The best way to watch the Tokyo Olympics from home
The Olympics and Paralympics are just a few weeks away and, against all odds, it looks like they could actually go ahead. So, the time has come to plan how you are going to see the action.
The good news is that watching the Games will be completely free, because everything is on Seven Network. Sports will be broadcast via Seven’s free channels (assuming good reception) and streamed live on their 7Plus update service, generating 45 Olympic channels in total. You can access 7Plus through smart TVs, set-top boxes (such as Apple TV or Fetch), and through the app on phones and tablets. You will need an account to access 7Plus.
As Tokyo prepares for the Olympics, it is time to prepare your living room.Credit:Getty
In less good news, all of those streams and channels will only be in standard or high definition, not 4K. Optus had announced in 2019 that it would stream the Olympics in 4K on Fetch, exclusively for its 5G home internet customers, but a spokesperson confirmed that will no longer continue.
If you want to watch the games with strangers, there are plans to have Live sites across the country, but obviously they depend on the COVID restrictions for each area.
Many people use the Olympics as an excuse to update their television. If you’re looking for the perfect TV for watching sports, the main features to consider are uniform brightness, deep contrast, and a wide viewing angle. I’d also recommend getting a good 4K (or 8K, if you’re on the budget) TV that improves its capabilities, because that will at least get you closer to ultra-high-definition viewing.
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If you’re looking for an OLED, LG’s C1 range (from $ 2,800) is the best of the bunch for sports. It has a sports alert feature to alert you to NBA, Premier League and NFL big moments, and an OLED Motion feature to reduce blur on quick plays and make the sport look smoother and more natural.
If you have a brighter room and want to go LCD, the Samsung QLED 8K QN900A (from $ 6549) is still the best TV I’ve ever seen, and its less expensive sibling, the QN800 (from $ 4849), is also fantastic. For a 4K model, the 2021 Frame TV (from $ 1449) has a nice upgrade, an active voice amplifier (to help clarify feedback), and can be put into a standby mode that makes it look like a work. of art, so you can go bigger without being stuck with a giant black mirror dominating the room.
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