The Sony STR-DA5300ES thread - Page 47

PLAYBACK webzine--the successor to The Perfect Vision--has a generally favorable review of the 5300ES and the new Sony flagship S200ES Blu-Ray player. . Even though the article is written by Robert Harley, I don't place much stock in it. For example, he reports decoding DTS MA in the 5300ES, yet the S2000ES is incapable of sending DTS MA to the receiver. I know; I own both.

Gary

I had this problem & found it was down the the HDMI cable I was using could not handle HDMI 1.3 bandwidth. Changed the cable to newer HDMI 1.3 and not happening anymore.

ajmanx,

Could you report your firmware version numbers? I'd like my dealer to check his against yours to see if it has the latest firmware upgrade. I'm sure others would appreciate this info. as well.

I've got Axioms all around (except sub) with a 4300ES. Sounds great to my ear. The Sony seems neutral (reviewers have said the same) and the Axioms can be a bit bright depending on your room. I've got a soft room so it's a good match all the way around. Hard to beat Axiom for value.

Doug

can anyone say,
are the 5300es being ordered today shipping with the new, fully functional software?

I got mine from Crutchfield 4 weeks ago and it had new firmware ok.

Kenn157,

Can you confirm if the black crush is fixed and can you please post your firmware revision numbers for all to see?

can one get the 5300 directly from sony? would that be more likely have the latest firmware?

ok later this evening

I keep going back and forth on a purchase.

Should I go with this Sony or the Denon 2808CI?

I love the GUI on the Sony. But are there any reasons for me to switch over to Denon?

A53ES UCA V1.08 58B5
Video UCOM Ver. 1.07
Faroudja Ver. 1.06
GUI CGROM Ver. 1.03
DSP VCom Ver. 1.06
DSP SFlash Ver. 1.02
DSP PFlash Ver. 1.21

Is mine

sony has updated the firmware info on their website for the black picture problem and a resolution for the gui menu problem not appearing on hdmi video. although I dont have the 5300 but its the same problems on the 4300 as well so im exchanging it.I am new to the latest receivers and all the correct connections as far as what you can and cant do so ill ask a dumb question. can you connect 2 of these receivers together and if so would there be any reason you may want to?

Hi Kenn, thanks for the firmware versions, however, I think the new firmware was just released so you might not have the "fixed" firmware which resolves the black crush issue.

Unless you test for black crush, we'll have to get someone that got their "fixed" unit from Sony to post their firmware versions so we know for sure which versions are "fixed".

A couple of posts back, ajmanx said he got his unit back from Laredo, Texas and the black crush issue has been cured. Hopefully he'll post his firmware versions soon.

Just opened the box of my "new," mail-ordered STR-DA5300ES:

• Serial number 88054XX (300+ "higher" than "recall" serial number).
• No "green dot."
• Planned video inputs: composite, S-video, and HDMI.
• Planned video output: HDMI.

Questions:

I know, probably asked and answered, many times over . . .

1. Do I understand correctly, that the black crush issue is only an issue if you are A.) monitoring both HDMI and component-HD outputs from the STR-DA5300ES concurrently (regardless of source signal path), or B.) occurs anytime a component-to-HDMI signal path is employed? [I have a Sharp LC-65D64U 1080p60 LCD]

2. What is the current sample "cutoff" serial number for new DA5300s that have the most recent firmware ("black crush fixed") already installed (as was posted above)?

3. I have an HDMI-capable XBOX360 (no HD-DVD drive), but plan to also buy a PS3 later (also using HDMI for its output). Any firmware-related issues here for either console system's HDMI audio/video output?

I primarily chose the STR-DA5300ES for both its composite and S-video input and upconversion capabilties. Is the newest firmware worth the trouble in my case? Thanks for any replies!


Be afraid. Be very afraid.

From Sony:

Product Alerts
02/26/2008: Critical On-screen Menu or Audio/Video Issues When Connected Via HDMI™

STR-DA5300ES A/V receivers with serial numbers below 8806528 may be affected.

Read Here http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/new...ES&news_id=252

And after 45 painful minutes with sony tech support i should have a new unit arriving within 4-5 days. Fingers crossed!

I know the black crush was an issue with component in-HDMI out, can't remember if it was with component in and out.


See post 1395.


None that I'm aware of. I have a PS3 and it works fine with the 5300.


That depends. Hook everything up and check to see if you notice black crush with component or S-video ins.

Mine is working just fine the way I have it hooked up so I'm not going to bother with this latest FW update. It's a PITA disconnecting then reconnecting everything.

Awesome. Thanks for posting!
I'll be calling tomorrow for an Advanced Exchange.

My # is still above that S/N

I've had my old XBOX connected via component and let it stay on 6 hrs. No crush.

still trying to understand the 5300.

if all sources are connected hdmi or dvi, are there any issues with the gui or black crush? have there been other significant issues?
lastly, i don't read anyone raving about the great sound. what about sound? how good does this sound? can someone say how it compare to a set-up of separates( prepro and amp)? anyone made the switch from separates?

There is no black crush using HDMI in, HDMI out, Darryl. If you connect SVid, Composite, Component inputs and then have them output thru HDMI, there is black crush. This issue everyone speaks of is the 5300's most significant.

