Sony BDV-E290 5.1 Home Theatre System

I bought this system quite recently and is somewhat satisfied with this product.The main advantage is that it plays almost every media . When we connect USB or DVD or Blueray, it does it job well. The design of the main unit is nice and sleeky. Sony claims of 1000 W RMS. But it is tricky. It does not have 1000 W RMS. But it has good sound quality for a medium sized room

I went through all the reviews on this product. Some of them say it has lesser volume,the sound quality is not good or poor. I would not like to believe all these reviews.The volume is not good . It is OK. I made a research in the subject and found that some English DVD's has much lesser volume . But some others have good sound quality and it can be proven when we hear different DVD's.So it is not a drawback as someone says. the surroud sound is rocking when we play DVD's with good embedding

So I am happy at having this product.

this is a future ready device that supports almost any kind of media.
supported media
disks(audio cd, video cd, dvd, blu ray, 3d bluray etc. etc.)
usb(videos(includes xvid, divx 1080p content),audio-with party playback,images)
internet videos(youtube and many other regional services)
internet audio streaming(npr)
dlna(requires wifi dongle,not in the package :( )
fm

inputs->optical(toslink),analog(stereo audio),ethernet,hdmi(arc v1.4)

also it supports almost all digital audio formats like dolby digital, dolby plus, thx and dts (which is why i chose this)

video output->hdmi(480i to upto 1080p 3d),a/v

this player lacks equaizer, but it is not a problem with audio presets to choose from dolby pro logic, dts neo6-cinema and dts neo-6 music. there is also a 'sound mode' which includes easily switchable modes like movie, music, sports, auto, night mode, demo, and audio enhancer (i personnally like the dolby pro logic which spatialices stero audio to 5.1 dramatically )

also to be noted is that the speakers are odd proportioned (l,f,sf,sr at 125W and c,lfe at 250W) but that can be compensated
by tuning level of each speaker from -6db to +6db and setting proper distances

however the main disadvantages are
1. fm reception is not good
2. needs to stop playback t switch b/w dolby pro logic, dts neo6-cinema , dts neo-6 music and sound mode
3. playback should be at volume between 26-33(34 is the max) for best audio output
4. reads only from the first partition of harddisk if it has multiple partitions

it is very much worth rs 19.5k
it is also worth noticing that the player has got a sleek and intuitive ui, pretty, dimmable osd and least amount of 'sony' branding. update can be done from internet or via cd

i rate it at 4.75 out of 5

I bought this system eagerly because of the Brand name of SONY. But the product is not up to my expectation eventhough there are many advantage of this system.First of all, it plays almost all media whether it is an MKV,Xvid AVCHD or others and the picture quality is very brilliant and sharp.But the audio performance is very far from my expectation.Audio is brilliant only in Blueray disk and other DVD's , it is not good. FM quality is ver very poor.Disks should be played in sound between 25- 34 where 34 is the maximum.When we adjust sound to the low level,the sound quality is very poor.The major drawback is we need a TV to play on the System.If we like to hear only themusic,the TV should be turned on.

Cons

1. Audio quality is poor.
2. FM quality is poor.
3. Lacks graphic equaliser
4. No control for Bass and Trebile.

The system is average in quality.

Hi,
I went to various stores to have a look on various Home Theaters. My budget was 15k +/- 2k. I went to philips and was impressed by sound quality of 3D Speakers Home theater 1000W but not supporting Blue ray. Cost was around 14.5K. Then I looked at other system with Blue ray support. Both systems having same wattage had significant different sound quality. May be due to speaker design but Blue ray output was far less impressive than basic HTS5530/94 without Blue ray support. Then I went to Sony and had a look on DV 340 and guys..it rocked me in demo.... I started comparing this with BDV E290 but sound quality was better in DV 340 due to large woofers. Later on I realized that DV340 wont support .mkv and many other format. Also, E290 supports 2d to 3D and blue ray as well. So I extended my budged to 19.5k and bought E290 even though I had seen many people criticizing the product..
Next day store guys came and fixed it up on wall as suggested by me.

1) Optical Audio In port: This port is used to connect to HD setup box or even TV without disturbing 5.1 surround.
2) Sound quality in my 12x15 room is awesome. Original dvds were almost like theater. I changed the setting to increase the surround speakers sound and it's effective. Max. vol I keep is 28. Bass is so sensitive that even on very less volume(under 10) you can feel bass.
3) Didnt get chance to see 3D since i dont have 3D tv :(
4) FM is perfectly fine(I have seen some comments here against FM receiver). You need to put FM cable like antenna and hang it on wall to have a strong reception.
5) One flaw is there is no HDMI input, only output Aux in is there but you need RCA cable, regular 3.5 mm port is not there.
6) When you keep Sound Mode as any other(Dolby,DTS Neo) than ON, sound mode on remote won't work. You need to keep Sound Mode as ON to keep Sound Mode function of remote working.
7) No equalizers but I dont need since I love the sound quality and sound modes. Also, to reduce bass, you can reduce volume of woofer from setup.

Overall great system with FULL HD and 3D output. Go for it."

I received my system yday. My 2 day experience with the system is very dissappointing fro various reasons.

The volume does not start before hitting 10 on a scale of 0-33. My Sony TV HX750 for many modes plays louder music than the E290.
you do not get the 1000W punch you imagined. My older Hifi Aiwa System had more punch than this.
The radio absolutely does not work. I think i may need to keep the system out of the window to receive FM signals.
No Equalisers. I guess your personal preference is not important. There is no way to control Bass and treble like on my TV
I am a hard-core fan of Apple and Sony products. This one has just put me off. I am still trying to convince myself maybe i havent adventured enough. So will update incase i do find any solutions......