On Thursday, I had the opportunity to view The Masters in 3-D. Invited to a viewing party in Boston by Comcast, I was able to watch live action from selected holes from the back nine at Augusta National Golf Club.
The TV sets are of course in 3-D. I had to wear rather bulky 3-D glasses to watch the live golf otherwise I would have seen side-by-side images. However, once I was able to watch with the glasses, the picture was truly amazing.
I was able to see the undulation in the greens. In addition, I could tell the difference in the slope of the fairways. Graphics popped out of the screen. I could also determine how far a tree was from a golfer or how far the crowd was from the tee box. As a light drizzle was falling in Augusta, I could see the detail of the raindrops onto the water.
Using Masters vernacular, patrons at the bottom of the screen also seemed to pop out of the set. It was as if I could reach out and touch someone.
The picture was truly spectacular. Golf is a perfect event for 3-D and seemingly was made for three dimensions. I give credit to Comcast for jumping on the technology as it sent the 3-D signals directly from Augusta to its media center via fiber optic network where it was distributed to Comcast cable providers in addition to Time Warner, Cox and Cablevision in the United States as well as other participating cable providers around the world.
Is it the future of sport? The jury is still out, but if the technology gets more affordable, I can see people supporting 3-D. However, if the technology remains around $3,500 per set, then people will be hesitant to buy TV sets.
I expect to view The Masters in 3-D again this weekend and I’ll also provide my impressions at that time.
