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"Looks great, easy to set up, good value for BD HTIB" on by muaddib7777
Pros: Looks great in my living room. System delivered the sound from Blu-ray that I was expecting. Having rear wireless speakers saved having to run wires to the rear of the room. A big step up from my DVD HTIB.
Cons: Center speaker could be bigger to offer more detailed sound. Rear speakers are only satelite speakers.
Summary: If you are looking for a simple, all in one HT system that delivers the video and audio promise of BD- this is it!
Yes, there are cheaper systems but they look crappy- this looks great.
Yes there are better sounding systems but I did not want a big receiver and speaker system.
This system is great for me as I spent 20 mins setting it up- came with a easy set up disc, wires are color coded and only 1 HDMi cable to the TV- I wish more CE products were this easy.
As far as the price, I bought it with an new TV and the sales guy gave me a deal! -
"Disappointed but not 100% sure what to do" on by loxalot
Pros: DVD Playback video and sound is excellent although I did have component video before direct from Sat to TV.
Cons: Audio cuts out sometimes then unit freezes when I try to shut it down to correct issue.
Summary: I've had this unit for about 2 weeks. I've made notes along the way and will just list them. (some repeated from Pro/Con because I had to)
No particular order
Pros:
1. DVD Playback video and sound is excellent although I did have component video before direct from Sat to TV.
2. FM Coax connection. Allows me to connect my rooftop TV antenna to use as an FM antenna. I'm about 30 miles from the nearest radio transmitter and it picks up stations very well.
3. Optical input from TV so when I'm using the TV antenna for local channels I get high quality audio.
4. DLNA quality during playback is as good as listening from a PC connected wirelessly to the same server.
5. DLNA playback shows title, artist, album, file type and recording quality.
6. Hulu+, Netflix, NHL Vault (don't use any of those). Youtube, HD Movies on demand, Flickstream movie previews and other streaming video/audio.
7. Integrated facebook link.
8. Integrated browser (I think it's linux-based).
9. Online firmware updates.
10. Included iPod dock. (don't use, don't see the point)
11. Includes set up mic for speakers. Not sure if this really helps but it's supposed to.
Cons:
1. Audio cuts out sometimes then unit freezes when I try to shut it down to correct issue.
2. Youtube loads slow.
3. Can't stream video via the web browser (i.e. from TV network sites).
4. Images on DLNA are very hard to find unless all of your photos are labeled and/or dated properly.
5. DLNA is junk. I have multiple albums from multiple artists and some are compilations or from movies. The system sorts them all by artist. Some artists aren't listed in the artist folder but are found in the album folder. Not all albums are shown. It's a huge mess and I won't use it.
6. There is a very annoying white light on the front of the unit (like a Cylon or KITT but white). It's a pointless light, only changes when you press any button on the remote, I guess to let you know it's received it.
7. The display on the unit is on the top of it so you can't see anything unless you are right there.
8. Volume displays on TV only in DVD, DLNA or Tuner mode.
9. Unit was on mute for about 10 minutes and when I unmuted it, a loud static-like buzz noise rang through the speakers. The only way I got it to stop was to turn off the unit, wait 3-5 minutes for it to actually turn off, then turn it back on again.
10. No component or composite input; outputs only.
11. No actual input buttons on the remote. Only a Function button and if you don't wait long enough between pushes of the button, you will pass over the mode you want, plus you have to be within a few feet of the unit to read the mode in the display.
12. Unit seems to always check for DVD/BD upon startup. If no disk is in drive you can't switch to that mode (getting ready to insert DVD want it on DVD mode but you can't until you insert disk). Not a huge problem but I find it annoying.
13. Video cut out when unit was turned on (several times during the first few days). Had to press Home, select output to get it back.
14. Limited on streaming music (from internet).
15. Speaker connections on unit are specific to the unit. If the included wire isn't long enough, splicing has to be done.
16. TV ads are sometimes (most of the time) louder than the program or movie being watched.
17. Closed Captioning setting on Sat receiver don't work through this unit. Yes, I know this is a unit for sound but if you have someone in your home that wants to watch TV late and can't hear everything, CC helps but you can't use it. I can't find any CC settings within the unit.
