Sony: VTX-D800U

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Your responses

Rob Online, Somerset on April 17th, 2006
A very good box providing good picture and audio quality, as well as a fast loading MHEG system. The EPG loads quickly as well, and the box has a nice design, being able to stand horizontally or vertically depending on what kind of setup you like. There's an optical out at the back if you fancey connecting it to any audi equipment. It's never crashed on me since I got it in December 2005. My only niggle is the Menu styles, which look a bit out-dated, although this is hardly a worry as the box works great.

Sunit, Hatfield, Hertfordshire on April 3rd, 2006
I brought the Sony box on Tuesday 21st March 2006, and set it up in 5 minutes. This has got to be the best box on the market, it is so fast and the picture quality is excellent, and it looks a lot nicer than other boxes.

Neil Davies, Aberdeenshire on March 29th, 2006
Excellent unit, worth every penny. After having had other makes this unit is a dream. Most of us are put off by the high price, but it is worth the extra. Picture quality is what you would expect from Sony and if there is a down side it is the fact that it does not have Top Up TV.

Nick, Southampton on March 7th, 2006
I've got two - no problems and the remote controls the TV sound.

Wiz on March 5th, 2006
Correction on my previous post - located the code in the manual and now the Sony control "controls" both the Freeview box AND the Samsung LCD TV. No gripes now!

Wiz on March 4th, 2006
I bought this today from Currys for £78 (Store price is £99) but they match their Web price @ £78. So far so good. Will be interesting comparision with the other box, Pacific from ASDA in the other room. Only gripe is that the control will not see my LCD Samsung TV.

Scott, England on February 26th, 2006
I have just brought a Sony: VTX-D800U freeview set top box from argos for £98.00 and I have to say it was well worth the money. This is my third freeview set top box I have brought as I first brought a phillips which was slow and froze up and then a echostar witch was slow and kept crashing, freezing up then I had a bush tv adaptor which was even worse than the phillips and the echostar set top boxes put together. I can definitely say the Sony: VTX-D800U is the best set top box than all of the rest I have had by far ok it is a little more expencive but it is well worth the money I think. pros:- easy to set up and quick booting up menu loading interactive etc also you can program the sony remote to control your tv as well as the sony set top box which saves on a few remote controls and you can stand it up verticly aswell as horizontly. Also the onscreen menus are easy to see bigger and clearer then the other set top boxes. cons:- no cam(card access module)for top up tv but apart from that is the only issue I have with the set top box.

Jan, Guildford on February 22nd, 2006
Hi, I have this box for couple of days, it works fine but I have a few complaints to favourites design - 1. There are no buttons to switch between favourite channels directly no additional F+ and F- 2. If I press favaourite button (heart) the cursor is always placed on the first item - even if faourite program is selected, so if I want to select another channel which is in the middle of list I need to scroll a lot If a receiver could be reprogrammed, I would suggest to use up and down arrorws on a remote controller to switch between fafourite channels. Cheers.

David, Bristol on January 19th, 2006
I've just purchased this box and its amazing! - I bought a fusion FRT101 last year so i could get Top Up TV but after E4 went free to view I didnt really watch any other Top Up TV channel. I put up with this box for a while but the sounds crap and the box crashes quite a while. This Sony box is excellent, a nice easy to use EPG - its like the one DirectTV use in America. The box is also very stylish and is very fast with changing channels and interactive. With this box who needs sky or Top Up TV!!

Statto, North London N17 on January 17th, 2006
Fantastic box, loads of features like favorite channels, change the channels about and filter out the Top Up TV channels. Auto Change for programs you dont want to miss or for recording onto video / dvd while you are out. Great EPG which is now 7 days - plus in view now and next for each channel without turning over (a more advanced version of the SKY one) Audio is great and the Digital out works well with my DTS / DD receiver in clear digital output. So much so Ive just purchased a new sub woofer to show it all off. Design is very good and works well with the rest of my Sony kit, one work though is that ID like them to make it hi fi width so it can be stacked but this may have something to do with the heat output which is quite high to be fair. One more thing 2 SCARTS at the back, this is one of the more expensive systems without a recorder or a Top Up TV slot but it is worth it, I have a weak signal for C5 which the box does managed to break up every now and again, but who watches C5 anyways !!

