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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
 
#2 ·
Supposedly they will be shipping them out from SonyStyle on the 23rd of May. If you pre-ordered from somewhere else you are probably looking at the very last week of MAy or the beginning of June for the first shipment. I have mine pre-ordered at datavision...
 
#3 ·
I preordered from Sony Style early in April in the hope that they would be one of the first to ship. If the date of 23 May is correct, that sounds great. I have been wanting a machine like this for five years now. Even though it is expensive, it sounds excellent for me. Unlike many other posters in this forum, I have no use for TIVO and don't want to have to pay for it along with the phone calls that it makes. I have read the manual twice in considerable detail so I am really ready to get my hands on it.


Cynthia
 
#4 ·
I too have one (the 250) on order from Datavis. I placed the preorder back in Feb., I believe, and just this weekend got an e-mail from them telling me the item had been back-ordered. I placed the order when they were a bit cheaper than the Sony advertised price, so it will be interesting to see what price they eventually come up with on my order.


End of May would be great, but truthfully I'll be happy if this thing comes out (and works as advertised) anytime this summer.
 
#5 ·
So, how long before somebody cracks one open to find out if it is possible to buy a DHG-HDD250 and upgrade it to a DHG-HDD500? I kind of have some extra 250GB drives just laying about



The Dreamer
 
#6 ·
Single tuner and no firewire... don't get why someone would want this considering the price tag and available alternatives? Only upside I see is cablecard support along with OTA input - but that's a hefty price to pay.
 
#7 ·
For me it's just a VCR that can record HDTV. No cable, no satellite, no Tivo, no monthly fees. For that device, there aren't many options regardless of price - at least not without their issues.*


*Certainly not to say that the Sony may not have it's own set of issues, but I've got my fingers crossed.
 
#12 ·
Just was checking to see if these things are out yet. If this was available at the beginning of the year, I probably would have considered it. Since it was not, I went ahead and built a MCE 2005 box with a single HDTV tuner in it, with 580gig of disk space. I can add a second HDTV tuner if I need one, but am fine using the tuner in my TV for OTA HDTV when recording with my MCE 2005 HTPC.


It would have saved me the headache of building a HTPC, but then I would not have all the functionality that MCE affords me. We have many digital pictures and video, not to mention 4,000 songs on disk. When you can buy a HDTV ready HTPC it will be a no brainer compared to a single purpose device like this at this price point. Just my .02 worth.

Bryan
 
#13 ·
I built an MCE 2005 box too. I started out with a chassis, motherboard, proc, RAM, and video card (ATI 9700Pro) already in the box. Spent about 700 bucks or so on two 300GB drives, Serial ATA RAID card, a couple HD tuners and an analog card, and the bugger won't record reliably. It won't record CBS at all because the guide that downloads every day pulls down the wrong physical channel info from zap2it. Called MS, they told me to send an email to zap2it. Five days and I've heard nothing back from them.


Sure the music, pictures, and ripped DVDs are cool. But the picture still flickers on the Sony 34" tube I have it hooked up to. I could roll the dice and spend another couple hundred on a newer video card to see if that helps...


My HDD500 is on preorder with SonyStyle. Hoping they really ship them out May 23.
 
#14 ·
Gbrock,


Getting a HTPC working properly and reliably is not an easy task and not for everyone. I went through quite an ordeal to get it done, but I was faced with no recording vs wait for something so opted for the do it myself route. You will avoid the headache and save time if you can buy an off the shelf product. Being a new product it may have a few kinks to work out, but will be nothing in comparison to building your own. After my trials and tribulations I have a solid reliable HTPC, but it did not come easily. I have my system images of a working system save in multiple places!


I have a guide problem with MCE as well. The information is correct on Zaptoit, but incorrect within MCE for one channel. I don't know why MCE would change the guide information. There is a workaround for it though. I don't want to hijack this thread as this is about the Sony HDD becoming available.


Good luck with your HTPC if that is the route you continue upon and I look forward to seeing the reviews of the Sony once it hits the streets. We need other reliable HDTV recording options beside TIVO, the LG and the RCA DVR10. While the HTPC is great once you get it working, it is by no means mainstream at this point for HDTV.


Bryan
 
#15 ·
Sony sent me a tracking number: I will have my unit next week: 18 May
 
#16 ·
How is it being sent(UPS Ground???) They are expected to be in SonyStyle's San Diego's hands on the 20th. When you check the tracking number did it say in route???
 
#18 ·

Quote:
Originally posted by kong
How is it being sent(UPS Ground???) They are expected to be in SonyStyle's San Diego's hands on the 20th. When you check the tracking number did it say in route???

it did in fact ship today FedX ground from Ca: won't show up here until 18 May
 
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