For the third year, the standard analog and HDTV productions of the 2005 Masters Tournament will be unified and will provide 18-hole coverage in 1080i with 5.1 Channel Surround Sound.
In the largest HDTV golf production to date, CBS Sports will utilize 42 high definition cameras and 10 hand-held 16x9 standard definition cameras. The unified productions will be produced in HDTV's highest definition format, 1080i, and downconverted for the CBS Television Network's analog broadcast. This production technique also produces a better quality analog picture. Whether watching in widescreen HD or traditional 4x3 analog, viewers will hear the same golf announcers and see the same camera angles, replays and graphics.
The 2000 Masters was the first golf tournament ever presented live in HDTV on network television. The 2003 Masters marked the first time that the standard and HDTV productions of the Tournament were unified.
CBS Sports will broadcast the 2005 Masters on the CBS Television HD Network on Thursday, April 7 and Friday, April 8 (4:00-7:00 PM, ET, each day) and Saturday, April 9 (3:30-7:00 PM, ET) and Sunday, April 10 (2:30-7:00 PM, ET) live from Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. The third and final rounds of the Masters will be broadcast simultaneously in standard definition by CBS Sports on the analog CBS Television Network.
Beginning in 1993 the Masters experimented with HDTV on a limited basis to discover how the new system could improve the presentation of the tournament to the television audience. The 2005 Masters broadcast will be presented in the highest form of HDTV with 1080 lines of resolution and over two million picture elements which makes it six times sharper than standard definition television.
One hundred and eighty-one of CBS's owned and affiliated stations are currently broadcasting in digital, covering approximately 97 percent of the nation.
