About DarcyF1 Motor Sport Multimedia
Codecs
Codecs are...DarcyF1 lists codecs associated with videos along with other detailed information to allow you to know what you're downloading. The following is a breif outline about what the codec information is telling you!
The codecs listed on DarcyF1 are the family, such as mpeg4 and h264, not the branches down such as DivX or x264, nor the containers such as avi or mkv.
Frequent codecs: family (branches)
Video: mpeg4 (xvid, divx), h264 (x264), mpeg (mpeg, MPEG2)
Audio: pcm_ (uncompressed audio), mp3 (mpeg3 audio, lame mp3), ac3 (dolby digital DVD)
You can play ALL videos downloaded from DarcyF1 using a free media player like VLC Media Player or Media Player Classic. Older softwares (that are not up to date with codecs) such as Window Media Player or Quicktime will not work. It is reccommended that you use one of the aforementioned video players instead of downloading codecs individually.
Commenting on Videos / Request etc.
There are a growing list of BBCode style tags you can use when commenting on videos, responding to requests and more. They are outlined below. If you have a suggestion for more, please get in contact.| Tag & Example Use | Result | Description |
| [b]some text[/b] | some text | Bold a string |
| [i]some text[/i] | some text | Italic a string |
| [u]some text[/u] | some text | Underline a string |
| [size=8]To be or not to be[/size] | To be or not to be | Set font size |
| [color=blue]To be or not to be[/size] | To be or not to be | Set font colour |
| [quote]To be or not to be[/quote] | To be or not to be | Quote some text |
| [members]There are secrets to be found[/members] | [ this content is limited to members rank 2 and above] | Restrict content to ranked up members |
| [spoiler]The winner of the race was Jeff[/spoiler] | SPOILER - click to reveal | Hide text that readers can reveal |
| @admin | @admin | Link to a user's wall |
| [darcyf1]123[/darcyf1] | MT89 DTM 2001 Zandvoort Race Aiello retires | Use to link to a video on DarcyF1 |
| [page=about.php]About DarcyF1[/page] | About DarcyF1 | Link to another page on DarcyF1 |
| [url]https://google.com[/url] | https://google.com | Link to another page on the internet |
| [youtube=Hgg8AFxXPCc]Even race teams use my caps[/youtube] | Even race teams use my caps | Link to a YouTube video using only the video ID |
| [img] https://www.darcyf1.com/images/rank/9.png [/img] |  | Display an image and link to full size |
Removal of content
Content moderators may remove a published video, comment, collector card, forum post, or any other user-generated content at any time.Reasons for removal may include but are not limited to; Duplicated content, poor quality video, videos which are illegal in the country where they are hosted (by default USA), unpopular & large files, purposefully titled or categorised content which intend to or may mislead or misrepresent, content which spoils the result of a race.
Spoilers
DarcyF1 enables registered members to control how new content is presented to them, which may assist them to avoid spoilers. However, commenting on Full Sessions (specfically qualifying and races) with any content that alludes to or specifically reveals the result of that session will result in a warning on the first instance, and restriction from the website for any subsequent breach.
Unpopular Content
Server space is an expensive, and limited resource. Any content which is calculated to be taking up large amounts of space but don't generate viewer interest will be removed. As a basic rule, any user submitted video that is hosted on DarcyF1 and has a popularity score lower than -100 can be removed. All new published videos have one week to generate at least one view, and a 28 day grace period to establish their popularity. Embedded videos hosted elsewhere are immune to this detection, but spam-like unpopular embedding may be removed. DarcyF1 no longer hosts full practice sessions.
Popularity scores are calculated using the following formula (plus some small weighting maths, omitted):
-(File Size / (Video Views + Video Comments)) * ((Days Online / 365) + 1)
for example, a 4GB file that has been online for 6 months but only has 10 downloads and zero comments would score the following;
-(4000 / 10) * ((180 / 365) + 1) = -400 * 1.49 = -596
This example results in a popularity score lower than -500 and would be removed by default. The most popular videos will score 0 on this test.
