Sony HT-DDWG800 Home Theatre Sys REVIEW

sunderland · 29-07-2008, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RottenFox

what space do you have to work with?
thats a starting spot.
as you could find a local hi-fi store,or if you have a Richer Sounds or the like,near you,pop along to have a play/listen,and see what suits you.

my room is 13ft by 13ft and there is a richer sounds about 15 mile away from me m8 apart from that its all currys,was just talking to Lion on the onkyo thread and he says its a fantastic system,might pop up to richer sounds and see what they have m8

Si_B · 29-07-2008, 8:48 PM

Hi

I've recently purchased this set but i'm having problems finding anything on sky+ that outputs in 5.1.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Si_B · 29-07-2008, 10:26 PM

Also what would be the best way to play flac mp3's on this?

super-saint · 30-07-2008, 6:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Si_B

Hi

I've recently purchased this set but i'm having problems finding anything on sky+ that outputs in 5.1.

Any ideas?

Thanks

I dont think Sky+ outputs anything in 5.1...you need SkyHD for that

eddy_ridley · 30-07-2008, 8:24 AM

got mine today but only came with one plug converter so what fuse amp ppl using for sub ?? quick reply would be nice as i wanna set this baby up

coffee · 30-07-2008, 8:53 AM

Hi just about to place order for this baby, currently have ps3 sky HD box and a sony 40x3500 lcd tv, firstly anyone else have this setup, and will their be any additional cables, speaker brackets ect.............cheers

**RottenFox** · 30-07-2008, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eddy_ridley

got mine today but only came with one plug converter so what fuse amp ppl using for sub ?? quick reply would be nice as i wanna set this baby up

exactly the same fuse thats in the one you have,from memory,i think its a 5amp that is in the pixmania adaptor.
b&q do a plug adaptor for about £1.50,if you need to get a hold of another.
then just swap the 3amp fuse for a 5amp.

they havent changed the speakers/sub for a few different model releases now,so i should be the same.

**RottenFox** · 30-07-2008, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffee

Hi just about to place order for this baby, currently have ps3 sky HD box and a sony 40x3500 lcd tv, firstly anyone else have this setup, and will their be any additional cables, speaker brackets ect.............cheers

you get no extra leads with it in the box.

so you will need to connect the sky box to the tv with hdmi,and connect the sky box to the receiver with optical.
connect the ps3 to the receiver with hdmi,and you will need another hdmi lead from receiver to tv.
as for speaker brackets,none in the box,so you could pick up a cheap pair from argos@£8.99 a pair.:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...R+BRACKETS.htm

coffee · 30-07-2008, 12:52 PM

cheers rotton fox new to this, any links for good optical cable and how many speaker breckets will be needed............thanks

super-saint · 30-07-2008, 1:01 PM

Hi Rottenfox

As you seem to be the resident expert can i ask the following; (I did ask a few posts back but think if may have been missed)

I currently own a Sony DAV S800

http://www.superfi.co.uk/index.cfm/p...Product_ID/823

This system has no HDMI & only one optical..therefore connecting my PS3/360 & Sky+ is a bit of a pain & looking at thsi for a solution .....

BUT do you guys think I will see much of a performance difference with the new DDWG800 ??

godfarter · 30-07-2008, 2:14 PM

Well for one the DDWG800 outputs at 135W on each channel compared to your DAVS800 at 50W each channel

Its great to have the receiver controlling which output you want to watch on your television - ps3 and sky+ is just a button press away. however, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the HDMI seems to override everything - meaning it takes both video/audio signals from the HDMI and not choose to get audio from optical/coaxial source despite the receiver's digital assign feature.

--------------------------------------

Also if any of you guys ever plan to connect your pc to it via HDMI to enable a multi-monitor setup - consider this, that the HDMI auto-switches "off" when you change to another input on the receiver and then somehow when I switch back the multi monitor refuses to re-enable and I have to restart my computer to get it back. I've searched online and it seems to be a problem with HDMI/Multi-monitor set-ups - hopefully there will be a way to keep a HDMI signal always "on" in the future

Si_B · 30-07-2008, 6:06 PM

Ok thanks. Also is there anyway to get an xbox 360 to play music out of all 5 speakers?

Bigpants2k · 30-07-2008, 7:52 PM

I was thinking of getting the Panny Blueray AIO, but this is grabbing me.

I have Sky HD, so would the HDMI cable not give me 5.1 (if and when it outputs it) or can it 'upgrade' the sound to 5.1.

Also would need a blueray player to go with it and speaker stands.

AliZ4C · 31-07-2008, 6:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RottenFox

you get no extra leads with it in the box.

so you will need to connect the sky box to the tv with hdmi,and connect the sky box to the receiver with optical.
connect the ps3 to the receiver with hdmi,and you will need another hdmi lead from receiver to tv.
as for speaker brackets,none in the box,so you could pick up a cheap pair from argos@£8.99 a pair.:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...R+BRACKETS.htm

Hi!