18. Remote functions are not all compatible with my Harmony remote.
So far that's all I've got. I'm torn between returning it and living with it. I'm going to give it at least another 2 weeks and see.
I did buy my first BluRay movie and I'm very disappointed. The audio and video weren't at all better than standard DVD movies. Maybe they spent all their time and money on the 3D part which I can't use.
If I find more I'll add to this if it let's me. -
"9.5 out of 10..." on by rvolker
Pros: Compared it to many units in the same price/option range and after eliminating all others from Yamaha, Onkyo, Samsung, Denon, and others.... I couldn't be happier with the package/performance.... Lot of features when connected to other SONY units, absolut
Cons: Menus/remote bit quirky.... but just a matter of getting use to. Like with every 5.1 surround system setup must have an ample room space to enjoy the full potential of this setup.
Summary: Best bang for the buck.... 1.5 years + and I get a banana on my face each time someone complements on the sound clarity comparing it to Bose.... Two thumbs up!
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"Sony doesn't stand behind their products that fail" on by bradykp
Pros: The picture quality is good, subwoofer has nice sound.
Cons: I had problems getting this system to sound right from day 1. Multiple calls to Sony about rear speaker quality led to no resolution, until I called after the warranty expired and the suggested repair. Sure, now I have to pay for it. Done with Sony.
Summary: The experience with this product has led me to not want to ever buy a Sony product again. Not only did the surround sound never sound right (muffled, staticy, cuts in and out), but Sony support's solution each time I called was to pair the wireless speakers again. They'd mark it "resolved" and that was it. They offered no solutions until I called after the warranty expired. Then, for the lovely price of $106, I could send the entire system in for repair. Awesome! an $800 stereo that never worked, and I can get it to work now for $106 more! After much arguing, they finally offered 75% off (after telling me there was nothing more they could do). This was after explaining I've carried a Sony credit card for nearly a decade, I've purchased thousands of dollars worth of their products, and I will never consider purchasing a Sony product again. It's sad that it has to come to that. I work for a large company, and we take care of our customers and stand behind our products. This was very disappointing.
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"BREAKS EASILY & sony doesn't stand behind their product" on by BrianRRTX
Pros: Great sound, looked good, wireless speakers, then when it was time to update the firmware so I could watch current Blu ray discs, BUSTED
Cons: After attempting a firmware update, the product failed. Even on Sony Style website people experience this problem with their newer products. Sony customer service is very ineffective, no avenues of escalation to someone who can/will help.
Summary: A simple and necessary firmware update caused the unit to fail only one year into ownership. At first, when I contacted Sony, I was told to contact the extended warranty company. When I did that, I found out Sony Style store coded my warranty for the wrong product altogether, so I contacted Sony again, and they told me to contact the extended warranty company (who of course said to contact Sony). I got all my stuff together and realized that I reported the problem to Sony via online support chat while still under the one year manufacturer's warranty period. Calls back to Sony finally got them to agree to accept it (as though they were doing me a favor) under warranty, so I shipped it off for repair. Meantime, it took several calls and challenging them to own their own mistake regarding the warranty to get them to agree to "look into" that situation. Almost every call, they kept telling me I had to take everything back to the Sony Style store I bought it at, not one of them realizing their own store had closed it's doors months before, I had to tell them. After several weeks and many phone calls, I finally got an extended warranty contract for the correct product. After several weeks, I finally was told by the repair facility they never got the "part on backorder", so they were looking into alternative solutions. When I called back, their solution was to send me another unit, same model. After hanging up, I had a bad feeling, so I called "customer service" again, and asked if the unit was new, or refurbished. Of course I bought a new unit, but they're solution is to send me someone else's broken unit they fixed instead (refurbished). So I asked what about the extended warranty, this new unit will have a different serial number... I was told I would have to contact the extended warranty company to provide them the new information. Back to square zero, as I still don't have any home theater, just watching plain ole TV with my new bluray discs sitting idly by, and of course it's up to me to straighten out the warranty issues. Sony customer care is hardly that, they are ineffective, have no escalation process except to a "national customer care" person who can't do any more than the previous person and patronize you further. This is the last Sony product I will ever own.
Sony BDV-E500W user reviews
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