Sony: VTX-D800U

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John on March 15th, 2009
beat this, immaculate sony vtx-d800u for, wait for it £2! i love boot sales!!!! works prefect. happy days

Kevin, Wakefield on October 24th, 2008
If you can find one on Ebay or in your local Cash Converters BUY IT. I have had mine as my main Freeview STB in the living room for over 4 years now. Never had any problems at all and it still outperforms any of the modern boxes I have bought for other TVs in the house. EPG is excellent, smartlink works well to trigger a compatible VCR or DVD Recorder. Picture and sound quality are absolutely first rate. Never crashes and the ability to reorder channels in the way you want is an excellent feature most modern boxes still don't have.

Paul, Telford, Shropshire on December 7th, 2007
if you buy the sony box that hasnt been used for a while dont right the box off and put it down to being faulty bought a shop soiled box from comet at a knock down price ex display had problems with it at first locking up and loss of audio on radio channels no wonder they were trying to get rid of it i thought and then a soft ware update came along v1.15.01u no problems again would fully recommend

Alan, Southampton on April 18th, 2007
Got one of these off eBay. It is a very nice STB good sound and picture quality and responsive channel change. Would be nice to have a feature that automatically skipped encrypted channels. I too have the recent EPG problem due to the November firmware update but there is a new update this week which hopefully will fix this for good. Shame Sony have stopped making it but nice to see they are still doing updates.

Silver Birch on March 17th, 2007
Press the on/off button on the box until an orange light shows ( keep it pressed down )the programme info should then show.

Jason, Telford on February 14th, 2007
I have the Sony vtx-d800u Freeview box and keep losing the channel info on the BBC channels, the now and next will just keep saying no information available, how do I fix this and when is the next upgrade?

Lee on February 12th, 2007
Nothing but problems with this. First one, epg didn't work, wouldn't update. Second one, I've had for 4 months. Epg still has problems in that it never automaically updates. All data drops out over a period of two or three days to reveal 'No information available'. Unplugging cures the problem, on start up it reloads data. As I switch off at night this fault was overcome so put up with it. However the unit failed again yesterday. It now only picks up about 40 stations instead of the 80+ it should. It's going back today!

Steve, Birmingham on January 9th, 2007
Had this Freeview box since, about March 2006. Everything fine until the download, the EPG is not showing any information on any of the channels (same as every one else) just says 'No event information'.

Gavin, Worthing on January 3rd, 2007
Excellent box for the money. Got this as a replacement a year ago and have been impressed. Had been having the EPG probs mentioned, but a simple Google search solved it. Very good piece of kit. Buy it!

Wing SE London on December 18th, 2006
Had EPG problems for 2 weeks. After I powered it off for a couple of days and then powered it back and the problem went away.

Lee Sanders, South London on December 12th, 2006
Well, it *was* a great box for the first 7 months of use. Since sometime early in November it routinely says 'no event information' instead of the epg. The link to the forums (8th Dec) gets your hopes up only to be dashed by the 'Sony are aware of the problem' letter.

cebab on December 9th, 2006
brilliant, why was it pulled!

Peter Crawley. East Dorset. on December 9th, 2006
Bought this a few months ago to replace a cheaper, basic, troublesome box of tricks. Very impressive performance with faultless picture quality on screen. Control via remote, plus foolproof menu makes me wonder why, so I am informed, Sony have decided to discontinue this model. Must add my voice to the concern regarding complete loss of EPG.

Nicholas, Essex on December 8th, 2006
Similar problems with the EPG. Box working fine then suddenly its not showing any information on any of the channels (just says 'No event information')

ED: See this thread in the forums: http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=454039

harles, Luton on December 3rd, 2006
Had the VTX-D800U for over a couple of years now with no problems until the recent v1.14.02U update. Now it loses it's EPG quite frequently and have to keep re-booting with power switch. Hope they sort this problem. Basically a great box!

Pam, Benfleet on November 22nd, 2006
Had this Freeview Box since Feb. 2006. Everything fine until about 2 weeks ago - The EPG is not showing any information on any of the channels (just says 'No event information') Not sure what to do. I have tried rescanning, but to no avail. Any suggestions?

Dave T , Isleworth on October 24th, 2006
After the automatic upgrade, it NO longer shows the EPG .... All I get for every channel is " No event information " ..... is there a fix , Please.? Thanks ......Dave T.

Rob, Surrey on October 24th, 2006
Had this box since it came out, no problems what so ever until a few days ago I noticed that I have no EPG now. Has anyone else got the same problem? Has it been since the last firmware upgrade??

