Home > Consumer Reviews > Sony STR-DG810 6.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver

I was looking for a receiver that could take three HDMI inputs and pass audio and video through one HDMI output to the HDTV. This receiver is great. I paired it with some $299 JBL 5.1 speakers and I have an awesome sounding system.

I don't know what the negative reviews are talking about! My receiver is connected to my Motorola DVR HD box via HDMI, PS3 via HDMI, and then output to my Sony Bravia LCD (setup was easy and 5 punches on the provided remote). I have sound coming out of my surround sound speakers and my speakers on my TV, not sure why others are having problems with this. It is definatly a Sony! My JBL floorstanding speakers sound great and can't wait to finish my system off with the rest of my surround sound speakers in the future.

Being a novice, I was looking for a receiver for my Bose Acoustimass10 speaker system, in the $200-500 price range (sorry, but Sony just do not make great speakers). I decided on the Sony STR-DG810 model, for its price, ease of use and HDMI ports. For its price, its one of the best out in the market. Sony products are well-known trusted and high quality products. You know you're getting excellent quality. Setup was rather simple and I was up and running in about an hour (after unpacking, of course). Hooked up my Wii, PS3, DVD, and TV. And since I'm planning on buying a Sony Bravia HDTV, it made even more sense to go with this product. You're not going to find anything better in its price range!

I purchased this receiver to untangle the web of cables that spanned the space between my audio rack and 60" SONY XBR rear projection HDTV. After removing all of my existing cables, I was thinking that I would be able to make HDMI connections between the Cable Box/DVR, Upscaling DVD player, and the receiver, then make one HDMI to DVI connection to the TV. HOWEVER, when that is done, Audio drops out at the receiver level (which seems quirky, but is documented in the manual), so I needed to pick up audio with optical cables. The automated audio setup is really sweet, using the provided microphone and a tripod, and this program picked up two out of phase speaker connections that I had to correct.

Sound is terrific, and we feel like our Home Theater experience has been enhanced by this purchase.

The STR-DG810 is a well thought out system, although one has to read the manual. The receiver has many functions that can be setup with the remote control or the face of the receiver. The automatic speaker setup is a neat function. I put the setup mic on a camera tripod positioned where I sit to view TV at ear level as recommended by Sony. The sound levels from each speaker are terrific.

I waited until the 2007 line was released by Sony so I could get the HMDI functions and marry them to my Sony 40" 1080p HDTV. The two HDMI input connections work fine. One has my cable input, the other has the LG upconvert DVD. When I switch the DVD on, the receiver automatically senses it and switches the output to the TV. I purchased an XM Mini-Tuner and Antenna combination from Amazon for this receiver. After registering the tuner with XM Radio, the receiver performs as expected.

The receiver setup allows one to change the names of the various functions that one can select. For example, I changed SAT to CABLE, so my wife can remember which function turns the cable onto the TV. She knows that turning on the DVD player automatically inputs the movie she wants to watch. Now, guys, that's worth the price of the system!

As I said earlier, read the manual to setup the receiver. The manual was written by folks that speak English.