Thank You
DarcyF1 is a hobby website that I spend way too much time developing. Over the past 15+ years many people have helped DarcyF1 grow and improve along the way. A genuine thank you to the following people and projects for their advice, their code snippets and that push in the right direction.
Mia Graphic Design
For the DarcyF1 logo and general design advice. Previous DarcyF1 designs demonstrate my complete and utter lack of graphic design ability - thank you for pointing out all the horribleness of the user-facing prototype designs.
Az Edwards UKF1.net
UKF1.net was my first taste of motorsport multimedia, in a time before YouTube, and when I was stuck on dial-up, the site Az built was fantastic! It was the forced retirement of UKF1 that prompted me to build DarcyF1. There is no doubt this site is very similar to UKF1, but perhaps a more modern take on it, and that is because UKF1 led the way and was a place I loved to visit. So a huge thank you to Az for starting it all for me! Do me a favour and check out his awesome photography website.
Boostrap v5.0
Framework DarcyF1 is hung from since 2018.
jquery
As much help as a rubbish coder like me can get!
Problems with Downloading?
There are a few issues that might be causing you to have trouble downloading or viewing videos on DarcyF1. Investigate the possible problems listed below.Watching Videos
Most videos are HTML5 compliant and will play in any modern browser.
Downloading
As good practice, please ensure your web browser is up to date. This should be the case before investigating further.
DarcyF1 downloading has been tested on a wide variety of operating systems with a very wide selection of browsers. What is your web browser / operating system combo?
The most effective way of downloading is by right clicking on the [download] button, then selecting 'Save Link As' or similar.
If this does not start downloading the video you have a problem. Check if you have any 'download helper' utilities that might be interupting the download. Perhaps your browser settings are configured to play videos in the browser.
If you are still having trouble, then use the contact form to request extra help!
Video Uploads
Why was my upload rejected?
You should have received a DarcyF1 Message detailing why. See below
What makes a good upload?
A high quality capture of a high interest event, whether this is a small clip like a spectacular crash or an entire race.
What makes a bad upload?
A youtube rip (there is a section for YouTube videos); anything of very low quality where a higher quality version is available; any video that is a duplicate of an existing video that doesn't have any positive differences (such as an alternative language, higher quality, or different angle); any video that is corrupted; super high bit rate length videos (such a Full HD full races) [anything over 2.5GB is not generally encouraged]; crappy compilation videos - open to opinion;
User Accounts
I like rules, where are the rules? To avoid writing a long list of detailed, bitchy rules, a common sense rules applies. Don't break the site, if you find a bug, report it. XP cheating, duplicate accounts, circumventing an account ban, constant requesting (or making requests outside of the Requests forum) and / or leaching are behaviours that are not tolerated. If you want a specific example explained to you in detail, and you are unsure how to "internetz" please use the contact page to get in touch.
Why has my account been removed?
We have an inactive accounts policy that will remove or disable your account if the user has not;
a) Verified their account
b) Gained XP in their first month
c) Logged in for over 90 days (email alert sent one week prior)
Why are certain parts of the site restricted to users of certain ranks?
This is simply to encourage those to contribute to the website, and reward those members who do. It really does not take much effort to rank up, and those who give back a tiny bit of what they get from the site usually rank up quickly and easily. See more.
History
2004 - April 1st: DarcyF1 launches as a video sharing forum with just a handfull of members.2004 - August: DarcyF1 migrates to a standalone website with just a few videos online at any one time.
2005: DarcyF1 expands to a 8GB webhost and now hosts over 80 videos.
2006: DarcyF1 expands to a website that can now provide videos from different categories of motorsport from many years. Major web design change as the site starts to deal with a large range of videos. DarcyF1 moves webhosts to a 200GB host.
2007: Further web design overhaul to better deal with large amounts of videos. Server hard drives increased to 1TB.
2008 - October: DarcyF1 adds a database to soley deal with videos and provide a search function to its users.
