[Big Lag]

I have had this unit just under a year now. Here's where I've managed to get to with it.


In the first few days of ownership it became clear I had a defective unit. It had to be replaced via the "advanced echange" program. I got a brand new unit expecting all the idiosyncrasies to be eliminated. Sadly, my expectations were too high.


I have fought to make the HDMI work on this unit. It does not. After almost a year, I find myself HAVING to use component video and optical audio for everything. The mass of cables in the rear of this unit is stunning, three for video plus one for audio and a power cable for every unit.


Picture quality is noticeably lower with component than with HDMI but at least the system is working. In this regard, I feel like I was "ripped off" by Sony - I am not getting the picture quality the system is capable of and for which I paid good money. Having things work as expected is fundamentally important.


I suppose I will take the receiver in for repairs in the coming weeks but for now I just want to enjoy a reliably working system. I have ZERO hope the repair center can actually fix the HDMI.


I have re-programmed my Harmony 550 universal remote and it is working well (so far). I completely wiped all the old devices and settings and started fresh. I suspect there were many settings that had been corrupted in my attempts to make the HDMI work. This "residue" was preventing the unit from properly controlling the system.


To get to this point has taken me just under a year. The text above doesn't sound like much trouble. It does not convey the numerous "battles" I fought trying to make the HDMI work. It does not convey the internal strife it caused in my home and the ridicule I suffered as a result of poor system performance.


I will never buy another Sony receiver - ever.





System description:

SHARP LC-52D92U TV

SAMSUNG DTB-H260F TV tuner

SONY BD-S550 Bluray player

SONY STR-DA5300ES receiver

Orb Audio 7.1 Speakers

 

[EricM407]

I'm not sure what you can do after a year, but I think I'd rather battle Sony for a refund or a replacement with a 5400 that works than battle the receiver trying to get it to do something it won't do (but should, easily).

 

[cmarkmyers]

Doesn't the ES line come with a 5-year warranty?


And it seems like a lot of people have HDMI handshake issues with Sony receivers, so you may want to play around with the order things get powered up to see if that gets HDMI to work.


I don't know about your TV, but mine is awful with component. I almost returned it a week after I got it until I tried VGA for my Xbox and bought a new cable box with HDMI. If your's is anything like mine then I don't know how you lasted a year.

 

[Muskeg]

I've read BigLag's complaints about his Sony ES in other threads, not sure why he started another thread to complain about it.


We all have electronics that haven't lived up to our expectations. I've owned a STR-DA80ES receiver since 1998 and it's still running great, but will be replaced this Tuesday (if I'm home when UPS shows up) with a new STR-DA2400ES receiver. I've had great luck with the ES line, and I'm hoping that continues.


My $.02.

 

[Big Lag]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Muskeg /forum/post/15457536


I've read BigLag's complaints about his Sony ES in other threads, not sure why he started another thread to complain about it.

Why? Because I reached some degree of closure today. My system is now working and the whole system is now working in conjunction with the Harmony universal remote.


I battled for a year, pursuing any number of possible causes and solutions, only to find out all potential causes except the one were invalid - the cause was entirely the Sony receiver's HDMI problems.


Now that I know the problem, I can work towards a solution. I'll keep you posted on how Sony's Customer Service and their repair center handle repairs to the HDMI problems.


It is not out of the question that I'll request a full refund or replacement for this receiver.

 

[N8DOGG]

You should have never been "satisfied" if it didn't work properly in the first place.

 

[RWetmore]

I'm just curious - are you using cheapo HDMI cables? If yes, what are their lengths? When bridging HDMI connections, you can run into problems using cheap cables that wouldn't otherwise arise with a high quality cables.

 

[Big Lag]

LOL!


Surely, you are not saying the price of an HDMI cable determines whether it works or not. Are you suggesting I go out and buy those $500 HDMI cables?


The cables I am using all work just fine when directly connecting from source to display. When the same cables are used to connect to the receiver, the connection is lost or becomes intermittent.


Cables are either 1m (to connect from source to receiver) or 3m in length (to connect receiver to display).

 

[Big Lag]



Quote:
Originally Posted by N8DOGG /forum/post/15459214


You should have never been "satisfied" if it didn't work properly in the first place.

I was not satisfied. I am not satisfied (quite the contrary). This is not finished. It's just that, for the very first time, it is all working.

 

[RWetmore]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Lag /forum/post/15460160


LOL!


Surely, you are not saying the price of an HDMI cable determines whether it works or not. Are you suggesting I go out and buy those $500 HDMI cables?


