Good Sports: Picking the best AV setup for sports

 

For lovers of bats, balls, tracks, laps and lanes, Justin Worthy’s sports-worthy systems help put you at the game.

If you’re a fan of sporting activity – and hey, you’re Australian so that’s pretty much a given, right? – you already know that the next Commonwealth Games is being held in Delhi from 3–14 October. For the last one, we had the luxury of watching the athletes performing on home ground, in Melbourne, and with a dominating medal count from last time – double that of the nearest rivals, England (boo! hiss!) – Australia’s got a reputation to maintain.

But unless you’ve booked a seat on an Air India flight already, chances are you’re looking to enjoy experiencing the games from home. Which is good, because that’s where this article comes in. What should you get, why and what’s it going to cost you? Good questions, glad you asked!

TV manufacturers in particular plan their annual marketing activities to coincide with big sporting or holiday events, so look out for a slew of bonus giveaways or special deals to fire up as we head into the summer.

You can rely on the big guys – Sony, Panasonic, LG, Mitsubishi and all – to stage their own 100 metre dash to the finish line that is the start of the Commonwealth games, hoping that consumers will see this as the perfect time to buy that flatscreen TV, get a Blu-ray recorder or PVR, or even upgrade their
32 incher to a stadium-sized 50 inch crowd-pleaser.

So particularly if your personal passion is lawn bowls or rugby sevens, now’s the time to get your house in order for the 3 October kickoff to the XIX Commonwealth Games. Check out the following options for assembling a sports-centric system and, if you get setup early enough, you can trial your system with the September AFL and ARL football grand finals.

And remember, if you enjoy a good burger with your beer in front of the telly, rigging up a great home entertainment setup in your living room is the only way you’re going to be able to watch the Commonwealth Games and worship the cow in your own special way, because of course the Delhi Organising Committee have resolved not to serve ‘cow meat’ at the event itself.

We say save the money you were going to spend on the airfare, hotel and spends, and nip down to the local AV store instead to get your dream system at home!