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User Submitted Sony STR-DA5400ES ES 7.1 Channel Audio/Video Receiver Reviews Date: 2008-12-04 Best Available, but Needs Work This receiver has all of the same limitations are the STR-DA4400ES, so check my feedback on that one too. In most situations this receiver is not worth the extra $500.00 over the STR-DA4400ES Sony expects you to pay, but you can get it a lot cheaper then list price too. I upgraded to this one for the second HDMI output since you can't convert HDMI video inputs into the zone2 component video output. Unfortunately, you can't configure the second HDMI output as zone 2 with this receiver either. Both HDMI outputs are only zone 1 and you can only use one at a time. So, it is not much better. You can just get a cheap HDMI splitter and do the same thing. You can set the HD signal out for zone 1 and zone 2 separately, but not for the two HDMI output since they are both zone 1. My old TV can't do 1080P, so component video and zone2 still seems to work best still. I get no picture with HDMI port unless I go into the receiver configuration and change down to 1080i/720P when I use the old TV, then I have to remember to change it back to 1080P when I switch to the new TV. This does have an extra DMT input and an RJ45 output for zone 2 video, but that still only converts to component video and not digital video. This receiver does have more capabilities then anything else available, but it would be nice to zone 2 HDMI output, Deep color up scaling, HDMI down scaling to component and composite video, and full HDMI audio output too. I guess it will take another round of updates to get one that can really do everything and connect anything to anything. The stereo calibration microphone include with this one is much better then the mono microphone included with the STR-DA4400ES. The zone 2 remote is also much better, but you can control zone 2 with the normal remote on either model, so I never even put the batteries in it. One more thing it that you can actually setup sound effects and modes per radio preset and each input. So you can run surround for the BD/DVD/TV and use all speaker stereo for the radio and CD player. You can setup talk radio stations to surround and music stations to stereo. By default it keeps whatever it was last set to when you save the presets, so don't go set all the presets until you first switch to stereo mode, or you have to go back and manually reconfigure every preset to what it should be.
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