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"Great Sound and easy to use" on by Bilodeaumj
Pros: Surround Sound is fantastic & the HDMI DVD picture is increadible
Cons: Sony dedicated remote is not user friendly with other non-Sony systems
Summary: I replace my old Samsung "un"-surround system with the HT7000DH and couldn't be more pleased. This is my first Sony system and I was a little skeptical at first as I heard Sony's quality has been taking hits lately, but they more than made up for it with this system (I've been a JVC man up to now). I just upgraded my house for a zone music system so I had this system professionally installed with everything else that I was adding and the installers were quite impressed with it even though they are registered Yamaha dealers (Yamaha's intro HDMI receiver, no speakers, starts at apx $1k).
I did alot of checking and as far as I can tell this is the only HDMI up convert receiver HTiB system in this price range and they didn't skimp on quality. I was initially going to go with a Yamaha with a comparable price but the HDMI up convert was the deciding factor for me and I'm glad I did it!
The music sound is crisp & clear and has more than enough power to work my 4 zone home system. I also have wireless music connected through a Slim Server Squeezebox 3(which is also a great product) and the Sony has had no connectivity issue and the sound is incredible.
The best part is playing DVD's with the surround system. I initially had a component hooked up to the receiver but have now went with HDMI & let me tell you the difference is awesome. The first test movie I tried w/ the HDMI was Star Wars III and It was a goose bump type experience (. The picture was incredible and the surround was thumpin. The powered sub is "kickin'" as they say in the business and makes all the difference as my old Samsung had a dedicated sub. The satellite speakers really put out the sound and the center channel truly puts out the sound as it should (previously, I had to supplement my Samsung with the TV's speakers) I've finally reached the home theater experience that I was looking for.
As a note, I'm only using HDMI for the DVD as component still looks better for my Cox cable box but that is a HDMI issue not Sony.
The only draw back is the Sony remote won't recognize my JVC TV but that's really not an issue for me as I have a Harmony remote.
As a final word, we spen all this money for a realistic theater experience and with this sytem I have reached the nirvana of home theater experience (at least for the DVD's) -
"Bogus critiqe above" on by housefan
Pros: It does everything it says it claims to do.
Cons: As expected, mediocre speakers.
Summary: A review above claims that this unit doesn't do switching off the HDMI inputs. I set it up last night with a Motorola cable DVR and the supplied DVD player going into two HDMI inputs (plus a VCR on analog), and one HDMI going to the TV, . It works flawlessly, just as advertised. I just punch the buttons on the remote and the receiver switches inputs. I even got the DVR remote to run the receiver (power, volume and input choice).
I have a single HDMI cable going to the TV, which is the reason I bought this unit. I almost returned it unopened after reading the other review, but decided to set it up anyway.
The DVDs play far better than I expected. The upconvert to 1080i is a great way to get beautiful results from a budget DVD player. (I have a 42" LCD TV).
This thing is a steal at the price. -
"A bad purchase unless you know everything first!" on by JimGable
Pros: Good price for decent hardware.
Cons: Insane connectivity limitations, with virtually no disclosure.
Summary: I helped my brother buy a Panasonic plasma screen and this audio system this weekend. We spent almost all the weekend on the project, even though we purchased a system that appeared to be nearly perfect for installation. And our objective was simple: get a 6 speaker audio system for the screen that can also connect their existing TiVo with component plugs. The Sony system has so many inputs that in the store, this looked trivial. And with HDMI, the included DVD player should be a simple and nice upgrade. The plasma screen has HDMI inputs so I imagined a minimal cable deal.
As you can guess, reality was far short of the vision. So much that I cannot recommend this system unless you really know the full details. (Which the vast majority will not.)
