The Masters Tournament
Early Round Coverage
ESPN HD
Thursday & Friday
From Augusta National, Augusta, GA
4-7 PM ET with a 8 PM ET replay

Billy Payne, Chariman of Augusta National on ESPN. From masters.org
Q. Can you talk about the decision to get ESPN involved in the Masters, and there's been some stuff written about some of the reverence and decorum, will it be lost with the ESPN ization of the Masters; any concern of that?

CHAIRMAN BILLY PAYNE: No. We have addressed all those concerns. I think you will discover that ESPN will be very respectful of the tradition of the Masters. We have discussed at length how we would like for them to portray the Masters. We are very much comfortable with their talent, their capability. We are very much impressed with their international reach.

They have wonderful people, and it's just been a pleasure working with them over these last several months, and I am certain they are going to do a wonderful job and they will look very much like they have been here forever, as well.

Q. Back to the television coverage for just one question. Does the relationship with ESPN diminish in any way your long relationship with CBS Sports?

CHAIRMAN BILLY PAYNE: No, sir. As far as I know, they have worked together great and you know, a little competition is good. But I think they are getting along famously, and we deeply value and treasure our long term relationship with CBS. Let us be very clear on that; they are our No. 1 media partner.

Should I not have posted in this existing thread on the same topic?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1014407

Should I not have posted in this existing thread on the same topic?

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1014407

This thread is for the actual coverage of The Masters for today and tomorrow. The previous thread was the announcement of ESPNHD's efforts during The Masters.

Broadcast now up on ESPN.

Once again, magnificent production values.

Watching on D*. Looks great. I really like the Masters Mix channel on 706.

Is anyone else getting the screen freeze every 5 seconds? This is seriously pissing me off. Just wondering if it is ESPN or my P.O.S. cable company.

no freezes for me on cox phoenix. Looks great but the dd5.1 doesn't seem as good on ESPN as we usually get on CBS.

Anyone getting it on CBS HD?

Anyone getting it on CBS HD?

Not here in Detroit, but you probably already know that.

Anyone getting it on CBS HD?

I received this note from our station, KPHO-DT Phoenix.

Donald,

Unfortunately we won't be able to carry the early round coverage this year. The PGA gave the rights to the first two rounds to ESPN instead of USA this year, so CBS can't offer us that coverage. You will be able to watch it on ESPN-HD if you have access to that channel.

Seth Parker
Program Director
CBS 5
www.kpho.com

So unfortunately we only get a few hours of coverage unlike previous years when we would get morning coverage as well.

Donald :)

Not here in Detroit, but you probably already know that.Actually no, I don't have HD access right now.

So, this would be the first year since The Masters going HD in 2000, that CBS HD isn't also offering the early rounds in HD.

So unfortunately we only get a few hours of coverage unlike previous years when we would get morning coverage as well.

There was never any morning coverage normally scheduled. The only time that might have happened was during weather delays.

I guess it depends on what time zone you are in. In AZ we are on west coast time and in previous years we would have coverage on CBS starting at 10am PST on Thursday and Friday.

Donald :)

I'm getting audio dropouts(DD light keeps going out as well), and picture freezes(I see th putts looking like Mouse trails).

Anyone else seeing this on ESPNHD/Cable?

Comcast south of Boston.

picture is fantastic on D*

I received this note from our station, KPHO-DT Phoenix.



So unfortunately we only get a few hours of coverage unlike previous years when we would get morning coverage as well.

Donald :)
He may be right about ESPN, but the PGA has absolutely nothing to do with the television rights for this event.

ESPNHD on Comcast in Alexandria is great. No PQ problems and no bugs/scrolls, etc. Amazing you can see the whole picture.

It appears that CBS has updated the graphics this year. Same basic design now with a 3D look to them.

Anyone getting it on CBS HD?

Not on WCBS, NY.

The reason it doesn't sound as good as CBS is ESPN is in circle surround not true DD 5.1.

When they had they delay they should have eliminate the 3 starters times that were built in so the last groups could have finished in daylight.

Looked excellent from NYC's TWC on a 64" 9"-CRT RPTV. As with earlier majors split between weekday 720p and weekend 1080i, the 720p (sideconverted to 1080i here) appeared crisper than some 720p programming. Assume that's from downconverting 1080/60p cameras to 720/60p. Closeups and medium shots with 720p looked similar to most live 1080i. Distant crowds and scene scans seemed to fall off slightly in effective resolution compared to live 1080i. With earlier split 720p/1080i delivery, this became more obvious by DVRing and comparing these distant shots between 720p and 1080i delivery. (Apparently one of the limiting resolution factors here is a STB and/or cable system limited to 1290 lines (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?postid=5175424#post5175424) maximum effective horizontal resolution. That's using HDNet's Saturday 6:30 am ET test pattern, assuming results apply to other channels.)

