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

The CBS production is absolutely top notch. Been watching via DirecTV on the 42" DLP and 100" projector, both 720p.

Looks great on ESPN HD via Comcast in Detroit.

Looks great via Cablevision. I wish all TV events can have this clean of a screen.

Looks great via Cablevision. I wish all TV events can have this clean of a screen.

Yeah, I would love to see MLS and World Cup games like this. ESPN junks the screen up with the bottom line, their logo in three spots and huge score bars.

The Masters graphics package is plain and perfect.

Picture looks absolutely stunning on my Pioneer 141FD!!! It is like being there!

TSN HD via Star Choice.

Looks great via Cablevision. I wish all TV events can have this clean of a screen.

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I watched the NCAA Frozen Four last night on ESPN2HD. Between the huge bottom line and ginormous score box, it was very hard to watch the game. Maybe I'm happy that ESPN doesn't have the NHL...
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Props to Augusta for standing tall and not allowing the networks to fill the screen with crap.

[off topic]
I watched the NCAA Frozen Four last night on ESPN2HD. Between the huge bottom line and ginormous score box, it was very hard to watch the game. Maybe I'm happy that ESPN doesn't have the NHL...
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Props to Augusta for standing tall and not allowing the networks to fill the screen with crap.

I agree on all accounts. The Master's truly is the crown jewel of hdtv as far as I am concerned. ESPN just plain sucks.

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I watched the NCAA Frozen Four last night on ESPN2HD. Between the huge bottom line and ginormous score box, it was very hard to watch the game. Maybe I'm happy that ESPN doesn't have the NHL...
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Definitely. Of all the major sports, hockey seems to benefit most from a clutter-free screen.

The ESPN network feed on Directv channel 702 is being broadcast in 1080i and is a definite improvement over ESPN's regular channel.

The ESPN network feed on Directv channel 702 is being broadcast in 1080i and is a definite improvement over ESPN's regular channel.

Must be something in your setup, I saw no difference between 206 and 702 on DirecTV. If your TV is native 1080i/p, perhaps it doesn't do a very good job reprocessing the 720p signal from the DirecTV IRD. I flipped on my 1080p LCD in the bedroom last night and watched part of the replay, 206 looked just as good as 702 had during the live broadcast.

The coverage is originated in 1080i isn't it? ESPN do a cross-convert to 720p, whilst CBS show the latter stages in 1080i native?

ISTR that the production is single standard - with no switching of production standard mid-event?

BBC HD is showing it in 1080/50i - the conversion isn't that bad.

The coverage is originated in 1080i isn't it?

That is correct.

I wish the whole tournament was broadcast as in years gone by. With all the ESPN's available and there not being a huge program getting preempted, I don't know why they cut down coverage.

I wish the whole tournament was broadcast as in years gone by. With all the ESPN's available and there not being a huge program getting preempted, I don't know why they cut down coverage.

Cut coverage? It is the same amount as in previous years.

Because clearly ESPN needs to show their 10 replays of Sportscenter in the morning...:eek:

Haven't Golf Majors been shown in their entirety? I recall turning set on at 8 and watching British open and seems to me other Majors.

Haven't Golf Majors been shown in their entirety? I recall turning set on at 8 and watching British open and seems to me other Majors.

Yes, other majors have allowed more coverage, however, The Masters is different. Only in the last few years has the coverage expended to what it is now. There is no reduced coverage this year as compared to years past.

i could have sworn we got close to all day coverage of R1 & R2 when it was on USA.

Haven't Golf Majors been shown in their entirety? I recall turning set on at 8 and watching British open and seems to me other Majors.

The Masters is different - the people who run it set the standards for what can be shown and when and also, what can and cannot be said.

They insist on their graphics package. No promoting other shows or events.

The announcers must call them "patrons", not "gallery"; "first cut" and "second cut", not "rough". Certain people have been banned for not following the rules (see Gary McCord, Ben Wright, Jack Whitaker).

You can only televise for three hours (on Thursday and Friday), not a second more. Only 4 minutes of commercials per hour.

Yes, it's old-fashioned, but in HD, it's wonderful - HD as it was meant to be.

i could have sworn we got close to all day coverage of R1 & R2 when it was on USA.

