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#1 ·
Sony DHG-HDD250/500: Official Thread

HERE'S A LINK TO A RESOURCE GUIDE OUTLINING OPERATION OF THE SONY HDD250/500, INCLUDING OPERATION OF THE TVGOS SYSTEM:

spiffSPACE.com Sony HDD250/500 FAQ
 
#42 ·
I wonder how many units Sony manufactured in this first lot. If it was a significant amount, they certainly sold out of them very quickly. I know many people have been waiting quite a long time for these units...some over a year!


[EDIT: The site apparently has the smaller 250 shipping the next day:


"Usually ships next business day. "



and the 500 as shipping date not available (which doesn't necessarily mean they are out of stock as I've seen this message before and taken delivery almost immediately...items shipped straight from Japan on new merchandise):


"Shipping date not available. We will notify you by email when this product has shipped."
 
#43 ·
mine arrived and looks good



it first asks if you want to scan for OTA channels; I chose No but it scanned anyway (I have no decent ATSC reception because of terrain)


then it takes one hour to read the cablecard to obtain Card data, host ID info to have the card authorized: I phoned it in and am waiting for card authorization


HDMI works well and audio is fed via the HDMI connector (yes it cuts off the component video analog out
)


however during channel changes I hear lots of static popping in the audio: this is a problem


more: looking at system info, it appears the DHG-HDD500 has two hard drives; software Version 1.2.05: it gives signal strength for both antenna and cable inputs


more OK now I have card authorization: the encrypted channels such as 205 Discovery, INHD 206, 207 look excellent: I have the output set to 1080i using HDMI


The guide is the TV Guide system: no guide data yet
 
#45 ·
the analog audio output is clean: no popping sound during channel change
 
#47 ·
signal source is Comcast HD


audio:


analog: OK

optical: not checked yet

SPDIF: no coax digital audio out

HDMI audio: noticeable popping while switching channels
 
#48 ·
What is receiving the hdmi audio signal as it may be the culprit, particularly if that device cannot accept full 5.1 audio and the hdd500 isn't downmixing the audio?


As I understand it, during the initial handshake the devices normally communicate their abilities but I suppose if this isn't implemented properly there could be problems.
 
#49 ·
display is Sharp LC45GX6U


the HDMI audio works clean from an HD Tivo to this display
 
#51 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Ross
Mark, is the PQ on the Sony better than your previous cable HD box?

still looking at that Ken: the PQ from the Sony looks as good as the direct cablecard on the LC45


interesting: the Sony introduces a delay of 3-4 seconds over any other Comcast source including SA8000, SA3250, and Cablecard in the display



Sony channel changing is also slower than the SA8000
 
#53 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Ross
Hmm, shades of the HD Tivo? Could it somehow be related to the HDMI?


I wonder how the Sony would look on the 63" Fujitsu....I know you'll give that a shot!

yes Ken: when I went back to Sony component video the delay is gone: the delay(and audio noise) are through the HDMI output: the HDMI output is how I intended to install it


I will try it on the P63 in the next few days: that would be HDMI for video and toslink for audio
 
#55 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by Ken Ross
Mark, can't you just break out the audio via the optical audio output of the Sony? This way you'll get the HDMI video connection and avoid the crackling audio.

the Sharp LC-45 HDMI input does not offer a separate audio in of any type: audio in is only through the HDMI connector



and I wonder if the 4 second delay would show up between audio and video that way: I will check it
 
#57 ·
Can someone post some pics of the TV guide interface?
 
#59 ·
Can one or more of those of you lucky enough to have received one give us a mini-review or two?


Some questions: Can you use the remote to change the display format? Can you use the remote to change the aspect ratio? How about switching between OTA and cable? Any quirks for analog versus digital OTA? Does analog OTA or cable look any worse? Can you pause & rewind a program during scheduled recording (my Zenith does not let you do this)?


There are no reviews out there from someone who actual has one, so please share some knowledge!


Thanks
 
#60 ·
Got mine today. Thus far the guide hasn't downloaded (expected) and the PQ appears excellent.


You can use the remote to change both resolution and aspect ratios. I don't have mine hooked up to OTA, but my guess is it would be integrated into the guide....maybe Mark Rubin knows at this point? PQ appears better than on my 8300 DVR. I'm not sure about pausing & rewinding during a recording, I'll check that out later.
 
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