I have just got this set up to go with my Panny PZ80, Sky HD and 360 Elite..... are you saying that the sky HD box should be hooked up directly to the TV with HDMI rather than into the receiver and to the receiver with optical? Whats the advantage of this as I thought the point was to put all your AV devices to the receiver and then just one HDMI to the TV?

Thanks

Ali

super-saint · 31-07-2008, 8:25 AM

[QUOTE=godfarter;7454156]Well for one the DDWG800 outputs at 135W on each channel compared to your DAVS800 at 50W each channel

Its great to have the receiver controlling which output you want to watch on your television - ps3 and sky+ is just a button press away. however, as mentioned earlier in the thread, the HDMI seems to override everything - meaning it takes both video/audio signals from the HDMI and not choose to get audio from optical/coaxial source despite the receiver's digital assign feature.

QUOTE]

Many thanks

Am i correct in thinking that the HDMI override issue is just on SkyHD ?

Will this effect my xbox 360 connected via HDMI & optical to the receiver ?

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Si_B

Ok thanks. Also is there anyway to get an xbox 360 to play music out of all 5 speakers?

just alter the sound field,so you would pick another effect,it has various ones that give stereo through all speakers,same goes with different modes for listening to a movie.
pretty much similar to the old hall/church/stadium,effects that some systems have.

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffee

cheers rotton fox new to this, any links for good optical cable and how many speaker breckets will be needed............thanks

optical:
http://www.kenable.co.uk/index.php/c...143440fd0b14e6

speaker brackets@£8.99 a pair,so you would need 2 packs,for the 4 speakers(centre is too big,and doesnt have a hanging hole:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...R+BRACKETS.htm

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigpants2k

I was thinking of getting the Panny Blueray AIO, but this is grabbing me.

I have Sky HD, so would the HDMI cable not give me 5.1 (if and when it outputs it) or can it 'upgrade' the sound to 5.1.

Also would need a blueray player to go with it and speaker stands.

this system,and (dare i say it),a ps3,would be a great setup.
the ps3 is a fantastic blu-ray player with more features than most players,and also the fact that it can be upgraded fully(unlike some lower profile blu-ray players).
both together cost far less than the panasonic AIO.
couple the ps3 blu-ray playback,with some cracking games,ability to use it as a media centre,streaming movies/music from a home network,and i think its a pretty good combo.
as for speaker stands,thats up to you,but on a tight budget,argos stands are pretty good:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...KER+STANDS.htm

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali170579

Hi!

I have just got this set up to go with my Panny PZ80, Sky HD and 360 Elite..... are you saying that the sky HD box should be hooked up directly to the TV with HDMI rather than into the receiver and to the receiver with optical? Whats the advantage of this as I thought the point was to put all your AV devices to the receiver and then just one HDMI to the TV?

Thanks

Ali

Yes,connect sky HD directly into the tv,with hdmi,and optical into the 800.
theres absolutely no point in connecting something that doesnt take advantage of the hdmi spec into the system.

there are some problems with hdmi audio with the sky setup,as regards audio,so this connection would be fine.
*hdmi audio will default as standard on the connection,through the 800,so its a pain to keep swapping/have audio cut out,etc.

on the other hand,though,connect the ps3,and xbox 360 into the system with hdmi,and an hdmi from the system to tv,for those 2.
hdmi is the only way to get HD audio from the ps3,and the xbox 360 does give 5.1 audio through hdmi with this system,its not HD audio,but 5.1 nonetheless.
whereas sky only does 5.1 through optical.

something that sky does not,as the only way to get 5.1 from movies,etc with sky is optical.

eddy_ridley · 31-07-2008, 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RottenFox

exactly the same fuse thats in the one you have,from memory,i think its a 5amp that is in the pixmania adaptor.
b&q do a plug adaptor for about £1.50,if you need to get a hold of another.
then just swap the 3amp fuse for a 5amp.

they havent changed the speakers/sub for a few different model releases now,so i should be the same.

yip 5amp works spot on mate

also had to buy extra speaker wire, some descent speaker foots and some bannana and have now finaly got it all hooked up and its a really good piece of kit

bought the speaker brackets from argos aswell but they went back after opening the box. really bad build quality and tryed maplins to find some £1 cheaper and 10 times better and complete with all possible fitting for brackets to speakers

thanks for all the help rottenfox

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 10:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by super-saint

Many thanks

Am i correct in thinking that the HDMI override issue is just on SkyHD ?

