The Masters in 4K: DirecTV, CBS Sports Tee Up First Live 4K UHD Broadcast in U.S.

AT&T today announced that it will deliver the first-ever live 4K UHD broadcast in the United States on DirecTV with next month's Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. DirecTV will work with CBS Sports to produce the live 4K UHD telecast at Augusta National and will utilize Mobile TV Group's new 39 FLEX 4K mobile unit.

The production will serve as the inaugural live event on the new DirecTV 4K Channel, which launches in April. DirecTV customers with compatible 4K UHD equipment will be able to view coverage of Amen Corner (holes 11, 12 and 13) live from Augusta National during all four rounds of The Masters Tournament.

Golf's premier event deserves the best viewing experience that 4K UHD on DirecTV provides, Dan York, chief content officer, AT&T Entertainment Group, said in a statement. Once you see it in 4K on DirecTV, it's going to be tough to see it any other way - unless you're there in person.

Inaugural live 4K UHD coverage on the DirecTV 4K channel will feature all four rounds of Tournament play (April 7-10 from approximately 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT) at Amen Corner, Augusta National's legendary 11th, 12th and 13th holes.

The announcement comes on the heels of the respective launches of a series of live 4K sports telecasts in Canada by Rogers and TSN in January. Both companies are producing and delivering live NHL and NBA games in 4K with Rogers adding live Toronto Blue Jays games to the mix this spring. Meanwhile in Europe, BT Sport launched its own UHD channel featuring live 4K soccer matches last year and plans to increase its number of live 4K productions in 2016.

The new DirecTV 4K channel, which launches in April as part of the DirecTV ULTIMATE and PREMIER Packages, includes unique 4K UHD content from AUDIENCE Network, documentaries and more. Customers who want the premium 4K UHD live experience via our DirecTV 4K Channel will need a DirecTV Ultimate or Premier Package subscription with an authorized 4K customer account, the latest Genie HD DVR (HR54) set top box, and either a DirecTV 4K Ready TV or a compatible 4K TV (4K UHD content on a non-DirecTV 4K Ready TV requires a TV with an HDMI 2.0 compliant interface and HDCP 2.2 content security and a 4K Genie Mini. In addition, the 4K UHD TV must support a minimum of 60 fps.) connected to the latest 4K Genie Mini.

DirecTV was the first multichannel video provider to deliver 4K UHD Video on Demand programming in November 2014.

This isn't the first time Augusta National Golf Club has been the site of a major live-production first, as CBS Sports' 3D production of The Masters in 2010 was the first 3D golf event to be produced and distributed throughout North America. They followed that up by producing nine holes in 3D at the 2011 edition of the tournament.

LINK:	http://www.sportsvideo.org/2016/03/09/directv-tees-up-first-live-4k-pr...
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