Ryder Cup
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In time for Ryder Cup, Samsung lets golf fans in on new TV app
This year's Ryder Cup won't have Tiger Woods representing the US, although some people argue that this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Regardless, the tournament, which begins today, must go on. To make the experience better for golf enthusiasts, Samsung has teamed up with the PGA and Turner Sports to release a Ryder Cup app for its smart TVs, allowing viewers to switch between live video feeds (provided by NBC and the Golf Channel), see an up-to-the-minute leaderboard right on the screen and easily keep up with either Team USA or the European Team.
The official Ryder Cup 2014 app delivers live video coverage
The 2014 Ryder Cup gets underway this week with the actual matches scheduled for Friday through Sunday. The PGA of America just released Ryder Cup 2014, the official app of the competition. It is a free universal app that requires iOS 7.0 or later. Earlier I reviewed SportsFusion-the unofficial 2014 Ryder Cup news edition. The two apps offer a lot of similar information but since the PGA of America is the parent organization for the Ryder Cup matches you will find some items in its app not available to the SportsFusion app. Both apps contain photos, videos, scoring updates, news stories, and social media connections. You will find several differences too. For example in SportsFusion, all scoring comes from the official Ryder Cup web site and users are taken there to check scoring. In Ryder Cup 2014 the PGA posts scoring directly to the app so users do not leave. We won't know which system works best until the matches begin. For social media, Ryder Cup 2014 provides a listing of the official team accounts on Twitter and also FanChat from the various social media sites. SportsFusion doesn't deliver those posting to the app but does allow users to easily upload their comments to a variety of social media outlets. Also because of the direct connection to the PGA, Ryder Cup 2014 contains a lot more behind the scenes information on the European and USA team members and the Gleneagles golf course. Users will get bios and stats on the golfers and a hole by hole breakdown of the golf course including fly over videos with narration explaining the features and hazards on each hole. Any similar information on the SportsFusion app will have to come from the news stories included in the app but not from the app directly. I think the course information is especially helpful. Users get an aerial photo of the hole, distance and par information along with the flyover videos. That can add to your enjoyment and knowledge as you watch the matches on TV. That brings up another big advantage to Ryder Cup 2014. Again being the official app, users will find live video and audio once the matches begin. The app features streaming video from the golf course and audio from the radio broadcast of the event. Both are big pluses if you have other things to do on the weekend besides park in front of your TV. The SportsFusion app does have one area that I believe is an advantage. That app offers a compilation of news stories from a variety of web sources. Ryder Cup 2014's news listing come from just PGA.com and the Associated Press. So on the SportsFusion app you will get broader coverage of events leading up to the actual competition and the matches themselves. If live video is important to you I think Ryder Cup 2014 is a clear winner. However, I suggest you get and use both apps so you get the most complete coverage. They are both free and will only be useful through this week. Then you can delete both apps.
Track the Ryder Cup with Sportfusion Unofficial News Edition
Over the last twenty-five years the Ryder Cup has become a major sporting event. The biennial competition between golfers from the United States and players from Great Britain and continental Europe draws huge crowds and television ratings. Now you can follow this years battle that takes place next week in Scotland with the Sportfusion-Unofficial 2014 Ryder Cup News Edition. The universal app requires iOS 6.0. The app doesn't carry official Ryder Cup status. However, it still provides lots of information for interested golfers. You will find a link to the official Ryder Cup web site so you can track the scores of the matches once they tee off beginning next Friday at Gleneagles in Scotland. Additionally Sportfusion-Unofficial 2014 Ryder Cup News Edition offers access to news updates and stories about the competition, the golfers, the Gleneagles course, the team captains, and more. Users can choose whether they want the latest news, or news from the last 24 hours or the last week. All these stories can be sent to you by setting up a push notification on the app. The news stories shown to users are pulled from other sites so you will receive plenty of information. If a story was written about the Ryder Cup or any of the participants you should be able to see it in the app. Now with all those stories available it might be a bit overwhelming but Sportsfusion-Unofficial 2014 Ryder Cup News Edition allows you to choose your favorite topics so you receive just stories from those areas. You also can choose to eliminate certain topics so stories from those areas are eliminated and you don't see them even in the general news summaries. Sportfusion-Unofficial 2014 Ryder Cup News Edition makes it simple for users to share their favorite stories with friends through a variety of social media sites. Users can also upload their own comments to the app for others to read. The app provides a single place to find all of the stories leading up to the matches and the scores once the competition begins. However, the app has a short life time. Once the competition ends and the post match analysis is completed the Ryder Cup goes on its normal two year hiatus. You will find some stories in the interim, but not many. So grab it and use it now. I searched iTunes and did not find any other apps dedicated to the Ryder Cup. So even though Sportfusion-Unofficial 2014 Ryder Cup News Edition doesn't carry the official Ryder Cup approval it does a good job of keeping users informed and up to date with Ryder Cup information.
