Tennis great and CBS broadcasterJohn
McEnroe says he is not sure whether 3DTV will provide
any added value to tennis broadcasts.
Greg Norman has said of the
3D coverage of The Masters golf
tournament that he thought
it would give viewers a better
idea of the roll of the green and
difficulty of the putts he and
other pro golfers faced. McEnroe
was asked by The Wire on a conference
call in advance of CBS’
coverage of the 2011 U.S. Open
whether he thought there was a
similar chance to let viewers see
what it was like to stare down a
hard serve.
He was uncharacteristically
noncommittal.
“I only saw it once, at the
French [Open], and it was a little
difficult to see how much of an
advantage it would be,” the former
player once known as Super
Brat said. “I didn’t get as much of
a kick out of it as I did with the [high-defi nition] when I
saw it for the first time and really felt like you got a better
look at the ball. Camera angles would be probably
more of an issue. I’m not exactly
sure where they are with 3D, but
it is certainly worth a try. The one
time I saw it, I found it to be sort
of bizarre. The crowd looked very
close, but I didn’t feel like it necessarily
helped the tennis.”
CBS was producing 3D versions
of all U.S. Open matches from Arthur
Ashe Stadium broadcast
in HD over this past Labor Day
weekend and will do so again on
finals weekend, Sept. 9-11.
Last year’s 3D production of the
championships — the first worldwide
3D broadcast of a tennis major
— won an Emmy Award for
technical achievement.
This year’s expanded 3D coverage
will include new perspectives
on the action, which could
address the camera-angle issue.
After Irene, Cox Looks
For Social Silver Lining
In the Storm Clouds
Cox Communications
was searching out feelgood
stories in the wake
of Hurricane Irene, which
left millions without power
or telecommunications
services.
The operator’s Hampton Roads system in Virginia, one
of the hardest hit in Cox’s footprint, last week launched
a “Random Acts of Kindness” contest on Facebook to
single out customers who helped their friends and neighbors
in the aftermath of Irene. The MSO has had similar
community outreach initiatives in the wake of weather
events in the past.
Through Monday, Sept. 5, Cox was soliciting pictures
and accounts; it planned to randomly select 10 stories
to share on Facebook with winners receiving a prize bag.
Good on ya, Cox Digeez!
