Panasonic and CBS Sports will expand the 3D coverage of next month’s US Open Tennis Championships to include matches from Louis Armstrong Stadium, the USTA announced this morning (Monday, Aug. 22).
CBS Sports will serve as the host broadcaster producing 3D versions of all Arthur Ashe Stadium matches that it broadcasts in HiDef both on Labor Day Weekend and on Finals Weekend, September 9-11.
Last year’s 3D production of the 2010 US Open Tennis Championships – the first world-wide 3D broadcast of a tennis major – was honored with a 2010 Emmy Award for technical achievement.
This year’s expanded 3D broadcast coverage will include new, 3D-specific positions designed by the telecast partners to provide the best 3D perspectives. The action will be covered by ten 3D broadcast cameras and a high-speed 3D replay system. A pre-production model of Panasonic’s new 3DP1 handheld Full HD 3D professional camcorder (available later this fall) will be used to provide match and grounds coverage for the telecast. And the overall court coverage will again be based around the innovative 3D broadcast camera shadow rigs designed by the Cameron Pace Group and used last year.
Panasonic – which returns as the official 3D electronics sponsor and the official television of the US Open Championships, as well as sponsor of CBS Sports’ 2D and 3D US Open telecasts – will enable fans at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center to experience the immersive world of 3D via public viewing galleries featuring the latest large-screen Viera Full HD 3D TVs. These on-site Panasonic “Experience Amazing” exhibits will demonstrate a wide range of 3D programming including movies and live TV events. They will also showcase Panasonic’s Viera Connect technology in web-connected TVs and Blu-ray Disc players, which feature Skype video calling, Facebook, Twitter and lots more. The Panasonic “Experience Amazing” 3D exhibits can be found on the ground level of Louis Armstrong Stadium, at the Panasonic 3D Gaming Center within the SmashZone, and at the Panasonic VIERA Connect booth in the South Plaza in front of Court 10.
CBS Sports’ 3D telecasts of the 2011 US Open will again be available on DirecTV’s channel 103, “n/3D Powered by Panasonic.” This year, Comcast will also carry the 3D broadcast coverage to its subscribers on Xfinity 3D, making CBS Sports coverage of the 2011 US Open available via the nation’s two largest multi-channel video providers. Distribution discussions with additional providers are ongoing. Additionally, the men’s and women’s finals will be streamed live in 3D on USOpen.org, the official website of the tournament.
“Working with our partners CBS Sports and Panasonic, we once again expect to be a leader in presenting our sport to fans in breathtaking new ways,” said USTA Harlan Stone, Chief Business and Communications Officer. “Last year we saw the impressive production values for 3D television and now, by including Louis Armstrong Stadium and expanding our distribution, we are bringing this innovative new look to the sport to more people than ever before.”
“Panasonic is delighted to again be sponsoring the US Open Championships and bringing the passion and power of this premier tennis event in stunning 3D to TV screens across the country,” said Joseph M. Taylor, Chairman & CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. “The tennis pros on the courts will be broadcast in 3D by sports production pros at our partner CBS, and with the USTA itself, we are thrilled to be back at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for this top event.”
“As we saw from last year, there may be no better sport to broadcast in 3D than tennis,” said Harold Byrant, Executive Producer & Vice President, Production, CBS Sports. “With our additional cameras and enhanced camera positions, including low, court-level positions, viewers will feel like they’re actually on the court with some of the world’s greatest players. CBS Sports is once again looking forward to using this groundbreaking technology during our coverage of the US Open Tennis Championships.”
The 3D broadcasts will use a separate production team and equipment from the traditional HiDef broadcasts of the tournament. Plans call two special 3D production trucks and a unique 3D-dedicated CBS Sports broadcast team. CBS has designed and upgraded 3D broadcast camera placements lower to the court than traditional TV locations in order to capture the close-up and personal, athletic dimension of tennis that make 3D such a powerful experience.
Away from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, Panasonic and DirecTV will also provide the live CBS Sports 3D broadcasts of the US Open semi-final and final matches to hundreds of TV retail outlets nationwide, including scores of Best Buy stores.
— By Scott Hettrick
Hats off to CBS for offering 3D coverage at the US Open. Unfortunately, the crew has a learning curve about 3D that must be mastered. First camera movement must be kept to a bare minimum. they panned the camera much too much leaving the view with a mild motion sickness. Secondly, the camera angles must be thought out better. Forget the knee high shots and the low side/corner shots. It is impossible to see anything at these angles…. again with the excessive camera movement. The best angle is slightly above the players head in the center of the court. The second best is the higher up center of the court shot. Forget the other angles unless you are showing replays. It seemed like CBS was impressing themselves with their many 3D camera angles. It really made for difficult viewing of the 3D version, so much so that I ended up watching the match in HD. CBS – you’re on the right track, just clean clean this up a bit and you’ll have a winner. Take a lesson from the Wimbledon coverage. It was first rate… To get the full flavor of what I’m talking about, require your cameramen and management team to watch an entire 3D match of the finals or Semis and you’ll see I’m talking about.
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