Metro Wolf, Wolverhampton on January 7th, 2006
Superb box. I won't repeat all of the above plaudits but this is the business. I was concerned when I got the box that it did not get many of the channels (I get poor reception generally due to area and old aerial). However to my surprise within 48 hours the box downloaded new software which now gets all the available channels! Recommended for poor reception set up. I will buy Sony again.

Jim, Keighley on December 22nd, 2005
Agree with all previous comments, good quality, easy set up, excellent EPG, etc etc, I persevered with the settings on my Panasonic video and now use the "smartlink"or manual to record. Really pleased.

Mark, High Wycombe on December 22nd, 2005
Ah well Mike, the guy in comet didn't know the full story, I've bought the humax PVR 9200T, no video tape for me, hard disk all the way! Even if it did cost a lot more than the Sony, no more VCR tapes and perfect recordings, straight from the programme schedule. Oh forgot to mention I can record two channels at the same time. All automatic setup as well plus archiving to computer via usb. Perfect.

Freaky, UK on December 18th, 2005
An update to last post, pressing cycle button when in EPG brings up the option to advance 24Hrs, pitty its not documented!

Freaky, UK on December 17th, 2005
I have tried many STB`s & I think this is one of the best on the market. It copes very well with poor signals, giving you a perfect picture where others fail. Channel change is quick and text services are also very quick (EPG access is instant), the box provides a full 8 day EPG. An annoying failing is the lack of ability to advance 24hrs in the EPG, you have to scroll through till you get there which can be frustrating. Another bug is if you move any channels around it deletes the timer list without any warning. Setup is also very quick, one of the fastest I`ve seen (under 90secs). This box has 2 Scarts & both optical & co-axial digital audio out. The TV scart is RGB but the VCR one isn’t , which is a pity in the age of DVD recorders as they work best with a RGB input. There is a RF loop through but it has no modulator, so you need a scart socket on your TV to use this box. It has the option of horizontal or vertical mounting, which is handy. The remote is average size, is well laid out & has a few special keys for controlling your TV. So a well made machine of the quality you expect from Sony,well worth the slightly higher price it costs.

Kev, Blackpool on December 12th, 2005
Great quality picture and sound. It makes the to 32" w/s without any problems. I didnt realise how poor my previous box was until we bought this Tosh 32" TV. Excellent EPG which doesnt show 'skipped' channels which is great so you dont have the crap to wade through. It has separate EPGs for TV mode or radio mode. The only negative to me is there is no daily or weekly option on timed recordings. Still trying to get it to work with my Panasonic HDD Q link system.

Eric, Perthshire on December 4th, 2005
I bought this, my third box, as I was dissatisfied with the results I obtained from the first two. What a cracker! I have a Sony tv and the digi-box remote does everything that the tv remote can do except for the 'sleep' facility. I am able to swap between channels, have favourites lists, can 'skip the channels I never watch or don't pay extra to view, can switch instantly between the tv menu and the radio menu and everything is so much quicker than my first two boxes. Okay it was much more expensive but, if I had bought the Sony box in the first place, I would have saved money on the two I initially purchased. It's well worth the extra in my opinion and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone thinking of getting a digi-box.

Peter We, London on November 27th, 2005
Works well except for - timeshare channels not showing correctly - there its problematic for Tico/recording. Sub titles often flash on for only one frame and others hang about across the adverts etc. I found the GB3 epg much nicer looking and better.

Chris, Glasgow on November 23rd, 2005
Great box. EPG a doddle & it's fast. Great if you are in a poor reception area.

Mike, High Wycombe on November 23rd, 2005
I have used the Sony box for nearly 3 weeks now. I wasn't a big Sony fan but I must admit this box is brilliant. No lockups (like the Nokia 221T) and extremely fast page changes in text, news etc. (I do have a strong signal though). Easy to set up and use. Remote works my Philips TV OK and the record button and EPG work my Panasonic VCR (via Smartlink) OK. Definitely a good choice. Regarding Claire's comment, the Sony is like any other single tuner box. You cannot record one digital channel and watch another digital channel. If you record a digital channel, you have to watch one of the 5 analogue ones while recording. Only twin tuners will get round this. The Sony remote has a "TV/STB" button. Pressing this will switch the TV back to analogue reception and the TV remote will then work as normal. Note that Comet.co.uk and Amazon are currently selling the Sony for under £79 with free p/p.

Peter L on November 23rd, 2005
Now on my second box (first one was faulty & had to be returned, glad it happened straight away as my other dealings with Sony service left a lot to be desired) Quite happy apart from strange issue with EPG ie lists the same programme twice in some cases.

