Sony STR-DA5200ES Video
Sony STR-DA5200ES Video Transcript
[ Music ]
>> Hi, I'm John Falcone, senior editor at CNET.com and this is the Sony STRDA5200ES. It's the top AV receiver in Sony's line up this year. And it offers a lot of the high end features we expect in such a flagship model. Among them are plenty of HD inputs including three HDMI inputs and three component video inputs. Its XM ready. And it's also multi room, multi source and has an RS232 port for advanced home installation applications. In addition to all those features that we expect in such a high end receiver such as this one, the 5200ES is also the first receiver we've seen that has a very elaborate graphical onscreen user interface. What that means is it's a lot easier to set up and access some of the functions than we've seen in receivers up to this point. Interestingly the interface that Sony's used on the screen is reminiscent of the cross media bar that's found on the Playstation 3 and the PSP. The graphical user interface is particularly useful during the set up process. And it helps you do things from as simple as setting up the AM FM and XM satellite radio stations. A few things that would be a lot more convoluted on other receivers, such as setting the AV inputs, assigning the correct digital or analog audio to that input. And naming that input. Another frustration with this unit was the remote that they included. As good as the on screen interface was, the remote is a lot more standard and just a lot more average than you'd expect with such an advanced receiver. I'm John Falcone for CNET and this is the Sony STRDA5200ES. ^M00:01:56 [ Music ]
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Funki Porcini: "What Are You Looking At?"
Funki Porcini produced and directed the video for this spacey tune, which takes a close look at natural symmetries. This video is from "Zen TV," a collection of videos from Ninja Tune that includes some of the biggest figures in electronic
music, paired with some of the most creative directors in the world.
Since the mid-nineties and the groundbreaking Stealth parties at the Blue Note in Hoxton Square, Ninja has been almost as well
respected for its engagement with visuals as it has for its audio. Now at last, the two come together on this massive
retrospective of almost a decade of experiment, innovation, humour and weirdness.
Let's get the spec out of the way first.
The ZenTV DVD has twice the capacity of a normal DVD, containing as it does 35 promo videos from the label, a fifteen minute
audiovisual mix and a 30 minutes audio mix from Hexstatic. And as if that wasn't enough, the DVD has a state-of-the-art menu
system which means you can watch the videos either in the order we intended, randomly, or chronologically from the oldest to the
newest or the newest to the oldest. You can also look up any specific act and check out their videos and album art. Or just leave
a gallery of some of Ninja's finest covers running in the corner of the room as a kind of ambient art installation dahlink? Mwah.
But that just scratches the surface, really, cos after all, in the kingdom of the blind content is king. Or something like that.
You know the music is going to be good (we hope you know the music is going to be good), but what about the visuals?
Well, one advantage with not having hit records (Coldcut's "Beats & Pieces" remains our one top forty for 12 years work) is that
you don't have to worry about getting your promos shown on daytime MTV or TOTP or any of those hellholes of visual mediocrity
where all the bands have to look fabulous and if they don't, well you better make sure you put some models in there who do? So
instead, you can be (whisper it) creative.
Which is why some of the top up-and-coming names in video direction and animation have worked for Ninja in the last few years.
Because they know that if they pitch an interesting, visually striking, innovative idea, they will be left to get on with it
without interference. Established directors like Alexander Rutterford (Amon Tobin, now working for Radiohead) Sam Arthur (DJ
Vadim) as well as young turks like Conkerko (Bonobo). Fizzy Eye made their first music video for Wagon Christ (the truly
excellent "Receiver") and have since gone on to do commercials for Honda, proving that a track record with Ninja doesn't ruin
your business prospects.
Beyond this, artists like Kid Koala and Jaga Jazzist often even commission their own videos, working with close associates to
find the perfect match between their sound and the director's vision. As if that wasn't enough, there are artists on the label
who are intimately involved in the creation of their own videos, whether it's the Scruff cartoons that make up the basis of his
Cosgrove Hall-animated "Sweet Smoke," the pioneering audiovisual cut-ups of Hexstatic and Coldcut, Funki Porcini's satires of
adverts or his weird, otherworldly concrete moving abstracts.
Overall, since those early audiovisual mash-ups, the driving force behind all of Ninja's visual work has been that the video is
not merely an unrelated promo item to sell a single but should be intimately related to the sounds it represents. The budgets may
be small, some results may be more effective than others, but there's no denying that the attempts to realise this ideal are
never less than interesting.
Are you sitting comfortably?
Click here for the rest of the exciting videos from this collection.
Sony STR-DA5200ES Review
The good: Groundbreaking graphical user interface simplifies the user experience; three HDMI inputs and three component-video inputs; a total of eight digital audio inputs; extensive video upconversion options to 480p, 720p, 1080i, and 1080p; support for second and third audio zones; excellent sound on music and movies; receiver-based picture-in-picture option; XM-Ready.
The bad: Poor upconversion of standard-definition sources; cannot rename HDMI inputs; remote can be frustrating.
The bottom line: With its groundbreaking graphical user interface, three HDMI inputs, and excellent sound, the Sony STR-DA5200ES is outstanding and innovative A/V receiver, with only a handful of frustrations--including some video upconversion issues--spoiling the party.
Sony STR-DA5200ES Specs
Manufacturer: Sony
Part number: STR-DA5200ES
- Product Specifications
- Product Basic Spec