USA had the same 4-7 coverage with the 8PM replay. It sometimes ran longer and they did show some morning coverage but that was because of rain postponing action from the previous day.

I just wanted to add my thanks to the Masters committee for forcing ESPN and CBS to produce a quality broadcast without popups telling me what I'm watching and crazy scrolls along the bottom of the screen. It's so relaxing to watch. I didn't realize how much energy I was using trying to avoid all the clutter trying to see a regular broadcast. If only there was some way to make the networks realize that they will attract more people to their shows with a quality broadcast instead of attacking and badgering their customers.

Please ESPN. Please CBS. Take a lesson from this broadcast. Treat your customers with respect by putting on a quality broadcast without distractions and we will spread the word that you are a channel worth watching.:)

Will sports networks ever get the message that those scrolling scores at the bottom of the screen are incredibly annoying and distracting? I really hate those! And why do they insist on having a score box up on the screen for every second of a baseball or football game? It is such a pleasure to watch a high quality HD broadcast with a nice clean screen.

Please ESPN. Please CBS. Take a lesson from this broadcast. Treat your customers with respect by putting on a quality broadcast without distractions and we will spread the word that you are a channel worth watching.:)

I hate to break it to you, but they'll never learn :D

Will we ever see the day in this ever advancing technology when the viewer has some interactive control over the graphics ... having the ability to turn them on or off?

Will we ever see the day in this ever advancing technology when the viewer has some interactive control over the graphics ... having the ability to turn them on or off?

I wish like hell it would happen but it won't because you are seeing sponsors now for these graphics. The whole thing is just sickening and reall makes you appreciate the 4 days a year we have the Masters

This production is amazing. So clean, excellent PQ. Limited commercials.

Will we ever see the day in this ever advancing technology when the viewer has some interactive control over the graphics ... having the ability to turn them on or off?

No.

No.

Though interactive TV already allows a commentary choice on some sporting events - in the UK at least.

Some events have a choice between no commentary, TV commentary (and sometimes more than one version for matches between home nations), radio commentary and fan commentary.

I've not seen a no-graphics choice, but some of the Sky services allow you to add more information as an overlay.

Some events have a choice between no commentary, TV commentary (and sometimes more than one version for matches between home nations), radio commentary and fan commentary

This I would pay some money to have in the NHL playoffs. I want to hear the crowd go crazy after goals and things like that.

One of the biggest things to remember is golf is much less reliant on ad revenue and television contracts than the other major sports. Not thoroughly, but the sponsorship structure of the events is very different. In fact the NFL, NHL, MLB and most high end college sports have pretty much become dependent on their respective television contracts to stay afloat. The Masters is still The Masters whether its broadcast or not so in some ways Augusta could (though they wouldn't) opt to not even air the event. This is not true of the Super Bowl for example so the networks and leagues have a lot more give and take with presentation. The NFL or NCAA is not going to mandate production values (if you have an NFL television contract you're assumed to have high production values), that's not even really fiscally conceivable. Can you imagine the NBA limiting commercials? The very idea is absurd considering the timeout structure of the games is built around TV. Same with football. In fact TV plays such an integral part of the mainstream sports that they make money on made-for-TV events like all-star games, home run derbys and Pro Bowls.

We're most likely not going to ever see a day where an NBA Finals or Super Bowl is broadcast like the Masters. Not that these shows don't exhibit superior production values in their own right as someone I think incorrectly asserted, but the desired end result is different. Television is much more of a dynamic player in modern sports and every broadcaster always tries to outdo or mimic their competitors as a means of furthering or establishing their brand identity. Again this is not a major component of the Masters broadcast.

We're most likely not going to ever see a day where an NBA Finals or Super Bowl is broadcast like the Masters. Not that these shows don't exhibit superior production values in their own right as someone I think incorrectly asserted, but the desired end result is different. Television is much more of a dynamic player in modern sports and every broadcaster always tries to outdo or mimic their competitors as a means of furthering or establishing their brand identity. Again this is not a major component of the Masters broadcast.

The Masters just serves to underscore the fact that sometimes, less is more.

HD the way it is supposed to be. I wish the NFL. MLB, and the NBA would impose such restrictions on the networks as well.