Philippe, Camberley on November 22nd, 2005
Have the box since 6 months and am very happy, except for the EPG which does not seem to get any updates for the ITV and Channel 4 channels. Called Sony and they told me that this may be down to the transmitter ...

Bob, London on November 20th, 2005
I have this for a year now and still no problem. I have so many Sony gadgets and this set top box is the best yet. I'm happy with the layout and the channel-changing is faster than 1st On-Digital Nokia box I had. Very happy with Sony one.

Dave, Stockort on November 19th, 2005
I have tried other boxes and been very disappointed. I was beginning to get the impression that the technology was being pushed through before it was ready. However the Sony shows it is possible to make a quick, reliable and usable set top box. I particularly like the ability to operate some basic functions on my (Toshiba) TV and that it will turn on my (Philips) VCR from the timer in the EPG. The Sony is a bit more expensive than others but the fact that it works so hassle-free makes it worth the extra.

Claire, Southampton on November 19th, 2005
We bought a Sony box for my Mum and Dad and had the same problems about recording that people have laready mentioned. I've made a note of the advice from Sony but before we invest in buying one of these boxes for ourselves, can anyone reassure me that I can record a freeview channel while watching another channel as it the free box at the moment overrides the TV remote - which makes it useless if we want to record one channel while watching another.

Allan, Scotland on November 17th, 2005
First impressions were very positive and in line with most of the reviews here and on Amazon. The annoyance started when I tried to find the code which would allow the remote's off/on and volume buttons to control my Samsung WI-28W6VN television. This is a not very old widescreen TV, but none of the Samsung codes in the digbox manual worked. The Sony website was less than helpful, basically saying that if your TV doesn't work with any of the codes listed in the manual, you're scuppered. As a last resort, I decided to try every possible code sequentially. Fortunately, my TV sprang to life when I got to 022. It is annoying that I had to do that (though I would have been much more annoyed if the correct code had turned out to be 999), but I'm very pleased with the unit now.

Sean, Cambridge on October 25th, 2005
Had the box for almost a year now, excellent EPG (7 day) and have 1 problem with the box and that is the BBC News Multiscreen (it doesn't work and I keep getting told to update my box) other than that excellent box and well worth the money I paid for it.

Mike, High Wycombe on October 21st, 2005
Following no comments to my previous posting from any reviewer, I wrote to Sony and received the following reply, which may be of assistance to other potential buyers:- Any VCR with a scart input can be used to record from the VTXD800. You would connect the VTXD800 to your VCR scart input and then select that input to record from (usually called Line or EXT). This will allow for manual recordings: select the correct input on the VCR and press record. As well as timed recordings: set your VCR to start recording from the correct input at whichever date and time you select (you must leave your VTXD800 on for the duration of the recording and leave it on the channel you wish to record). With regards to SMARTLINK recording - a VCR with a SMARTLINK (or equivalent) enabled scart socket will be able to utilise the SMARTLINK recording function. You will be able to select a program to record using the EPG. The VTXD800 will tune itself to the correct channel and then send a signal via the scart lead to start the VCR recording at the appropriate time. NB Different manufacturers have different names for the SMARTLINK technology. Some examples follow... MEGALOGIC - Grundig Corporation EASYLINK - Phillips Corporation Q-Link - Panasonic Corparation EURO VIEW LINK - Toshiba Corporation T-V LINK - JVC Corporation The VTXD800 has full 7 day EPG functionality as well as a 'now and next' feature. The Sony Freeview website is www.npe.sony.co.uk where you can download a manual. Based on this, I have ordered a VTX-D800U from Comet (on special offer at the moment). I hope it turns out to be as good as every other reviewer says it is!

Drew, Oxfordshire on October 20th, 2005
Still the best box ive ever used. must be the number 1.

RAB, Derbyshire on October 20th, 2005
Excellent box, I've had this box for 6 months and had no lock ups at all. This box only records SVHS signals on a smartlink compatible recording device otherwise the signal is recorded in CVBS (a normal VHS signal). It is the best sound and picture quality you can get (I have had 6 other STB's and spent most of my time rebooting them.)

Howard, Derby on October 19th, 2005
Very impressed with the performance of the box with one exception. The spec says under 10W power consumption, I found that when 'On' the consumption was 8W, but this only fell to 7W when in 'Standby' mode. This is confirmed by the fact that the box feels warm to the touch even when not in use. Given that my TV uses less than 0.5W in Standby this is poor. So this box is expensive to run by modern standards (around 10p a week in electricity) as it doesn't have a proper off button.

