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Every shot from the Masters will be posted online within five minutes
Golf fans who are planning to watch the Masters this weekend will have yet more ways to check out the action. For the first time at a golf tournament, practically every one of the more than 20,000 shots from the first major of the year will be available to view on the Masters website and app within five minutes of a player striking the ball.
DirecTV doubles its live 4K broadcasts for this year's Masters
Last year DirecTV made history with the first live 4K broadcast -- the PGA Masters Tournament. It was only one channel, sure, but up to that point anything we'd seen in UHD had been pre-recorded. For the outfit's return trip to the 4K links, DirecTV is doubling the number of channels available. CBS is handling production duties for channels 105 and 106 from April 6th through the 9th. The former will feature views from Amen Corner, while the latter is dedicated to holes 15 and 16.
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)
ESPN 3D is bringing five days of Masters coverage in April
In 2010, the annual Masters golf tournament was the jumping off point for 3D sports broadcasts when Comcast featured it, and this year it will have an even wider 3D audience by being featured for all five days on ESPN 3D. The plan is for two hours of coverage each day beginning with the Par 3 contest on Wednesday April 6 through Sunday between 5-7 p.m. As usual, ESPN's also doing its HD thing for the PAr 3 contest and first two days of the tournament with 4.5 hours of coverage a day just like it has since '08, but we'll be most interested to see just how much the prospective audience has grown since last spring.
Comcast only wants to share 3D feed of The Masters with cable
Verizon and DirecTV aren't too happy with Comcast today -- the first national 3D broadcast is upon us and it isn't on satellite and it isn't on fiber. Some might call this competition, but regardless it is no coincidence that cable operators around the country are the only ones delivering 8 hours of 3D coverage. Cable companies have always stuck together as they don't really compete with each other, so it is in their best interest to keep something like this within their fave five. Not cool if you're one of the few who picked up a 3DTV already, and want to watch more than just a demo disc, or Monsters vs Aliens again. In the grand scheme of things this isn't that big of a deal, it isn't like they are holding back on a full time 3D channel or something.
The Masters in 3D will require you to manually select side by side
So you have Comcast's HD service, love golf, and have already picked up one of the latest 3DTVs from Samsung or Panasonic. Everything you need to enjoy The Masters this week in 3D, right? Well actually there is one little detail you need to know -- otherwise it'll look like the image above. This 3D presentation came about pretty fast and Comcast, Time Warner Cable and others have yet to update set-top boxes with 3D aware firmware. The good news is that frame compatible side by side 3D doesn't actually require the box to know what's going on. The bad news is that the set-top box won't tell your fancy new 3DTV what format the 3D is in. Luckily the fix is simple, you simply need to tell your TV what type of signal it's receiving. Exactly how to do it will depend on your TV, but it shouldn't take too much digging around in the interface to figure it out.
Comcast's 3D channel goes live, just in time for the Masters
Customers in a handful of Comcast markets might have noticed that the switch on their promised 3D content just got flipped in the past 24 hours or so; viewers were greeted with a short loop of test content at first, but now, they're getting a message pimping coverage of the Masters Tournament that starts later today. We caught this particular message above in Chicago, but folks with HD boxes in San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Denver, Twin Cities, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Miami, and Indianapolis should all have access to the programming. Naturally, you'll need a 3D-compatible set and glasses to enjoy the footage, but be warned: if the ball comes straight at the camera, it's going to be really, really scary for a second. Update: Oh, and if you don't have a 3D TV or Comcast service handy, no sweat -- you can still watch it online if you've got the right equipment.