Bryan, London on October 13th, 2006
For Freeview, get this box! After a year of frustration with a Phillips and then a Panasonic (crashing every day, slow channel changes), I had come to think of Freeview as the very poor cousin of Sky et al, but this Sony receiver has made me change my mind - it simply works! Brilliant picture from my portable ariel, channel changes are instant, the EPG and menu screens are excellent, and it looks nice to boot - and it even has channel change and buttons on the front, very handy if you constantly keep misplacing your remote like I do! Don't go for the cheaper option to save yourself cash, save yourself frustration instead, it’s worth every penny of the £80 I paid for it and beats everything else hands down - good work Sony!

Sevarian, Birmingham on October 3rd, 2006
I've had this super little box for almost two years now. No problems at all, if I could afford a seconf one I would, but i've had to watch the pennies and buy a cheap second box for elsewhere in the house. NOTE: There is a firmware upgrade scheduled for 5-8th October 2006, to v.1.14.02. Make sure your boxes are plugged in at the end of this week, and auto-upgrade is switched on. I don't know what Sony's latest upgrade will do extra but I'm gagging to find out! Just wish Sony would improve the software in my Freeview DVD-Recorder too which pails in comparison to their standalone box.

asd on September 27th, 2006
Excellent bit of kit - easy to set up and use - mine seems to be quite sensitive and displays a good picture with a reasonable pooor signal. Being able to program the remote control to operate yourTV is a major plus.

Rab, Derbyshire on September 21st, 2006
I've had this box for 2 years. It as not locked up once! or had to be rebooted. Picture and sound quality is excellent. No problems whatsoever.

Iain, Rugby on September 15th, 2006
Last weekend I managed to get the last VTX-D800 on the shelf from local Currys store. Worked great first time, very easy to setup. Reception is good even though I only have an indoor ariel at present. The feature I bought it for was the Smartlink. I have a Home Cinema setup and the connections between boxes are getting more complex all the time, with a small stack of remotes to control it all! It's very clever what Sony have done by making the Freeview box integrate in the middle of the Smartlink between the TV and VCR and spoof both into thinking they are directly connected. This means I can control VCR record and playback through the VTX-D800 and making recordings off the EPG is a breeze - just mark a programme for recording and slam a tape into the VCR and the VTX-D800 takes care of the rest: turning the VCR on, setting the VCR to record channel and then turning all boxes off at the end of the recording. The most amazing think is that this all works with my Panasonic VCR and TV! (Sony's Smartlink is fully compatible with Panasonic's Q-Link!). Wow! To top it off I would have liked there to have been an RF Modulator on the VTX-D800 but I am just being spoilt now.

Terry, Essex on September 7th, 2006
In view of the high prices being paid for used units on e-bay,this now discontinued receiver is obviously highly regarded. I managed to obtain a new unit from my local Waitrose(John Lewis) store yesterday,and set up was straight forward. The picture quality is simply magnificent,and the GUI is excellent.The now/next facility on the info button is a very nice touch. Despite the unit not having the latest software,so far operation/reception has been trouble free. I look forward to the proposed new software OTA update planned for the 2 October.

Silver Tractor, Suffolk on August 25th, 2006
I have been trying to get hold of one of these (discontinued) boxes for ages and finally got one from ebay recently. For the last 6 months I've been suffering the frustration of trying to use what must be the worst freeview box around - the Philips DTR200. Having dumped the Philips and connected the Sony the difference is amazing. My reception (even from the low powered mux from Sudbury transmitter) is rock solid across all channels. I have a 52 element wideband aerial and the Philips box struggled to produce a reliable signal even on the higher powered multiplexes. The Sony VTX - D800 works superbly with the outdoor aerial and even manages to provide steady reception on most channels via an indoor aerial. The Philips box crashed constantly - the Sony box (so far) is 100% reliable. If you are struggling with an inferior box try to get yourself a Sony!

Laurence, Chorley, Lancs. on August 20th, 2006
On the whole the Sony is the best box I have had, with loads of great features (listed elsewhere on this page)and as yet never crashed/frozen. However a couple of niggles, I think the 7day guide looks cluttered, and while trying to exit text on any of the SKY channels the box resets itself. Things that I hope will be corrected in future firmware updates.

Rosie, Birmingham on August 8th, 2006
Tesco still stock at £78.98. Arrived within 2 days. Very easy setup and looks good and working great. I'm a little embarassed to say I have a Proline TV (yes I know, cheap and tacky) but if anyone out there knows a code I can input to get Sony remote to operate TV, I'd be grateful. Not sure I've got Allan of Scotland's patience to go thru all codes.

Roy, Shropshire on August 6th, 2006
Great box, we have 4 of them, now sadly discontinued

Mark, London on July 25th, 2006
Have had 2 of these boxes for a couple of years - can't fault them... simply the best DTT boxes currently on the market. Fast channel switching, literally never crash, nice style, good quality, nice remote... what more could you ask for.