Tony, Norwich on October 15th, 2005
I am considering replacing my old Ondigital box (Nokia Mediamaster) with a Sony, but am surprised to here that with the Sony you can only record digital with a Smartlink enabled VCR. Is this really true? There seems to be so few decent digiboxes out there to choose from, with the added complication of whether to buy one with a card slot or not. Digital Terrestrial is in somewhat of a mess, with confusion for the customer and lack of channels due to insufficinet frequencies. The latter was mainly due to the lack of foresinght when the 625 UHF service was introduced with the abandonment of the VHF spectrum-a mistake not made by other countries. Would be grateful for advice re the Sony digibox.

Mike, High Wycombe on October 14th, 2005
I want to replace my Nokia 221T, which keeps locking up, with a decent digibox. The short list seems to be a Humax F2-FOX T or Sony VTX-D800U. I am not a particular Sony fan (bad experience with F1 Betamax video!) but on this forum, the Sony seems to have almost universal praise. On Amazon, the reviews of the Sony are again full of praise. However, 1 or 2 comments have been made about being unable to record digital programmes without a smart-link VCR (I have a Panasonic S-VHS VCR connected to the digibox with a scart cable). Is this genuinely a problem, as not being able to record from the box makes it pretty useless. Does everyone still think the Sony is the best on the market, even though it's been around a long time? The guy in Comet tried to sell me a Humax MG-TU1 as the best around. Any opinions of the Sony v this Humax? Incidentally, I have no interest in Top-up TV. With the 7 day EPG, do you get the Now/Next menu as well, as it is useful?

Dave, West Midlands on October 14th, 2005
On the whole I'm very impressed. Channels can be placed in any order or hidden altogether, the main reason I chose this box. The remote is well laid out if slightly larger than it could be. It also operates basic controls on tv. Smartlink compatible. Channels changes are quick. Picture quality is good. 7 day epg is great if not always fully up to date later on in the 7 days. For someone who is used to sky I'm very happy with this box.

Ellis, South East London on October 13th, 2005
Had this box for over a year now and can't fault it, great quality overall, the remote is very comfortable and easy to navigate, very easy to configure and idiot proof to. It's recommended! Ps, you can also stand it up like a ps2 :).

digitalwolf, West Midlands on September 5th, 2005
The Sony VTX D800 is,I still believe the best box on the market. I have had this box now,for nearly 2 years,and before that I had an On Digital Philips box :( and a Daewoo Setpal. I was expecting good things from the setpal,as at the time it was a very good box for low signal areas. I hated the menu's on my setpal,so I sold it,and waited for this Sony box everybody was saying was going to be the next big thing. I was blown away by how easy it was to setup,and the picture and sound quality that the box delivers is superb. The tuner is extremely sensitive (better than the setpal). The box is extremely stable,I have never seen it crash,which is probably the reason why Sony don't send many software updates out. The box is very fast at loading up text services,it's very own EPG. 10/10 From Me :) I always usually buy Sony,and with Sony you always get quality and this is no exception!

John on July 30th, 2005
Don't mess about buying a cheaper box or using your old OnDigital one. This is an excellent set-top box, very snappy and works very well in poor reception areas.

sonicshadow, Renfrew on July 12th, 2005
Fantastic box! Really fast interactive services, super quick channel changing, great picture quality, 8 day EPG, reliable timer. Probably the best Freeview (not top-up) box available and well worth the money!

Adam on June 28th, 2005
What a box! Fantastic litttle package which works and looks excellent. Regular updates from Sony keep the box ticking over nicely and wonderful to finally pick up Mux C, The Sony seems very good at working with weak signals and as such I've enjoyed in no end. Well Done and I would certainly recommend this to anyone looking for a stylish but workable box.

Brian A, Yorkshire on June 25th, 2005
The Good: Good quality pictures. 7 day EPG. Sensitive receiver. Reasonably easy to operate. Will operate with link to control certain VCRs - but with the Thomson DHD4000 available for under £150 who needs a tape machine!? The Very, Very Bad: Doesn't allow you to eliminate unwanted channels from the EPG listings - so you even get TUTV channels which can never be received on the box because it doesn't have to facility. This really is a chore. You have to scroll through all the shopping channel crud, wearing out your remote control, to see all the relevant listings.