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DirecTV's PGA Championship package almost makes up for Tiger not playing
Not headed out to Oakland Hills August 7? Even if you were, it's hard to imagine you'd get a better look at the action than DirecTV has lined up for the 90th PGA Championship on channel 701 through 709. As seen previously during the Masters Tournament, there'll be a PGA Interactive Mix channel, showing images of the four HD channels covering the tournament: One either from TNT or CBS, along with three unique feeds focusing on specific groups, holes or player background and stat information. Pretty much the only thing this interactive coverage won't do is take a few strokes off our score (some things are beyond help or altered scorecards, we've tried) but along with coverage on PGA.com it should make watching the Tiger-less PGA Championship a less painful event.
DirecTV offering interactive, multi-screen HD coverage of Masters Tournament
DirecTV is most definitely going out of its way to appease consumers this month, as shortly after announcing exclusive HD coverage of the South by Southwest Festival, it's now making every golf fan not on DTV incredibly envious. During this year's Masters Tournament, set to open on April 10th, DTV subscribers will have access to an SD and HD Masters Mix Channel which will provide four windows of viewing. Aside from providing a look at CBS / ESPN's live coverage in View One, users will also see a highlight window with continuously updated material including voice-over commentary. View Three provides a look at "Amen Corner" -- holes 11, 12 and 13 -- while View Four showcases the notoriously difficult holes 15 and 16. Better still, each of the bonus channels will sport its own production crew and announcers, and a special recap show will also air on DTV's own The 101. You know that pricey ticket to Augusta you've been eying? Skip it. %Gallery-16539%
Cablevision picks up Versus, Golf Channel in HD
Following directly in the footsteps of Comcast, it looks like Cablevision has become the next carrier to add Versus HD and Golf Channel HD to its high-definition lineup. Additionally, the deal moves Golf from Cablevision's $4.95-per-month sports tier package to its iO digital lineup. Interestingly, the company's CEO even mentioned that a whopping "80-percent of its cable subscribers were embracing digital television," but neglected to mention the concentration of paying HD customers. So while hockey may be a good ways off at this point, the Cablevision golfers in the crowd will have a lot to look at in the upcoming months.
New releases for the week of March 12th
Sure, it's been a couple weeks since we last got a new game, but doesn't it go something like "absence makes the heart grow fonder?" We know some of you out there are looking forward to this week's release and we don't blame you; the title's smart advertising campaign and promised controls create one appealing title. This week's release is: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 So, do you plan on picking this up? Maybe renting it for a few days?
GolfLogix teams with Garmin to give caddies a break
With Brandt Snedeker upstaging Tiger's return to the greens, we have to wonder if he didn't get ahold of GolfLogix's latest gizmo before heading out to the tee box. The self-named GolfLogix handheld GPS exercises an exclusive agreement that allows the company to "utilize its proprietary golf software on Garmin's popular eTrex line of GPS receivers." Since this still-debatable technology has been given the USGA and R&A blessing, folks looking to more accurately judge the distances, terrain, and unforeseen hazards up ahead can legally take advantage of its 1.25- x 2.25-inch LCD, automatic advancement to the next hole, large on-screen numbers, water / shockproof enclosure, personalization features, and backlit screen to get an edge. The built-in 12-channel GPS receiver claims to be accurate within two meters, and while we're not exactly sure how much internal memory is included, it can hold "multiple courses" simultaneously. The unit itself should start shipping soon after its stint at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, and while one free course download comes with the $349 pricetag, you'll probably want to invest the yearly $29.95 for unlimited course access if you plan on moving around much.
The Masters in HD round up
HDSportsGuide has their second annual Masters schedule up. It looks like you will need a few channels to get your HD golf fix this week, including UniversalHD and CBS. Thursday the 6th at 4:00pm on CBS and UniversalHD.Friday the 7th at 4:00pm on both CBS and UniversalHD.Saturday the 8th at 3:30pm on CBS and Sunday at 2:30pm on CBS. (All times EST)They are also reporting that because of the fiber runs throughout the course this will be the best HD golf coverage we've seen.
HDTV Sports Sunday: Golf & Indy don't get it done
NBA: CheckNCAA: CheckNASCAR: CheckPGA & IRL: ZzzzzzzzzzzzI guess I don't have much to complain about. A close game between the Pacers and 76ers is on ABC, NASCAR Nextel Cup action is about to kick off in Bristol on Fox, and CBS' sharp-but-pixely Elite 8 coverage is less than an hour away. But what if I wanted to check out Vijay, Retief, Tiger and the guys out at Sawgrass? Golf is already boring to watch (it is, I like to play golf but watching it is like watching someone else take a walk in the park), in SD it's a no-go. The IRL (R.I.P. Paul Dana) keeps trying to tell me how big a star Danica Patrick is going to be but if I don't see her in 720p then well, I won't see her.
PGA Championship in HDTV this weekend
Kudos to the PGA and CBS: for the second year in a row, the final major golf championship of the year will be broadcast in 1080i HD. I know that at least one person commented about golf in our "what do you want to see in HD?" poll.CBS has broadcast "The Masters" tournament in HD for the past six years and the coverage is routinely phenomenal! If you haven't seen a golf tournament in high-def, mark your calendar for this weekend and then come back here to let us know what you thought. When you see the dimples on the ball and the grain of the grass in different directions, you will fall off of your chair. We'll try to snap a pic of both the HD and SD feeds for you not-so-early-adaptors!