Spotted a few brief instances of what's typically called 'swimming grass' with 720p programming. These were over-the-shoulder shots of golfers striking a ball. Except rather than all individual grass blades wriggling like worms, this looked liked broader 'waves' of oscillations. Believe these shots were in the open with good lighting. Spotted similar 'oscillating grass' with RF cameras recently on an all-1080i golf match, except that shot was from under a group of leafy trees (perhaps disrupting the RF to the trucks). -- John

I don't believe they are using any RF cameras at the Masters. The whole place has fiber buried and they have pick up points to plug the handhelds in.

I don't believe they are using any RF cameras at the Masters. The whole place has fiber buried and they have pick up points to plug the handhelds in.

Has anyone noticed the "ghosting" particularly around the brim of the hats? It looks like a shadow off of their hats in a different color. Reminds me of when TNT covered their first Nascar, and they had this ghosting all over the place.

I am watching on Directv in New Orleans.

Maybe the 700 channels are better than ESPN? Not at all impressed with what I see here. I know weekend coverage on CBS will be excellent as usual.

The reason it doesn't sound as good as CBS is ESPN is in circle surround not true DD 5.1.
Actually, it sounded great last night. The entire broadcast was in DD 5.1 according to my receiver (and the announcers were only center channel, something that doesn't happen on any other ESPN broadcast).

*quote pulled from previous thread*

Didn't watch it today but KOVR in Sacramento confirmed they would be showing the early rounds.

Did this actually happen?

I was actually having this conversation with a friend last night at the bar. Kinda bummed out that CBS didn't have the rights to air these two rounds. I get ESPNHD, but OTA PQ is superior than that of my Comcast.

Actually, it sounded great last night. The entire broadcast was in DD 5.1 according to my receiver (and the announcers were only center channel, something that doesn't happen on any other ESPN broadcast).

Not to beat this dead horse, but an A/V receiver showing DD 5.1 isn't definitive proof of much these days. ;)

(with regard to HD programming)

Not to beat this dead horse, but an A/V receiver showing DD 5.1 isn't definitive proof of much these days. ;)

(with regard to HD programming)
Yes, which is why I followed it up with the observation that the center channel audio was announcer's only and not split across multiple speakers. Normal ESPN broadcasts this is not the case.

Funny, but according to the resolution lights on my D* DVR, if you tune to ESPN-HD it is being shown in 720p, but the same broadcast on channel 707 is recognized as 1080i.
And the HD Masters mix channel is damn addictive.

Ch 707 definitely has better PQ than 206.

The interactive feature is also a nice touch.
Pressing the Red button brings up the menu.

.... this is for those who haven't been watching rounds 1 and 2.....

This is not an ESPN production. It is a CBS production fed through ESPN. (so I guess it will not be fed through any CBS affiliates until CBS puts Round 3 on the full network on Saturday) The only input from ESPN is Mike Terrico doing interviews in Butler's Cabin. The 4-minute-per-hour rule for commercials applies to both CBS and ESPN.

Ch 707 definitely has better PQ than 206.

The interactive feature is also a nice touch.
Pressing the Red button brings up the menu.

I agree with you. I've been switching back and forth between ESPN and channel 707 and 707 definitely has the better picture quality. I'm assuming that the 700 channels on D* are using mpeg-4 compression while 206 is still on mpeg-2. It makes for a great comparison of the difference in picture quality with different compression.

I agree with you. I've been switching back and forth between ESPN and channel 707 and 707 definitely has the better picture quality. I'm assuming that the 700 channels on D* are using mpeg-4 compression while 206 is still on mpeg-2. It makes for a great comparison of the difference in picture quality with different compression.

I agree...707 definitely has the better PQ...and it shows up as 1080i.

Anyone know if this is mpeg4 on channel 707?

Yes, which is why I followed it up with the observation that the center channel audio was announcer's only and not split across multiple speakers. Normal ESPN broadcasts this is not the case.

Just making a general point here, nothing specific to ESPN or CBS or whomever. Even DD5.1 with what appears to be proper separation among channels may not be original mixed in discrete 5.1. I'm not point this towards you at all, it's just that many people see "5.1" lit up on their receiver and assume the audio was originally 5.1. Lots of local stations are for example mixing everything into faux 5.1 using newer hardware. These boxes do decent separation and could fool anyone into thinking the source was originally 5.1.

No ESPN hd logo and no scroll on the bottom of the screen on tonights showing of the round earlier today. May have had these on during the live coverage.

May have to do with CBS not wanting it on.

Whatever the case, it sure was nice looking at the FULL hd tv!!!

Yes, which is why I followed it up with the observation that the center channel audio was announcer's only and not split across multiple speakers. Normal ESPN broadcasts this is not the case.

That's not what I heard. I heard music and voice in all three front channels.

That's not what I heard. I heard music and voice in all three front channels.
Yeah, you seem to be right. My mistake.