Sony STR DG820 AV receiver

Signal switching features HDMI Pass-Through: Up to 1080p Connectors Headphone Jack: Yes Coaxial Digital Input: Yes Optical Digital Input: Yes Radio Type: Radio tuner - AM/FM - digital Digital Tuner Band: XM Tuning Display: Fluorescent display AM Preset Station Qty: 30 preset stations FM Preset Station Qty: 30 preset stations Antenna Form Factor: Loop AM / wire FM Additional Features: Station naming Remote control Type: Remote control - infrared

Manufacturer's product description The STR-DG820 7.1 channel A/V receiver delivers the Full HD 1080 experience to a home theater system. This 1080p A/V receiver features HDMI with "Active Intelligence", plus x.v.Color and 1080/24p signal capability. In addition to decoding uncompressed audio (LPCM via HDMI), the STR-DG820 decodes the latest audio formats from Dolby Labs and DTS making this model fully compatible with Blu-ray Disc. Now, you can hear the original mix of your favorite BD titles regardless of audio format. Need more HDMI inputs? The STR-DG820 features four HDMI inputs that allows for more HD content to be connected. Looking for simplicity? BRAVIA Sync provides a one button operation (via HDMI) of your entire A/V experience with a select number of BRAVIA televisions. Because no room is perfect, Sony's Digital Cinema Auto Calibration (and its supplied microphone) simplifies speaker set up and optimizes speaker performance with the push of one button in just 30 seconds. This full featured A/V receiver expands its ability to playback music from various audio sources. Would you like to listen to satellite radio? The XM Connect-and-Play ready feature provides the ability to access XM satellite radio programming in surround sound.

Connections Connector Type: 3 x digital audio input (optical) ( TOSLINK ) - rear 1 x digital audio input (coaxial) ( RCA phono ) - rear 1 x AM antenna - rear 1 x FM antenna - rear 4 x HDMI input ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - rear 1 x HDMI output ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - rear 3 x composite video input ( RCA phono ) - rear 1 x composite video output ( RCA phono ) - rear 5 x audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) - rear 2 x audio line-out ( RCA phono x 2 ) - rear 1 x monitor output ( RCA phono ) - rear 1 x subwoofer output ( RCA phono ) - rear 3 x component video input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear 1 x component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - rear 1 x headphones ( phone stereo 6.25 mm ) - front 1 x composite video/audio input ( RCA phono x 3 ) - front 1 x microphone ( mini-phone 3.5 mm ) - front 7 x speakers output ( banana x 2 ) - rear 2 x speakers output (multi zone) ( click-fit x 2 ) - rear 1 x XM antenna - rear Miscellaneous Included Accessories: AM antenna, FM antenna, optimizer microphone Power Power Device: Power supply - internal Voltage Required: AC 120 V ( 60 Hz )

Review

Over the past month, we've been putting the latest AV receivers from Yamaha, and Pioneer through their paces. All seemed quiet on the Sony front until they visited our Tedd Q recently and dropped off a sample of the -DG820. As befits its price tag, the Sony has the look of a budget receiver with its old-school silver chassis. Build quality is decent enough: the fascia has a mixture of polished buttons and knobs including an input selector and volume control. The unit's remote control will be familiar to some - it features styling similar to the remotes that come with Sony's W Series of LCD TVs. Before we get stuck into how the sounds, it's worth noting that Sony went back to the drawing board for its whole 2008 receiver range. And the Japanese giant has introduced various new features that, it claims, help improve performance. For starters, the chassis of the has been strengthened and embossed in certain places to help control any nuisance vibrations and their effect on the key video/audio components found at the rear of the receiver.