Mike, Suffolk on July 6th, 2006
Bought following the return of a Philips (useless box which locks up). So far: very nice user interface, clear EPG, clear text on screen. Now/next very nicely implemented. Decent remote with buttons nicely grouped, decently quick response to button presses. Triggers timer recordings in my Philips VCR using the pin-8 trick on the second scart lead. Overall, though early days, very satisfied. It might cost more than most other boxes, but its a lot better than the other box I'd tried. I'll pay more for reliable decent products.

Mike, High Wycombe on July 4th, 2006
Very pleased with the first one I bought last year, operating with a Philips TV. Have now bought another operating with a Beko 14" portable TV. Manual doesn't include a remote control code for Beko and Sony tech support couldn't help. Does anyone know of a Beko code I could try?

John, York on July 4th, 2006
The best freeview box there is, period!

Martin Cairney, Airdrie on June 28th, 2006
I have had the Sony VTX-D800U STB now for over a year and never experienced a single problem with it. It produces a good stable picture. As such, I am happy to recommend it to anyone thinking of purchasing one.

Steve, Ely on June 27th, 2006
Had one since they first came out and cannot fault it. It has never lost the picture, the EGP is fantastic and simple to use and also sets the video to record. In all the years I have had it, it has frozen twice - but then just tuen it off for a few seconds to reset it and it's all systems go again.

Oliver, Milton Keynes on June 20th, 2006
After research into quality of Freeview reception in my area, I discovered that I should not be able to recieve digital signal according to the Freeview website. However, the analogue signal is just about ok and no Channel 5. So I changed to a Televes DAT45 aerial and hope for the best. I decided to get the Sony box as it was the best box according to this review site. Thinking of getting a box from the shop, so I can return it to the shop easily if the Freeview website is true. But Currys and Comet shops won't match thier own web price any more. So pop into Tesco and give the Digilogic STB1000 a try at £24.95. If it won't work, I could return it. It has 2 scarts, UHF coaxial and stereo audio output. But to my surprise, the Digilogic STB1000 is good and all the channels are there. Very easy and quick to set up. It's over a week ago now. One drawback is the response to channel change sometimes can be a bit slow. Otherwise, it's very good value for money. And in my opinion, a good digital aerial is a must and well-worth investment before considering buying expensive set top boxes.

Jeff S. Lowestoft, Suffolk. on May 11th, 2006
Bought a Humax MG-TU1 to replace my 4 year old Nokia Mediamaster 221T which had started playing up. Installed the Humax OK then noticed it had low volume output with a loud background hum, they replaced it with a second unit, this one had blurred picture and poor very pale colours, this time it was a refund. Currys doing the Sony VTX-D800U for £78.98 inc. delivery online, went into my local Currys and they were quite happy to pricematch the online price. All I can say is what a difference, worked straight out of the box, excellent picture and sound quality, as good as my old Nokia, easy to set up and use, well worth the extra £15.

Mat, London on May 11th, 2006
Interface is good but I'm not too keen on the design - as someone noted previously the scarts are too close together and it stays pretty hot when in standby. Also if you want to set up regular recording slots (daily weekly etc) avoid this box as it doesn't have that feature.

Rob, London on April 22nd, 2006
A fantastic box! Previously owned the Philips DTR200/05 had constant problems with it, returned it to Tesco and after reading these posts, I decided to buy the Sony. Have had no problems at all, no freezing, fast menus and the fact that you can program the remote to control your tv is excellent - no more having to constantly switch between remotes! it also has optical audio out to connect to your surround sound system. Although it is a bit on the expensive side compared to other boxes, it is worth it (got it at tesco's for £70, Curry's still selling at £100 in store!!!)

Pete, Hertfordshire, UK on April 21st, 2006
Whoops - The Sony does have the capability to advance the EPG by +24/-24 hours, its just that the feature is a little hidden! When viewing the EPG press the button with the circular arrows on it. The Blue and Green buttons can then be used to advance 24 hours (Green only becoming active, after advancing 24 hours). This functionality is briefly documented in the user guide! (anyone who has worked in IT support will probably be hearing the age old adage RTF! wide and clear)

Pete, Hertfordshire, UK on April 20th, 2006
Had mine 18 months and trouble free. The only thing missing is a facility to advance the EPG +/-24 hours (without lots of finger pressing), other freeview boxes now have this capability, but sadly not the Sony. Have written to Sony requesting that this functionality be included in the next software download (yep I know pigs fly...). Otherwise when analogue finally goes, using the EPG to record programmes in advance is going to become a real pain.