2009: The database backend is expanded to introduce user acounts, favourites, search tracking and a range of other features.
2010: DarcyF1 makes wide-ranging changes to comply with copyright restrictions and closes public registration. Small trickle of features and web design updates and thousands of new videos added. Server RAM & Hard Drives both doubled.
2012: DarcyF1 launches brand new design offering every visitor the opportunity to contribute to the website. Public registrations re-opened, DarcyF1 Predictions launched, DarcyF1 Uploader launched, ranking system introduced. New logo and brand launched.
2015: DarcyF1 gets secure with SSL encryption and authentication.
2018: DarcyF1 re-launches responsive, modern website.
2021: DarcyF1 is serving over 1TB of video content a week to 1,000+ users.
Landmarks
2004, April 1st: DarcyF1 registers first member.
2004 - August: DarcyF1 opens it's first dedicated webpage with video downloads
2005: DarcyF1 migrates to new web host and new domain
DarcyF1 forum registers 500th member.
2006: DarcyF1 forum registers 1000th member.
New domain http://www.darcyf1.com acquired and site to replicated there.
2007: 1000th video goes online.
2009: DarcyF1.com opens registrations and acquires its first members.
2010: all old domains either removed or redirect to darcyf1.com
DarcyF1.com acquires 500th member.
Total videos pass 5000.
Total downloads pass 20,000
100TB of bandwidth used in one year.
Contributors can now add videos directly to website.
2011: Downloads pass 1 million and 2 million in same year.
1TB of videos online is passed.
10,000 videos online is passed.
10,000 visitors per month becomes average.
DarcyF1 averages 3,000 page views per day by year's end.
2012: 15,000th video goes online!
October 6th - 3 million downloads is passed.
2013: May - 2TB of videos online
August 4th - 20,000 videos now online
August 26th - 4 million downloads is passed
2014: March 21st - 5 million downloads is passed
2014: April 12th - 34,000 videos now online
2016: April 24th - 50,000 videos now online
2016: May 22nd - 6 million downloads is passed
2019: 100,000 videos online
2021: 30 million downloads is passed. 10TB of content hosted.
Ways YOU can help
DarcyF1 is a community driven website that is run by motorsport enthusiasts for motorsport enthusiasts.You can quite easily get involved in the website right away!
Stage 1:
If you've just discovered DarcyF1, you can quickly sign up for a free membership account right now.After you have verified your account you can update your profile and upload a profile picture.
Stage 2:
Now that you have an account on DarcyF1 you can comment on videos, make requests for videos and even upload your own videos.Head over to the Upload page to get started. Reach out on the a Forums, or our Discord server for help with your first upload.
Later On:
After frequenting DarcyF1 reguarly you'll hopefully find things that could do with improvement or have some fresh ideas for DarcyF1 development, it's at this point you can be the most helpfull - PROVIDE FEEDBACK AND IDEAS! User feedback is what helps DarcyF1 grow and develop and YOUR input is very useful. You can also report any errors you may come across, because there is a very high chance that you're the first one to find the error and they dont get fixed if staff aren't alerted to them.Join the staff
DarcyF1 has a standing invitation for its users to join the staff team. The team are responsible for a range of moderation tasks including approving uploads from members, responding to reported problems and correcting video information. Joining the staff team is voluntary, but frequent participation is required. Submit an expression of interest today!And if you're feeling generous
Then you can donate a small amount of money to help cover the always increasing website costs.Donating is easy and all details can be found under the donations page.
DarcyF1 Naming Conventions
Video Titles / File Name
Below are the correct way to name nearly any sort of video on DarcyF1 so that it is easily identifiable and searchable. If you have ANY questions, please CONTACT US before uploading. If you find a video that does not match the below naming convensions, use the [error] button to report it and give as much detail as possible so that the user can fix it.
All video titles should only contain english alphabet letters, numbers, underscores (_) and hypens (-), where appropriate.