The cables I am using all work just fine when directly connecting from source to display. When the same cables are used to connect to the receiver, the connection is lost or becomes intermittent.

The problem could be the quality of the cables. Not infrequently cheap cables give problems when bridging connections. I suggest buying a high quality pair from Bluejeanscable.com. It could solve your problem, and they aren't very expensive. You can return them if it doesn't work. Check out their articles on HDMI cables...you'll see why you can sometimes have problem trying to bridge cheaply made cables.

 

[Big Lag]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RWetmore /forum/post/15462884


The problem could be the quality of the cables. Not infrequently cheap cables give problems when bridging connections. I suggest buying a high quality pair from Bluejeanscable.com. It could solve your problem, and they aren't very expensive. You can return them if it doesn't work. Check out their articles on HDMI cables...you'll see why you can sometimes have problem trying to bridge cheaply made cables.

You know what, I'll give it a try*. I have zero hope this will be effective, as I've already tried cable swapping.


I do believe the HDMI connector in the receiver is defective. When I send the unit in to the service center, I am going to insist they replace that connector, at the very least.


I will share one thing I've learned during this exercise. I know for a fact the HDMI connector should have had a locking feature built in. That it does not, is just one of its design deficiencies. I mean the following in the legal and engineering sense - it is a defective design. Given the piss-poor connectors on the HDMI, it is essential to off-load (restrain) either the connector itself or, at the very least, the cable. You cannot allow mechanical loads from the relatively stiff and striong cable to make their way to the connector and react them at the connector. I have developed several design concepts for restraining the connectors and cables, however, the one I am going to implement is to restrain the cable.


My selection of this approach, over the connector restraint, is unique to my installation. It will be less effective than a properly implemented connector locking feature.


When the receiver comes back from the repair center, I will be restraining the HDMI cables before the first test.





*Edited to add: I wasn't kidding. Here's what I ordered: HDMI Cable, BJC Series-1 Belden Bonded-Pair, 10 foot, White


I apologize for my somewhat disparaging remark about "cheap" HDMI cables. Knowing what I know about cabling, cost and performance have little to do with each other. Perhaps you should have said "low quality" rather than "cheap".

 

[RWetmore]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Lag /forum/post/15463126


You know what, I'll give it a try*. I have zero hope this will be effective, as I've already tried cable swapping.


I do believe the HDMI connector in the receiver is defective. When I send the unit in to the service center, I am going to insist they replace that connector, at the very least.


I will share one thing I've learned during this exercise. I know for a fact the HDMI connector should have had a locking feature built in. That it does not, is just one of its design deficiencies. I mean the following in the legal and engineering sense - it is a defective design. Given the piss-poor connectors on the HDMI, it is essential to off-load (restrain) either the connector itself or, at the very least, the cable. You cannot allow mechanical loads from the relatively stiff and striong cable to make their way to the connector and react them at the connector. I have developed several design concepts for restraining the connectors and cables, however, the one I am going to implement is to restrain the cable.


My selection of this approach, over the connector restraint, is unique to my installation. It will be less effective than a properly implemented connector locking feature.


When the receiver comes back from the repair center, I will be restraining the HDMI cables before the first test.





*Edited to add: I wasn't kidding. Here's what I ordered: HDMI Cable, BJC Series-1 Belden Bonded-Pair, 10 foot, White


I apologize for my somewhat disparaging remark about "cheap" HDMI cables. Knowing what I know about cabling, cost and performance have little to do with each other. Perhaps you should have said "low quality" rather than "cheap".

You should have bough the F2 series since you only need 10 ft. The series 1s are really stiff and designed for long runs. It's probably not to late to change your order.


I also didn't know you already tried swapping a few different cables. Were they all low quality cables?

 

[Big Lag]



Quote:
Originally Posted by RWetmore /forum/post/15463658


You should have bough the F2 series since you only need 10 ft. The series 1s are really stiff and designed for long runs. It's probably not to late to change your order.


I also didn't know you already tried swapping a few different cables. Were they all low quality cables?

No, they were all high quality cables, including one with the Sony brand name on it.

 

[RWetmore]



Quote:
Originally Posted by Big Lag /forum/post/15463781


No, they were all high quality cables, including one with the Sony brand name on it.

Then it's unlikely to be the problem. Perhaps I should have been more clear. Still maybe worth a try though.

 

[Big Lag]

Well, the receiver was sent in to the repair shop this afternoon. I certainly hope they are able to fix whatever the heck is wrong with it. I really want it to work but it has to work reliably - rock solid. If it's not 100% when I get it back, I'll pursue a refund/replacement from SONY.