deal with my cable provider. I can only see highlights (the fact that my internet provider is my cable provider doesn’t matter, I guess)
- I open it in Firefox, figuring I’d lie on the cable provider question. The plug-in isn’t optional in Firefox – I have to install it to see any content. I click install, and Firefox ends up hanging during the install.
Oh well. I’ll just download it illegally via bittorrent somewhere. I’m sure that’s the result NBC wanted.
I almost think they have done future hosts a favour by going so completely over the top. Without the kind of centralised control over a huge economy that they have in China, nobody is going to be able to match that kind of bombastic display. Maybe London could start a trend for more modestly scaled Olympics.
That video has the initial crazy drum sequence at the end, for some reason.
FWIW, the install hung for me also, but it ended up working. I may have actually waited for 5 minutes or restarted Firefox, I can’t remember.
Yeah. I noticed that after viewing the entire video. Still it was only a portion of the crazy drum sequence, and after hearing about some other bits and pieces, it makes me wonder what else they cut out.
And there were no fireworks. Were the fireworks at the very end of the ceremony, after the parade of athletes?
NBC is showing some highlights. Those footprints in the sky are incredible. Kinda scary though – they remind me of the monster in Forbidden Planet.
nothing that going through a proxy can’t fix, buddy
I always knew the Chinese Would make the Opening Ceremony spectacular. They’ve always had a flair for this type of thing, and finding out that the person behind it is the guy who did House of Flying Daggers and Hero confirms it.
I haven’t finished watching it myself, I got about 48 minutes in on bbc iplayer before I had to go to work.
edit: but I hope my native country won’t dumb or tone it down in 2012. I hope we British-ise it, but without being too self-congratulatory.
I also hope our parasite media doesn’t fuck everything up, which is what they have an uncanny talent for.
Since than NBC link basically doesn’t work, since they want you to install some crap plug-in, does anyone else have a link to video??
It’s just Silverlight they want you to install - no biggie. I can get the BBC streams by virtue of living here, and they are great, but I’ve got a US proxy running also - the NBC streams are v. high quality and well worth it, imo.
I just lied to the computer and told it I subscribe to a television provider (I think I chose AT&T broadband). If you all don’t see me on the boards again, know that they’ve taken me away for that crime…stupid they’d only allow you to watch if you can afford satellite or cable…
So . . . any way to see the actual *opening *of the opening ceremonies?
Both the Australian and BBC television coverage of the complete ceremonies (4+ hours) are available for download and include one segment American viewers didn’t get to see. This board’s rules prohibit providing instructions for acquiring content from non-authorized sources via P2P applications like bit torrent. But, too answer your question, yes there is a way to see it.