All video titles must be limited to 100 characters and should take the basic titlling structure of:
{Race}{Year}.{Session}.{Succinct Description}.{file extension}
Some users may like to separate {Race} and {Year} with an underscore, or dot, which is totally acceptable.
If the race is the only race of the event, say in an international sport such as indycar, you do not need to state that the video is from the race, this is assumed if no other session is mentioned.
Australia2013.FP2.Smith_Onboard_Lap.avi
BrandsHatch.2013.Race1.Start_Crash_Replays.mp4
LasVegas2013_Goodman_Crashes_Onboard.mpg
AUS.13.SMI.Lap.avi
BTCC 2013 Brands Hatch Start crash Race 1 replays.mp4
SunocoFuel400_2013_Goodman_Crashes_Into_The_Wall_Car_Cam_Replay.mpg
Entities in Video Title
| Entity | Description |
| Race | • The race value must always be the COUNTRY if the category is an international category OR a local category making a rare visit to a country. Such categories would have examples such as MotoGP, Indycar would always be COUNTRY. V8Supercars would use COUNTRY when travelling to New Zealand, or USA. • Or must always be the track / event name. For example, V8Supercars would have race values such as Sandown (which is a track) or Perth (which is the event). • The race value should nearly always match the value your set for 'Race' when categorising the video. • Sponsorship of an event must NEVER be in a video title. |
| Year | • The year must always be the 4 digit representation of the year the video happened. • This should nearly always match the value set for 'Season' when categorising the video. |
| Session | • This is a short hand form the session that the video is from. Acceptable forms would be; FP1, FP2, Prac or FPx (for an unknown practice session), Qual (includes all forms of qualifying including Top 10/15 shootouts), Race1, Race2b. • Also, you can use 'Feat' to represent a video that is not part of the racing activites, but is a feature from that event's telecast. • If there is only ONE race in that event, you can leave out the session completely, it is assumed to be the race if no other session is listed. |
| Description | Okay - this is the most fluid entity, that you have the most room to move in, please read and try to understand what the reason is behind the following points. If you get lost, browse the website, see how others (especially staff) name their videos for a good idea of what to do. • This should be the shortest possible way of describing your video, in English. This is what the users see in search results, and in race listings, so you want it to be succinct and accurate. • NEVER use words like 'the' or 'and'. Or if the video is Name_Crashes, you probably don't need things like "Into_Wall" after it. • There is a clear difference between "Name_Onboard" and "Name_Onboard_Lap" - if it is a full lap (or more), title it so! • If the video is a FULL RACE, title it so! Track2013.Race1.Full_Race.avi makes a lot more sense that Track2013.Race1.avi • If information is captured in the video metadata, like commentary language, this does not need to be in the video title. • Only use drivers' surnames, unless you feel you must use the first name too... surnames with spaces should be concatenated. Example: delaRosa (from de la Rosa) or DAlberto (from D'Allberto). Include first name initial to identify drivers/riders with the same surname where they could be confused (eg. MSchumacher / RSchumacher) |
| file extension | • This should never be edited and represents the file extension of the uploaded video, such as .avi, or .mp4 - not used for YouTube videos. |
| Category | • Some videos exist where the category is mentioned in the video title - this is not a recommend practice. |
| Amateur | • For video captured by amateur video, BUT not part of the official broadcast (like WRC does), use .amateur. immediately before the file extension. |
| And don't forget | Whatever you can't fit into the video title goes into the Tags field, which is also searchble. You can also really flesh out the video description in the Description field, which is not searchable but you can put as much information in there as you like - NO SPOILERS for full sessions! Also, no special characters in video titles, ever. No ampersands, no brackets or parentheses, no slashes, no commas or apostrophes. You're just going to cause trouble for yourself! |
Video Categorisation
| Entity | Description |
| Video Name | As described in great detail above! |
| Description | You can put as much detail into the description as you like, but please NO SPOILERS for full sessions. |
| Video Tags | This field is searchable, separate each tag with a comma, or else your entire set of tags will be considered a single tag, and it's likely clicking on that tag won't show you any more than that one single video. Use words not already in the video title, as they are automatically tags. |