Will this effect my xbox 360 connected via HDMI & optical to the receiver?

as in my last post,it just seems to be confined to sky,and nothing else.
and as the receiver is capable of hdmi video and audio,one single hdmi connection(from 360 to receive,and one hdmi lead from receiver to tv) will be enough to give you video,and 5.1 audio from the xbox 360.

Kasreyn · 31-07-2008, 11:07 AM

Got mine two days ago. The cables are long enough to wrap all the way around the right wall over the back into the left surroundspeaker

. The corner where i have my setup is small though, 170x350cm, http://brn.ath.cx/img/DDWG800room.jpg

Some say I should get better quality cables but i'm not sure I would hear the difference

I'm no expert but i think the system sounds good. I managed to scare myself when playing a game. I heard Lisa Simpson talk behind me and I thought someone else was in the room.

I hid the subwoofer behind my sofa for now, it's bulky and I need some other way to hide it.

The receiver pumps a lot of electricity, which would explain why the picture on my TV flickers. I will try to move the receiver to the lower shelf and see if that helps (http://brn.ath.cx/img/emc.flickering.jpg).

Autoscanning/autoprogramming on AM/FM radio seems to be missing. I don't think I will be using the radio that much though.

The remote is supposed to function as a second remote for BD or DVD. You can program it for different types but I couldn't get it to work with my PS3. I'd be even happier if I could get rid of the TV remote. Do anyone know if it's possible?

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 11:11 AM

No,its not possible,as the remote for the ps3 is bluetooth,not IR.

Kasreyn · 31-07-2008, 1:52 PM

More problems. My computer is hooked up with DVI->HDMI cable. Using the DVD HDMI port on the receiver I have no sound from either the COAX digital or stereo analog ports. The receiver expects the sound to come over the HDMI cable. If I pull the cable it switches over to analog and I can hear sound. Do anyone know if you can change this so sound comes from COAX digital or analog ports?

Kasreyn · 31-07-2008, 2:03 PM

I will answer my own question

I read the manual.

There is a button on the receiver called "Input Mode". The manual says you can also use the input buttons on the remote but I couldn't find it or get it to work.

**RottenFox** · 31-07-2008, 2:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kasreyn

More problems. My computer is hooked up with DVI->HDMI cable. Using the DVD HDMI port on the receiver I have no sound from either the COAX digital or stereo analog ports. The receiver expects the sound to come over the HDMI cable. If I pull the cable it switches over to analog and I can hear sound. Do anyone know if you can change this so sound comes from COAX digital or analog ports?

as posted by someone earlier,you can assign SA-cd,to coax,and use that,as the audio for the input you need.

quite why you need to connect the pc through the system when it doesnt need it,i dont understand.
the pc should be connected directly to the display,as to be honest,the hdmi's are for audio and video..but its up to you.

have you tried the information on page 63/64 of the manual,as to picking different audio and video components.
and tried to adjust the hdmi control in the menu.?

Kasreyn · 31-07-2008, 2:28 PM

This is still a small annoyance for me. Problem is my TV only has one HDMI port and I was rather liking switching between my computer and PS3 using the receiver remote. It can be done using analog audio but I was aiming for a higher quality digital transfer.

HDMI audio has priority over digital TOSlink or COAX so it cannot be done over the receiver. Why were those two not added under the same "Input Mode" menu?

So I might still need that HDMI switchbox. I thought i could get rid of it and have one less remote to deal with.

coffee · 31-07-2008, 2:35 PM

not many places selling this system anyone any ideas dont fancy getting from ebay

AliZ4C · 31-07-2008, 3:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coffee

not many places selling this system anyone any ideas don't fancy getting from ebay

Hi Coffee!

I got mine on Ebay for about £255 inc postage. here is the link to the advert:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sony-HT-DDWG80...4069.m14.l1318

Excellent.... came within a couple of days and no probs whatsoever! However, like the Pixima ones it is a European model with the 2 prong plug (and didn't come with an adapter

) but as post above you can get them in B&Q for a couple of quid!

Ali

godfarter · 31-07-2008, 4:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ali170579

Hi!

I have just got this set up to go with my Panny PZ80, Sky HD and 360 Elite..... are you saying that the sky HD box should be hooked up directly to the TV with HDMI rather than into the receiver and to the receiver with optical? Whats the advantage of this as I thought the point was to put all your AV devices to the receiver and then just one HDMI to the TV?

It's a choice between sound quality and convenience basically

Because using the HDMI will override everything - meaning it will be automatically selected as the main carrier of video and audio signals. If you want to take advantage of the Dolby from the HD Box then you have to connect hdmi to tv and optical to receiver.

The disadvantage is you have to change the hdmi input channel on both your television as well as your receiver.

Hence for myself, the whole experience (as you addressed) is more about the daily convenience of having everything through the receiver so that I can just switch around with my skyhd/ps3/pc so i take advantage of the DDWG800's 3 input pass-through