Sky Sports for iPad update brings second screen to UEFA Champions League, Ryder Cup
When you're rooting for your team, one screen is never enough. Sky Sports knows this, and knows it quite well it seems. Hence why the UK Satellite giant is rolling out more of it via its iPad app. Now, as promised, the UEFA Champions League and 2012 Ryder Cup get in on the action. As you would imagine, the update lets users dive into a bunch of stats, game info, live tweets and even allows watching multiple games split-screen stylee. The updated app is available now, in plenty of time for the build up, leaving you free to stock up on snacks and refreshments.
NBC rebrands Olympics app as NBC Sports Live Extra, promises streams for a wider athletic universe
NBC's Olympics Live Extra may have lost its original raison d'être after the flame was extinguished in London, but that doesn't mean it's time to purge the app from your phone's home screen. An update for Android and iOS users alike is giving the title new life as NBC Sports Live Extra, and the name makes it quite obvious that you'll have a lot more to watch than just biathlons and fencing. NBC expects to offer live streaming for the European PGA, LPGA, MLS, NHL, Notre Dame, PGA, Ryder Cup and other events or leagues culled from the channel formerly known as Versus. Highlights, social sharing and other side features will carry over as well. You don't have to do a thing beyond check for a new version to make the switch to the already updated apps, but you will have to subscribe to conventional TV to use them properly: NBC is requiring TV Everywhere authentication for access to most of what's on offer from NBC Sports Network and the Golf Channel.
Football fans score additional content in Sky Sports for iPad update
The app devs over at Sky Sports are having a busy year, and after improving their iPad offering for the F1 season, they're back with a "second screen" update for football (soccer) fans. Just in time for the start of the UK Premier League season, the new Football Match Centre adds a content bar alongside your chosen stream showing team and player info, in-depth stats of the match in progress and a hand-picked Twitter feed for related musings. You might think the devs deserve a break, but sadly there's no time -- next on the agenda is a similar update for the Champions League tournament, then they're bringing the second screen to golf fans before the Ryder Cup starts next month.
Sky 3D channel comes home October 1 with Ryder Cup, EPL, movies and more
The Sky 3D channel has so far been officially available only in 1,500 or so UK pubs, but now its residential launch for all Sky+HD customers is slated for October 1. The 2010 Ryder Cup will serve as a launch event with three days of live coverage from Celtic Manor as the US and European teams do battle; the first ever in 3D, but the third such event it's covered in high definition. Golf fans won't be the only ones catered to, Premier League football will be returning once the season starts and today's announcement coincided with a SkyArts 3D filming arranged by the English National Ballet. Hollywood's major studios have already agreed to provide 3D movies including Bolt, Monsters vs. Aliens, Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince and more, while Sky has commissioned its own original 3D flick, Flying Monsters presented by Sir David Attenborough. Not quite ready for the 3D revolution? Feel free to put that on the backburner -- at least until the 2012 London Olympics -- as the network is also adding content from HBO, a large slate of new comedies, Anytime+ VOD, and a Sky Mobile TV iPad app. With an HD channel count of 43 and plans to reach 50 by year-end, there should be a little something there for everyone to enjoy.
Sky Cable Philippines delivers nation's first HD broadcast with Ryder Cup
Initially, we wondered why Sky Cable Philippines would choose the Ryder Cup as the nation's first HD broadcast, but then we remembered that there's really no better way to show off the benefits of high-def than to showcase a sporting event. Reportedly the cable carrier will be delivering the four day event (September 19th through 22nd) in magnificent high-definition to those who take the plunge on an HD set-top-box. Too bad that box costs a stiff $42, but hopefully this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.[Thanks, Marco]