| Video Credit | If you once downloaded this video from a website, and the original creator has permissioned you to upload it here, you can credit the original uploader directly by using the credit fields. Ensure the link is a complete link, don't forget the https://www. part! |
| Category | Choose from the list of categories, you cannot create a custom popular category. If a site admin believes there are enough videos in an 'other category' for a new popular category to be created, that will be done. |
| Season / Year | Choose from the list of years - the list only goes back to 1900. There is also an 'TV' option, this is for content like documentaries that aren't specific to a season of motorsport. |
| Race | PLEASE use the auto-fill boxes when adding video to the site through the My Uploads page. It will give you a list of available race value - and if it's truly not there, it will allow you to add a new one. 75% of the videos that are rejected are because the user invented their own race value - don't do it, unless you have already checked the Auto-fill list and a suitable option doesn't already exist. You must not use sponsor names in race values. The race value must always be the COUNTRY if the category is an international category OR a local category making a rare visit to a country. Such categories would have examples such as MotoGP, Indycar would always be COUNTRY. V8Supercars would use COUNTRY when travelling to New Zealand, or USA. Or must always be the track / event name. For example, V8Supercars would have race values such as Sandown (which is a track) or Perth (which is the event). |
| Full Race or Session | A simple check box - is this a complete session (practice, qualifying or race), then check the box. This will categorise the video under the Full Races menu item, and apply Delays Results Spoilers (DRS) differently. DO NOT use this for television programs. |
| Viewer Warning | Simple - if the video depicts a fatal accident, no matter how graphic, you must mark it as Fatal. If the video depicts a non-fatal accident in a graphic way (use reasonable judgement), mark it as Graphic. A simple example involves visible severe injury. |
| Commentary | What language is the commentary? Select from the list. If the language is not in the list, you will need to request it be added by an admin - leave it as Unknown until then. If the video has music, set the commentary language to None - we don't care what language the music lyrics are in. |
Privacy
DarcyF1 (the website, and staff running it) takes privacy extremely seriously and abides by the following principles.Information You Provide
Your privacy will never be compromised by DarcyF1.
All information you supply to DarcyF1 will be accessible by you if you request.
You may remove any and all information you supply to DarcyF1.
Your personal details will never be made public by DarcyF1, nor onsold to third parties.
DarcyF1 encourages you to remain anonymous, and to use a distinct password for this website.
Information DarcyF1 Gathers
The website will detect and record the following information:
Your IP address, your activity on certain parts of the website, your preferences that you select; including an active email address to which you have access.
This information will never be made public, under any circumstance.
You may request a copy of this information but DarcyF1 may decline access to some information for security reasons.
You cannot request activity information of any member besides yourself.
IP addresses that are logged against members' accounts will removed if the account is closed.
Encryption / Authentication
DarcyF1 uses SSL encryption to protect information you provide to the website and to guarantee you are communicating with the DarcyF1 servers at all times.
Email addresses and passwords are salted and hashed using web-standard best-practice cryptography before being stored in the database.
All privacy concerns should be directed to the DarcyF1 staff.
Rewards
DarcyF1 offers members many different ways to collect different sorts of rewards. We try to balance a level of intrigue and gameplay with a desire to be open and clear regarding how to collect rewards, and what the random chance is of obtaining rewards.As this page develops, we will bring in more information about currently available rewards, and the approximate odds of finding them.
Throwback Thursday
Web Player
DarcyF1 utilise JWPlayer as its web player. The web player will play certain videos uploaded to the website. If you want your video to play online, it must meet certain criteria.The recommended video and audio codecs are h.264 and aac respectively, in a mp4 container. These videos will play in the web player on all HTML5 compliant browsers. For more information on best video formats, please see JWPlayer support.
