Sony Home Theatre System, 1000W 3D Blu-ray with Tall Speakers, testing the Sony BDV E490 Home Cinema to go with my Sony Bravia 40″ LCD Television.
Sony BDVE490 Home Theatre System Review
Assembling:
The system is easy to assemble, including the stands, was up and running in less than half an hour.
Cables:
Since none of the Home cinema come with HDMI/Optical cables, I had to get the cables separately from Amazon. Go for the optical cable in addition to an HDMI Gold cable, since after getting a home cinema, there is no point compromising on the output and optical is definitely better than the HDMI ARC, although the latter can do the job.
Ports:
One of my earlier worries was this model has only one HDMI OUT port and ZERO HDMI IN ports (unlike the previous version of Sony which had 2 HDMI IN ports and one HDMI OUT). But don’t worry, the way it worked for me was – I used the HDMI OUT from the Home cinema to HDMI 1 of my TV which had ARC (Audio Return Channel) (Note – decent fast HDMI cable required). Then the XBOX and SKY+ HD went into the TV’s HDMI 2 and HDMI 3 respectively. And occasionally the laptop into TV’s HDMI 4. The ARC and the Optical cable connection between the TV and the Home cinema will allow the sound to come through the Home cinema no matter what plays on TV (Channels, games, movies through XBOX, etc)
Speakers:
The speakers’ output is 800w and the sub-woofer – 200w making a total of 1000w. But you cant tell the difference. The clarity of the rear speakers is not that good and you need to listen hard to ensure they’re playing. But may be I need to fiddle with some more settings. Although there isn’t much to fiddle with!
Performance:
Blu-ray plays awesome. So does DVD since it upscales the picture and sound to 1080p and you can tell the difference straight away. Sound from the TV channels is not very exciting, its just more loud. FIFA on Xbox is again awesome, takes you in the middle of the stadium.
iPod doc:
Works fine with iTunes library but still haven’t figured a way to play videos.
Negative:
However, the main issue I found with this system is the lack of active subwoofer and amplifier. I didnt think this would be an issue and I knew what I was getting into. But trust me, unlike other home cinemas – you are not scared to go for the maximum volume and when you reach it – you think – thats it? I’m not saying its not loud but sometimes its not loud enough. Depends on the quality of tracks you’re playing but seriously I would expect the roof to blow off on full volume but its far from there.
Positive:
Tall speakers’ output and Looks. It just looks perfect with the setting and the tall speakers in the front give a cinematic experience in looks and sound when watching movies like Dark Knight, Inception, etc.
Overall:
I love it and being in an apartment, the volume is just right for me hence it gets 4 stars. Nothing wrong with the system and unless you are building your own by buying an amp separately, speakers separately, more into research than looks… I think this is a great buy.
Spend some time in positioning the speakers correctly, and have decent cables.
We gave the Sony BDVE490 Home Theatre System
