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NCAA to stream Final Four and championship game in VR
Streaming sports in VR isn't that novel these days, but that's not stopping the NCAA from employing the tech this weekend in Houston. The collegiate sports governing body announced plans to livestream the Final Four and National Championship games in virtual reality Saturday, April 2nd and Monday, April 4th. This is the first time a VR stream will be available for the culmination of March Madness, offering 180-degree views of the action on the hardwood. The stream will be available on Samsung's Gear VR through the March Madness Live app in the Oculus Store. If you don't have a headset, there will be a 2D 180-degree livestream on the March Madness website alongside 360-degree game highlights.
Get your March Madness highlights and analysis on YouTube
While you'll want to venture over to CBS Sports to stream the March Madness live action, YouTube is gearing up for the Big Dance, too. The video library will provide highlights, pre/postgame shows and more on the March Madness channel during the postseason schedule. Of course, those who prefer to catch the action on live television can watch on CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV when the tournament begins on March 17th. NCAA tournament highlights will arrive on YouTube just weeks after Google and the NFL agreed to circulate pro football clips on the site. No matter how you plan on watching, though, it'll be interesting to see which team will be this year's Mercer. My money's on North Carolina Central.
Must See HDTV (April 2nd - April 8th)
NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship(s)A field of many has been reduced to two in both the men's and women's NCAA basketball tournament, and while tonight's matchup between Kentucky and Kansas is the higher profile, don't overlook Baylor vs. Notre Dame on Tuesday night. Whether you prefer to watch Anthony Davis or Britney Griner going to work on their opposition in the paint, there should be excellent hoops action found in both games.(Kentucky/Kansas Men's Championship April 2nd, CBS, 9PM)(Baylor/Notre Dame Women's Championship, April 3rd, ESPN, 7:30PM)2012 Masters TournamentThe Master's Tournament takes place this week and it should be better than ever, with Tiger Woods back in the winning category, and a collection of young talent to contend with. There's coverage on ESPN, ESPN 3D and CBS throughout the week and DirecTV customers can look forward to the usual multiview assortment of cameras to keep an eye on everything at once.The KillingAfter a highly controversial finale to season one, AMC's whodunit returned last week with a two hour season premiere that... didn't suck. Is it enough to get fans of the show back on board for another round? We're not completely sure yet, but it may be worth taking a look if you were ever a regular viewer.(April 8th, AMC, 9PM)
Cox, Verizon adding TruTV HD in time for the NCAA Basketball Tournament
The good news is, all of the March Madness basketball games will be viewable in HD, the bad news is some of them will be relegated to TruTV HD. If you're like us, you may not have even known that channel existed (unless of course you, like our podcast guest Chris Ziegler, are a fan of reality TV) but a few more of you will have access now that it's been added to Cox and Verizon FiOS channel lineups. Check out the press release after the break for more details on where to catch it, or check out HDSportsGuide for info on how to find the channel on other providers.
Final Four basketball in 3D is the closest thing to being there
What a difference a year can make. The first time we got our eyes on 3D sports, we saw a lot of promise during the 2009 BCS Championship -- but it was marred by technical glitches and a lack of onscreen information during the game. This weekend we settled into a local movie theater to check out a presentation of semifinal round games from the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament in our lengthiest experience with 3D yet. Not a lot has changed in the theater with the same passive RealD glasses, but the quality of what's on screen has gone way, way up. For basketball, most of the camera angles were similar to a videogame, mostly using sideline shots that seemed lower than we're used to on HDTV broadcasts. For the price of a $25 ticket for both games, it was a reasonable approximation of seats 10-15 rows up in Indianapolis; Lucas Oil Stadium that would have cost considerably more. Other angles included a skycam view that we probably liked the best, which was supplemented by cameramen positioned under each basket for a front-row view of the action and a couple of views from over each basket and behind the student section that varied in quality depending on what was going on in the game. The picture was sharp and the motion was easy to keep track of, though there were still a few times when it seemed to lose focus, especially during the first game. We've never had a problem keeping track of the ball during a match, but spying passing lanes and the aim of long jump shots was far easier than viewing in 2D. There's no mistake about it, 3D brought us closer to the action -- even from hundreds of miles away -- than we were previously used to.
March Madness queues up HDTV / projector rentals
Buy a new HDTV / projector for the big game(s)? Pssh. Why do that when you can just rent your way to impressing those fair-weather friends of yours? Hot on the heels of Selection Sunday comes fresh PR from Projector123, which is hopping on the rental bandwagon in hopes that jazzed up fans will want something more than they've got right now in order to enjoy the upcoming March Madness. Best of all, the bulk of these games will be broadcast in HD over the air, so picking up an HDTV with a built-in tuner or a projector with a standalone tuner would enable you to catch most of the action without forking out for HD service (or going into debt for a swank new display). 'Course, we'd suggest putting the cash you'd spend on a rental into an entirely new set -- after all, how will you honestly ever look at that 19-inch CRT after watching the Final Four on an 82-inch projection screen?
HDTV Listings for March 23, 2007
What we're watching: The NCAA Tournament marches on, but we're most interested to Six Degrees see back on ABC.Our traditional high definition listings continue below.
HDTV Listings for March 17, 2007
What we're watching: The NCAA tournament continues on in round 2 on CBS, but later on we'll look out for a new Saturday Night Live episode hosted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus.Our traditional high-def listings continue below.
