Customer Reviews

Sony ES HES-V1000 Blu-ray Home Entertainment Server

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The item looks great and has a plethora of home server features, but for this pricetag you would expect it to work flawlessly and not be missing some very important features. It does not decode nor transmit DTS-HD and DDHD audio signals which is a big negative. Another big negative is that it is not yet supporting BD-RE authored blu ray discs which is what I have been making for my home videos. As the previous user mentioned, disc loading is awefully slow and can be embarrassing if you are trying to show it off to friends. Hopefully future firmware updates can address these issues.

This product is truly awesome. It is asthetically gorgeous and is an incredible piece of engineering. However, it has some shortcomings which really stand out:

1. The unit is very slow to start up

2. UNBELIEVABLY slow to load a DVD

3. Even MORE unbelievable slow to start playing a DVD, even non-BluRay

4. Doesn't seem to support fast forwarding through BluRay discs

However the pros far outweigh the issues above.

The menuing system is easy to use and understand. Ripping music, photos and video is a breeze, including non protected DVDs.

The quality of the picture is stunning - even non Bluray discs (connected to a Bravia XBR4)

I was specifically looking for a jukebox DVD changer for Bluray discs and this appears to be the only game in town.

Overall I'm very happy with the unit, although I look forward to firmware updates that will increase performance.

[Update September 02, 2008]: I finally got in touch with Sony support to inquire about the slow disc loading speed. They acknowledged the slow loading speed and I received the following reply from customer support: "I asked our escalation dept. regarding a firmware update addressing the slow loading speed of disc's in the Home Entertainment Server. They stated that no firmware update is in the works for the Home Entertainment Server at this time. Unknown it they will have one addressing this issue. Sorry I am not able to provide you better news at this time."

Got this for christmas.

THE GOOD:

- best option available for a high-end blu-ray 200-disc changer. if there's a better option out there, i don't know what it is.

- Disc loading was actually faster than i'd been led to believe by the reviews. the mechanism (when it works ... see below) is reasonably quick, loading and unloading and switching discs are all pretty quick, although blu-ray discs do take a while to "boot up" once they're physically loaded into the player.

- the remote and the UI are impressively intuitive and easy to use. my wife will have no problems watching something on her own.

- the thing looks fantastically high tech! the glass slides upwards to reveal the disc tray and down to reveal the card slots, and it's smooth black surface lights up with colorful touch-buttons and neat lettering in a very slick ballet of technology. huge "wow" factor.

THE BAD:

- it won't rip CDs with DVD content at all (or at least i couldn't get it to).

- i have tried about 20 DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs, and its online database only seems to recognize about 50% of them, which means you have to enter the title yourself, or remember that "DISC 17" is The Dark Knight. The really weird thing about this was which ones it recognized and failed to recognize. it correctly recognized a DVD of an obscure 1976 PBS special titled "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" but failed to recognize the The Dark Knight(!), failed to recognize Dr. Horrible, incorrectly identified The Office Season One, and correctly identified Mama Mia and several others. so it was VERY hit or miss there, and the misses weren't on brand-new or obscure discs.

- i can't find ANY online community, forum, FAQ, or help, on this product anywhere on the internet. i guess there just aren't enough owners. Even Sony's website has nothing of substance. there's a single notice about a software update, and that's it. i'm used to googling a problem with a new product and finding a dozen forums with posters complaining about the same issue ... not so with this thing. it's a lonely feeling.

THE UGLY:

- mine is broken. the disc tray refuses to eject 98% of the time and once ejected, refuses to retract 98% of the time. it's not mechanically stuck. the mechanism doesn't attempt to engage. the button both on the machine and on the remote work fine. when you push "open" on either the remote or the machine itself, the machine responds by saying "Opening" ... and nothing happens. there's just some kind of internal communication breakdown between the "open" command and the mechanism. if i power-cycle the machine (a 90-second process), then sometimes it suddenly the mechanism pops the tray out, as if completing the last-entered command, but it often takes several power cycles to do this. the same problem occurs when trying to close the disc tray. this makes loading or unloading a single disc sometimes a half-hour ordeal. however, once the disc is in, the machine operates flawlessly and switches discs around all day without a problem. i apologize for all the detail -- i'm just trying to make the point that it seems like a software problem as opposed to something physically defective with the machine. Sony tech support has been no help so far -- they've suggested i change the batteries in the remote, and make sure the machine is turned on. sigh.

BOTTOM LINE:

it is hard to write a positive review about a machine you spent all of christmas day wrestling with due to a very weird and obstructive defect. however, if not for that defect, i would in fact be very very pleased with this thing. it looks great and is easy to use. believe the marketing material, but heed the fact that it doesn't seem to automatically recognize a huge percentage of discs, and that disc loading can be a bit slow.

A rare disappointment from Sony. Bought this product as an additional Blu Ray server for my home cinema. Painfully slow performance. Blu Ray performance is good but the 30-45 second wait to play each DVD is a real drawback. In addition, the unconventional size makes it very difficult to install in a theater equipment rack.

If you have the moolah, skip this beast and consider investing in a Kaleidescape system.

I feel its versatile but in all reality and a little computer savy you can build something like it. Cost not so friendly 2,300 alot of mula for such a nice system. Building one would be cheaper.

Well, I have purchased this unit solely because of brand Sony (i had good experience with Bravia TVs)

For this price tag you do not get even common sense, well executed features, never mind something advanced. For those who wish to purchase the unit, I would strongly advise to wait for the hes-v2000 or better yet hes-v3000 if they will ever come out.

Cons: mine did not work out of the box. phone support less then adequate (for this unit - I was surprised). A few instances where it did work it failed to recognize any CDS, DVDs, or any other media. After a few hours started to generate random error numbers (most of which are not even listed on sony support web site). Warranty service will not pay for shipping (unit weighs 110 Lbs). The only way to restart or reset the unit is to unplug and plug back in (normally takes about 5-10 minutes for unit to start). It DOES NOT come with valium needed to have any patience with it's operation.

Pros: very nice design, easy to read menus, can update itself via network (no wireless support), can serve as a very nice and extremely expensive stand for sculptures.

A big disappointment with a great idea behind it. Stay away for now and wait for new versions of this product.

p.s. if there was an option not to leave any stars - I would.