More than 11,000 feet of fiber was installed around the
famed Blue Monster as IDS partnered with the WGC-Cadillac Championship to roll
out Tournament IPTV Platform and Service (TIPS), a turnkey service that
replaces current RF closed-circuit television systems with an Internet Protocol
(IP), HDTV System. The core TIPS Package system provides a variety of
advantages over a traditional RF Cable TV system, including:
Improved Picture Quality: The TIPS Package provides a clean,
crisp and consistent HD signal across the system and on all TDDs. Importantly,
as additional TDDs get added or connected to the system, there is no
degradation of signal or image quality.
Central Control Management System: The TIPS Package provides
central management of content and network devices. Thus, there is the ability
to quickly and easily make set changes.
TDD Channel Menu Guide: The TDD Channel Menu Guide allows
the end user to scroll through the system to see what channels are available.
This is similar to what any person is accustomed to with their home television
menu guide. This TDD Channel Guide Menu is customizable and can include an
event or sponsor logo.
By the numbers
150 flatscreen display devices
3 sizes of TIPS-enabled display devices: 32″, 47″
and 55″
9 channels of live video
10 broadcast feeds
12 switches
“On behalf of our IDS events team and its parent company,
SMT, we are pleased to assist the Cadillac Championship with its vision and
desire to improve the fan and patron experience at this year’s tournament with
roll-out of the Tournament IPTV Service (TIPS),” Rallis was quoted in a
media alert released this week.
“TIPS allows the Cadillac Championship to provide a
variety of customized content by location for the benefit of patron and
sponsors at the tournament using the latest in IPTV technology and content
created by (n+1) designstudio. IDS is focused on delivering fan enhancements
and services to major sports events and plans to continue to enhance this
service with more content offerings and delivering this service to other PGA
TOUR tournaments.”
SMT’s Jon Valdes-Dapena and Charles Phillips arrived on-site
at 8 a.m. Tuesday morning to set up SMT’s Driving Grid on the 12th hole.
They were treated to an audio tour of the compound by none
other than Donald Trump, who recently purchased the course and in a year’s time
rebuilt 13 of the 18 holes, adding multiple new sand bunkers and water hazards.
By headset, the Donald described the key changes to the course to the
production staff.
“Our camera sat atop a 50-foot scaffolding and provided
us with a spectacular view of the 12th hole,” reports Jon. “Charles
and I climbed the scaffold to build the e-box, capture the images for SMART and
tested our SMART solution.”
Meanwhile, Jared Quenzel and Ray Flynn arrived Wednesday to
set up the PuttVision system. Ray and Jared set up PuttVision on the back of
XL-41 and input the data from ShotLink to construct the virtual greens for six
holes. PuttVision was used repeatedly on Thursday and Friday for holes, 8, 9,
13, 15, 16 and 18.
“Thursday was our first day on-air and we were thrilled
to have a wicked storm front bearing down on us. The course was evacuated
around 2 p.m. due to heavy rain, fierce winds and tornado watch,” reports
Jon. “After a two-hour delay, play resumed and we were able to sell the
Driving Grid to production. Due in no small part to hard work, our solution
looked rock solid and production gave us props over comms. All in all, we are
having a fantastic weekend down here in Miami.”