Memberships
The DarcyF1 experience gets better and better the more you participate and contribute to the website. Below are some of the benefits you might be missing out on. Below the image are some tips to help grow your membership at DarcyF1. If you have any questions about the below, please contact admin via Messages or via the Contact page if you're having issues registering an account.
XP
You can earn XP through a number of ways (all subject to change);
Compete in F1 Tipping. Submitting tips earns you XP, and correct tips earn you plenty of XP.
Comment on videos - say thank you if you're appreciative of the effort put into uploading!
Upload videos - the quickest way to earn XP or add a YouTube video to the site
Set your first profile image (avatar), personalise your DarcyF1 experience
Donate to DarcyF1 - every dollar counts, and without your donations, DarcyF1 couldn't possibly exist
Invite a friend OR join the website using someone's invitation
Identify the commentary language of a video that hasn't been identified yet
Tokens
Tokens can be earned by contributing to the website, similar to (but not the same as) XP. You can earn an unlimited amount of tokens, but you cannot hold more than 500 tokens at any time. Members who rank up can hold additional tokens, 100 x Rank (Rank 8 = 800 tokens max.). Tokens do not expire. You use tokens to access collector cards and booster packs, or to vote for videos from the Back Catalogue. You can use your tokens as often as you like. Like XP, you may have tokens removed from your account if found to be participating in any activity that gains you tokens you do not deserve, including any exploitation of the website to achieve this. All tokens used will be recorded for your review.
You will earn tokens when you contribute to the website. Contributions can be in terms of video content,
suggestions for development, resources like proprietary scripts or hosting, or financial contributions that help pay the hosting bills. Tokens are also available as rewards through features like Bingo, Quests and as collector card consolation prizes.
Additionally, you will receive free tokens that will top up low balances. The higher your membership rank, the more of these free tokens you will receive.
Contributor Status
Members are awarded contributor status after a sustained effort to upload quality, fault free content. Your first step towards this goal is reading and understanding the
Naming Conventions. Then upload your first content and respond to feedback provided by DarcyF1 staff.
Once you're comfortable with the upload process and requirements, continue to provide excellent content that doesn't require moderator intervention and you will be on your way
the prestigious rank of DarcyF1 Contributor.
Contributors will have their uploads published to the site automatically without the requirement for content moderation. Contributor status can be revoked,
and limits may still apply that incur moderation.
There are many more ways for you to grow your membership, which you will discover the more you use the site!
Quests
DarcyF1 members can complete quests to earn rewards across the website. Quests require different forms of engagement across the site and offer an array of rewards.
Daily Quests
Dailies, viewable on your Rewards page, offer regular opportunities to earn rewards across various site features. These reset each day at midnight and some offer increasing reward rarity as you build streaks.
ThumbHunt
ThumbHunt tests your ability to recognise motorsport moments by showing you a thumbnail of a video hosted on DarcyF1 and challenging you to find that video before the timer runs out. You can find ThumbHunt clues hidden within videos that you watch on DarcyF1 - look for the 'Clue' button within the video player.
Once you have found a clue hidden in a video, that video will not have a clue again for a period of time.
The clues are hidden at various points within videos. The longer the video, the higher chance there is of it containing a clue.
Rewards rarities increase as the target video popularity decreases - the less people who have watched your target video, the harder we think it will be to find, and the greater your rewards!
You can find and complete up to 10 ThumbHunt quests per 24 hour period (currently active quests count toward this total). You can have up to three ThumbHunt quests active at one time.
You will have 5-15 minutes to find your target video to claim your reward!
Weekly Tally
Users who complete the most Quests each week win extra rewards! Users are sorted into four categories (F1, highest - F4, lowest) based on their performance during the previous week. The top five finishers in each category are promoted to the next-highest category, and the bottom five finishers are relegated to the next-lowest category. Where multiple users finish on the same number of Quests, finishing positions are decided by XP.
Each week starts at midnight Monday UTC time, with promotions, relegations and rewards processed within 24 hours.
Banners
Banners are rewarded to users who complete certain achievements across the website. Users can choose to display one of their earned banners on their user profile.