Otherwise, watching HDMI sources, the volume control doesn't show up on your television and there is no transparency when you call up the GUI on screen. The video disappears and GUI takes over. Don't know if this matter much to you, didn't to me, but in any case, this might have been fixed or altered by this latest firmware update, I'm not certain. Lastly, it doesn't upscale HDMI sources, i.e, it can't take a 720p input source and output 1080p with it. Of course, if you have a 1080p native tv, this does it anyway, but possibly not very good.

I can't comment much on the sound quality other than Sony's ES line is much better than their cheaper line of AVRs I've heard/owned.

Thanks! That link is quite detailed, and it appears that this firmware update addresses both the black crush issue and at least a select few GUI overlay issues. However, according to the site, the "fixed" black crush issue only refers specifically to using component-to-HDMI, and does not mention the issue when going from composite or S-video to HDMI.

• Called the Sony 800 number and was answered by a human being in less than a minute!
• I said, "I have an STR-DA5300ES and my serial number is among the affected units." Without hesistation she asked, "Is there a green or red dot next to the serial number?" I said, "I have neither." She then immediately began to process the exchange.
• It took about 20 minutes to process the "Advanced Exchange." They do ask for a credit card number to ensure the return of the affected unit, but there is no cost. A new STR-DA5300ES and return shipping label is reported to be shipping to me in about 4-5 days. Sony gets an A+ on this one!

Still to be determined: If the most recent black crush firmware fix still leaves composite and S-video sources affected, when upconverting through HDMI.

This is the issue which concerns me the most, since I purchased the STR-DA5300ES specifically for its S-video upconversion capability. This is not specifically mentioned in the Sony support page, only component-sourced black crush is mentioned.

If your number is above that serial number, that means it's probably newer and not affected by the issue.

I'm on the phone right now going through the process. At first the woman wasn't aware of the new firmware update and looked up my issue (black crush going from component to HDMI), and was going to have me either send the unit in or take it to a repair facility. This is because I said I wasn't having any issues with audio over HDMI.

Then I looked up the actual link from yesterday, read the applicable text to her, and she is processing it right now for Advanced Exchange.

So if you call, be sure to refer to the link from yesterday, how whatever specific issues you are having are listed among the issues, plus the Advanced Exchange at the bottom.

http://esupport.sony.com/US/perl/new...ES&news_id=252


Note that you'll need to give them a credit card number to do the Advanced Exchange, because if you don't return your old unit within 15 days they charge you for the new one.

Are you having issues with S-video?

I could be wrong, but I think I remember when I was testing with my Xbox 360, I got black crush outputting 720p and 1080p over component, but not when doing 480p. That's outputting HDMI to the projector. This is why I ran a long VGA cable to the projector in the back. So if component 480p isn't affected by the current black crush issue, I wouldn't think composite or S-Video are either.

Actually, hold on, I might have made a mistake. Yeah the black crush is confirmed to happen to component inputs (above 480p), it might not affect SVid or composite.

Does anyone know if volume control has been changed on the newest firmwares? I've got one of the first released 5300's, and the volume control is slightly irritating. When you press and hold volume up or down, the volume will increase one notch, then there is a long pause, then the volume continues to adjust. I kind of wish it would act like my previous Pioneer where when you press and hold volume up/down, volume changes and continues to change instantly and smoothly.

No so fun experience with Sony support this evening.
had to pull teeth to get exchange verified.
wanted to know where it came from
do i have extended warranty?
When she asked specific reason for exchange I began to read her line by line the symtoms that the firmware cures. After reading them she then proceeded to ask what specifically was the issue.
Then she said she couldnt find the esupport page. ***sigh***
I then proceeded to push my luck about gui overlay over HDMI with the new firmware and she started to educate me of the advanced audio formats that the model STRDA5300ES supports?????

It would be so nice to speak to someone who speaks english when you buy a high dollar item that requires some technological familiarity.
I expected this but its a little difficult. I did ask to speak to a tier 2 tech but was declined as she tried to answer my inquiry.

Oh well, new box arriving 3-4 business days i suppose

Thanks for your replies. Yeah, that PITA factor is how I got screwed on my previous Sony unit. Serviced twice for the same problem, and has since had the same exact failure (just got tired of un-hooking/re-hooking everything back up). So, it's being relegated to the garage, and is now going to be replaced by my new STR-DA5300ES. BTW, you have no composite or S-video sources going into your STR-DA5300ES?


I was just going by what refinedsugar had just posted (see below), but never actually tested it. I had just received the unit yesterday from UPS. After discovering that my serial number was pretty low, I started to become concerned, so I thought I'd just take care of the update regardless.


Oh, good! Hopefully there is no issue with composite and S-video upconversion. Are there any others here that can either confirm/disconfirm whether or not composite and/or S-video upconversion, through HDMI, is affected by the black crush problem?


That's weird. And kind of unacceptable. Is everyone experiencing this?


Sorry to hear of your difficulties. At least it looks like they finally took care of you. I too, was asked where I purchased the unit, and if I had purchased an extended warranty (I had not). But she almost immediately confirmed that I would qualify for the Advanced Exchange after hearing only my initial statement, "I have an STR-DA5300ES and my serial number is among the affected units," and confirming that I had neither a green or red dot next to my serial number. I guess I got lucky, since the CSR I spoke with seemed to know immediately about the issues with this product, and didn't query me at all about any specific "symptoms."