First, we connected the DVD player to the receiver with HDMI. Then the receiver to the screen with HDMI. How cool, how easy. (Oh, except no HDMI cables are included.) Then we tested it and the image was fine and the audio came out of plasma screen's speakers. But no audio would come out of the 6 surround sound speakers. Since Sony put ALL these parts in one box (the 7550 variation at Costco), you would think playing 5.1 surround sound would be pretty freaking obvious. After about 2 hours of trying to figure out what we did wrong, we discovered that we did everything right and it is NOT supposed to work that way unless you also connect a digital optical or coax audio wire. Another trip to the store for a cable. We finally understood the problem because of another post on the web. And then found the paragraph in the manual that explains that this won't work otherwise. Note too that the initial set-up pages in the manual make no mention that you need to do HDMI _and_ an audio cable. And since HDMI includes audio, you simply expect it work! Or at least have some large warnings in the manual that it doesn't work.
But that was not the bad part.
Then we plugged in TiVo and this time got audio through the Sony surround speakers but never a video image on the screen. We spent another hour or two trying to figure this out. NOTHING in the manual really explains this. (Although there are tons of other setup options that you can waste time trying.) The short story is that the Sony receiver can only switch video signals from the same type of inputs to the same type of outputs. So instead of having 4 or 5 inputs that all switch through HDMI to your wonderful monitor, you only have 2 inputs that can go to the screen. And they have to be the same thing. So 2 HDMI in and 1 HDMI out. Or 2 component in and 1 component out. Otherwise you have to switch both the Sony receiver AND the plasma monitor to go back and forth from DVD and TiVo. A remote control nightmare and something hard to teach everyone else. And, more the point, stupid.
So in the end, believe it or not, we did not use HDMI at all. (And now have 2 expensive HDMI cables on the shelf.) We put the DVD and the TiVo into component inputs and have a single component cable to the monitor. Now switching between TiVo and DVD is one remote and simple. Using other things like the old VCR and an Xbox are confusing, but not done often at their house. We compared a DVD through all HDMI and all component and the HDMI was a little better, but not enough to make daily use a pain.
I noticed that satisfied owners posting here are quite expert and program all-in-one remotes like Harmony. If you fit that category, you can make this product work pretty well. But if you are a mere mortal, this process was horrible. Someone at Sony should be arrrested for crimes against consumers. -
"Nice if you like to run lots of cables" on by hdguru
Pros: Price-But you get WYPF
Cons: Will not upscale analog connections, awful remote
Summary: If you want one connection to your monitor from this receiver, and expect this receiver to have the juice (brains) to assign your video inputs to one HD (HDMI or Component) output; look elsewhere. Essentially you must run multiple video inputs to your monitor for every video source you have. This is archaic for this day and age. The JVC models 401 and 402 perform much nicer and support cleaner installations and user friendliness. This Sony model cannot upscale analog connections like game boxes or older components. So plan on changing inputs on your TV and receiver every time you change a video source. And if you only have one HD video input on your TV, you’re stuck with only one HD video source working with this model. Too add, the remote is just awful for programming and overall operation.
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"NOT recommending Sony HT-7000DH" on by cowanmoore
Pros: Remote is direct compatible with Sony monitors
Cons: System is not friendly and requires too many cables
Summary: Today, I purchased this system to work in conjunction with my new 46" Sony LCD. It will be returned to the store tomorrow without further thought.
I've setup many nice systems for friends, but only had a simple 25" tube (with no receiver) at home. I am an engineer with advanced experience with A/V and usually figure electronics out quickly. This system stumped me for several hours.
Upon reading this forum, I agree 100% with the two low scores posted. The cables problem noted were confirmed and the additional idiosycrancies are true in every way.
My reason for returning this device is that it is built around 'yesterdays technology' with a simple HDMI option added. The HDMI does not function in any way with the receiver unless additional cables are added. Again, the HDMI is PASS-THRU ONLY.
The individual who claims up-convert features is mistaking the DVD player's function with the tuner. In addition, this up-convert DVD player will not work on copyrighted / encrypted material (ie. most videos from store).
So what have I learned... when several people have problems sever enough to post negative comments - CONSIDER THEM CAREFULLY. It is possible that the positive comments are from a source with 'ulterior motives'.
Have a nice day - Cheers! Cowan
Sony HT-7000DH user reviews
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