At the Masters professional golf tournament, guests on-site at Augusta National Golf Club and viewers at select locations around the country will be treated to a unique view of the historic grounds, through Sony Electronics’ 3D consumer TV and professional camera technology. Sony, a sponsor of the Masters’ first broadcast in 3D, is outfitting hospitality suites at Augusta with its new 3D BRAVIA LCD TV sets to display a perspective never before seen of Augusta.
Select Sony Style stores will also host private events on April 8 with a two-hour live broadcast from two holes being broadcast in 3D.
Participating Sony Style Stores:
- The Fashion Center at Pentagon City (Arlington, Virginia)
- The Market at Comcast Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- King of Prussia (King of Prussia, Pennsylvania)
- Houston Galleria (Houston, Texas)
- The Woodlands Mall (The Woodlands, Texas)
At these times:
- Saturday April 10th 5-7pm EST: Live 3D tournament coverage
- Sunday April 11th 5-7pm EST: Live 3D Final Round coverage
The 3D content will also be delivered to the new “Sony 3D Experience,” a consumer research center developed by Sony and CBS and located in Las Vegas within the CBS Television City facility at the MGM Grand Hotel.
To produce the 3D images, Sony HD cameras will be used in stereo pairs supplied by NEP Productions, the mobile production company for the tournament. This year’s Masters represents the largest worldwide gathering of Sony cameras being used to provide HD coverage, and the 3D coverage is being exclusively switched through a Sony MVS-8000 series production switcher.
“Sony technology is a big part of the Masters’ history,” said Mike Fasulo, Sony Electronics executive vice president and chief marketing officer. “Our professional HD cameras were used when the Masters was first shot in HD in 2000, and are now being used to shoot this year’s tournament in 3D for the first time. Now with our 3D TVs coming to market soon, Sony is delivering a true, end-to-end 3D sports experience for consumers.”
Comcast will use its fiber network to carry the 3D production feed to the Comcast Media Center where it will be packaged for distribution to cable systems, the official Masters web site, as well as Sony 3D TV sets in the Augusta National Clubhouse and hospitality, suites and select Sony Style stores.
Well-known DP and 3D expert Vince Pace will also be working with the Sony cameras on the NEP truck. Pace and director James Cameron co-developed a 3D camera system (based on Sony cameras) that was used to shoot “Avatar,” with similar rigs being deployed at Augusta.
