lakerfield/racecontrol

Race Control is a standalone, open source F1TV client for Windows, written in C# on the .NET 5 platform.

Race Control

Race Control is an open source F1TV desktop client for Windows. It can be used to watch content (both live broadcasts and replays) in the highest quality available, using either the built-in player or an external media player of your choice. The goal of this project is to improve the overall experience by implementing features not found in the official website and apps, while still being easy to set up and use.

This app is unofficial and is not associated in any way with the Formula 1 companies. F1, FORMULA ONE, FORMULA 1, FIA FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, GRAND PRIX and related marks are trade marks of Formula One Licensing BV.

Features

• Easy to set up and use, no editing of config files needed
• Fast and user-friendly user interface
• Watch live streams in the highest quality available
• Supports four different media players (internal player, VLC, MPV and MPC-HC)
• Open as many streams as you like, using the layout that you like
• Create and save your own custom video player layout
• Support for multi-monitor setups
• Cast to your Chromecast with a single click of a button (no quality drops!)
• Experimental synchronization of streams

Installation

Microsoft Store

Due to a Content Infringement Complaint from Formula One Licensing BV, Race Control has been pulled from the Microsoft Store until further notice. Please perform a manual installation instead (see below).

Manual installation

• Make sure the .NET 6.0 Desktop Runtime (x64) is installed on your system.
• If you have an 'N' version of Windows, make sure the Media Feature Pack is installed.
• Download the latest release and start the installer. If a SmartScreen warning pops up, select 'More info' and click 'Run anyway'.
• Follow the steps in the setup wizard to complete the installation.
• Start Race Control using either the desktop shortcut or the start menu entry.

Keyboard shortcuts

The internal player supports the following keyboard shortcuts:

Key	Function
Escape	Close player or exit fullscreen
Shift + Escape	Close all players
Space	Toggle pause
Shift + Space	Toggle pause for all players
W	Show main window
M	Toggle mute
F	Toggle fullscreen
1 - 9	Toggle fullscreen for specific player
F1 - F9	Move player to corner (3x3 layout)
S	Synchronize session
Right arrow	Jump forward 10 sec
Left arrow	Jump backward 10 sec
Up arrow	Jump forward 1 min
Down arrow	Jump backward 1 min
Shift + Right arrow	Jump forward 5 sec
Shift + Left arrow	Jump backward 5 sec
Shift + Up arrow	Jump forward 10 min
Shift + Down arrow	Jump backward 10 min
Numpad +	Zoom in
Numpad -	Zoom out
Numpad *	Speed up
Numpad /	Slow down
Mousewheel up	Increase volume
Mousewheel down	Decrease volume
Mousewheel click	Reset volume to 100%

The main window supports the following keyboard shortcuts:

Key	Function
Ctrl + S	Save current layout
Ctrl + I	Open layout in internal player
Ctrl + M	Open layout in MPV

FAQ

Why do I get a login popup? What credentials do I use to login?

You need an F1TV account to watch streams. If you want to watch race replays, an F1TV Access subscription is required. If you want to watch live sessions, an F1TV Pro subscription is required. You can create an account and subscribe at http://f1tv.formula1.com.

What happens with my credentials when I login?

Your login credentials are stored locally in the Windows Credential Manager, so you don't have to login every time you start the application. If you wish to switch to a different account, press the button 'Log out' under the 'Options' section. Your stored credentials will be removed from your system and you will be asked to login again.

How can I move an internal player window?

You can move an internal player window by clicking and dragging the actual video or the control bar.

Do I need to install MPV separately to use it with Race Control?

No, Race Control comes with a recent version of MPV included in the release.

Why is the VLC button not shown?

You need to have VLC media player installed on your machine. The location of your VLC installation will be read from the Windows registry.

Why is the MPC-HC button not shown?

You need to have MPC-HC media player installed on your machine. The location of your MPC-HC installation will be read from the Windows registry.

Why is the Cast button not shown?

You need to scan for Chromecast devices first.

Where does Race Control store my settings and video layout? Will they be retained when I upgrade Race Control?

Your settings and video layout are stored in JSON-files, which are saved to %LOCALAPPDATA%\RaceControl (usually located at C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\RaceControl). When you upgrade Race Control your settings and video layout will be retained.

Where is the log file located?

The log file is located at %LOCALAPPDATA%\RaceControl\RaceControl.log.

Can you add support for my favourite media player?

Maybe, please create an issue (feature request) and I will consider it. As a workaround, you can use the Copy-button to generate a tokenized link to the stream that is copied to your clipboard. Open the link with a media player of your choice to watch the stream. Note: the media player needs to properly support the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol.

Contributing

To open and build the solution you need:

• Visual Studio 2022
• .NET 6.0 SDK
• The extension Microsoft Visual Studio Installer Projects 2022 to open the RaceControl.Installer project

Acknowledgements

• Flyleaf for providing an excellent video player and .NET library
• MPV for providing an excellent video player
• Prism Library
• Newtonsoft Json.NET
• RestSharp
• NLog
• CredentialManagement.Standard NuGet package
• GoogleCast
• Jake Causier for creating the application logo

Screenshots

Main application

Internal player