[arboristman]

MOD's review of the SonySat DCR5500
C/P of MOD's Review
I received my Sonysat DCR5500 a few days ago and it is so good im going to do a review on it.
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Honestly when i first got the package i thought the box was actually empty (Its that light). Anyways i opened the package and in the box was the unit, remote, batteries, and RCA cables. I had already done the research on the receiver by reading up on it in the tutorials so i knew what i had to do already so i hooked it up and plugged it in. the LCD screen looking at it you wouldnt think you can see it very well but is bright and easily visible from more than 10' away. Now i have already downloaded the file to my USB removable drive and proceeded to insert into the receiver. The receiver immediately recognized the USB and even said so on the screen for me. File took less than 30 seconds to download (very fast) and immediately did a reboot. Once done rebooting i proceeded to the menu to set up the sats. Setting up the sats to get ready for a scan was simple and quick. Menu is very self explanatory and user friendly. Once i set up the first sat i did a scan and was amazed at how quickly it scanned all 385 channels on the one sat. Saved automatically and i moved on to the next sat. Again very fast scan and accurate. Did not scan any duplicates whatsoever. Well once done i went ahead and went in to sort channels and with this receiver your options to sort are very nice. I sorted with sid and A to Z format and it works beautifully for me. Went back through menu and set the time settings. Now this is amazing. You dont have to set the time manually. Just set the time zone and then dial time in the same menu with the offset. Very easily done. Well as i exited out of the menu i remembered the tutorial about the hidden menu. In the hidden menu is the function to turn on autoroll and enable patch. As i did this by the time i was done and exited out of the menu I was watching channels that fast. As i was playing with the remote i found some nice options on the remote itself that I was not expecting. Setting up your favorite channels is just a push of the button on the remote and simply click ok. I was amazed with this and am sure you will be as well. Also on there is a volume offset that you can set to each channel. Again amazed. Now this is something all of you will like a lot. The EPG is awesome on this receiver meaning when you hit the guide button it not only will tell you what is on but what is coming on and what time exactly its coming on. Not only that as your scrolling through the epg the channel changes with it. so you can preview before you exit out. Very nice option. For those of you who like extended EPG when in guide you can hit the yellow button on the remote and (this really works) will load 9 days of what programs are coming on and what times. This is great for the PVR function available with the external hard drive. Dongle is also available for this model as well and as soon as i get mine in the mail i will report back on this as well. Going by Sonysat standards im sure i wont be dissapointed.
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As with Sonysat standards as well. Support is awesome! You cant beat the support in my eyes.
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In breif: The Sonysat DCR550 is the best receiver i have ever had the pleasure of setting up and programming.
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In closing there is an old saying that applies here: Big Things Come In Small Packages!