I would think that the uneducated eye (walk in spectator) would figure out the time bar pretty quickly. I think it would take them longer to figure out the game.
Wetzel
i think it might be cool (but mabey usless,but still cool) if it was on the score board at the arena
anyway i prefer the clock because as a lot of people have said its nicer to know exactly howmutch time its left in a match instead of an estimate
Point taken, but what I was getting at was that if FIRST wants to make this spectator friendly (which I think has been their goal at least in the past few years), they need to display the time in terms that the audience is used to. A clock is the standard way to keep time, not a progress bar. It needs to be big enough to read clearly, the font needs to be fixed width so that there is no change in width, and if the time is less than a minute it needs the prepending zero (i.e. 0:59).
The focus should be made, as you said, on figuring out the game, not trying to decipher how much time is remaining in the match.
As for the iTunes progress bar idea, I have to disagree. I think that it would clutter the already precious screen space. Keep it clean, keep it simple and you can’t go wrong.
Too make life easier and more spectator friendly FIRST should put clocks on top of the scoring goals (The Rack for this year) and I’ll settle for a redesigned Real Time Score Board with Clock, Progress Bar, Score and where the Scoring Objects are placed. That way everyone can be happy and it will still be cool looking.
The way the Field control system wiring is set up, this is pretty much impossible. We might be able to slide the clock to one side of the player station, but I’m not sure even that is possible
I hear ya. I remember assembling the field and there is a high probability all the cables reach right to where they go and no where else. But, if at all possible, some sort of clock that displays minutes and seconds would be a WONDERFUL feature to have at the LA (or any) regional. Thanks for looking into it Chris.
Your making this problem bigger then it is. All you need doto extend is the primary Power & Data Cables from the clock on the station to the rack. And since there’s cable already dangling from the projector rack to help power the Green Lights it won’t be that hard to put 2 more cables to power and relay data to the clocks on the rack. The only material you would need is 2 long cables one for power the other for data and then smaller cables to go from one clock to to the other. I don’t think it would be all that hard to do.
If I had to make a decision, I would defiantly say to put the clock back on the screen. BUT, I like this idea because it basically will satisfy everyone with the fact that it counts both up and down and the progress bar is there.
i know this is probably stated… but why not FLIP the playerstation Time clock 180*… aka flipping it to show to the drive teams… We do have a coach back there for a reason 
And what happens when one of the LCD 7 segment displays are damaged from a robot? There is a reason they have always been behind the drivers station glass.
i am thinking he thought of on the top top near the middle where there is no right minded team to deisgn a robot’s arm long and big enough to reach.
Thank You - There could be 3 displays in between the Green LEDs and mount them slightly higher where they can not be touched by no robot nor human and The only damage they should endure is constant vibration which we know they already can handle since these displays have been used for 8 years or more. It does not take a rocket scientist to piggy back the data off of one and let that one feed the others. The Mounting is already there and the wiring route is already there - all you need are the materials to finish the job. It may not be any good this year but something FIRST should put together for next year. Have a Time Clock on top of the Goal (If it is stationary like it has been in '04, '06 & and now in '07) out of the way from human or robot contact where they can be visible to both the competing teams and the audience. And for (explicitive deleted) and giggles you can have something built into the on-screen display that resembles a countdown timer with our new friend the progress bar.
I just tuned into the Las Vegas practice matches and noticed the new real-time display.
They added another bar above the time progress bar that shows the current match number and a real clock countdown.
http://img119.imageshack.us/img119/8311/displaykb1.png
Thank you FIRST!
Agreed. The clock on the far wall is far (no pun intended) too difficult to see through the madness. A clock on the screen as well as a possible clock facing each driver station ON TOP of the rack would do wonders for the drivers sanity.
So what happens when they turn the rack?
The progress bar throws the teams off!!
GET A NEW CLOCK!!!
If you look up 3 posts you’ll notice Ogre posted a screenshot of one of todays webcasts. On it you will notice that this week FIRST did add not only a clock to show actual time left in the match but also a match counter for the audience display.
I agree a clock would satisfey everyone. Anywhere really but its just better to have one. 
That’s extra cool! The clock is impressive (thanks for listening!), but even more so is the match number. I cannot count the number of times I’ve been sitting wondering what match it is, patiently waiting until the MC announces it, only to be distracted during the announcement (and miss it). :rolleyes:
Touche. But correct me if I am wrong, don’t they only turn the rack tghe slightest bit 15-25 degrees (?) that doesn’t seem like enought to impair the drivers’ ability to view a clock. Good point tho, I overlooked that.