Resolved Sony Bravia And External HDD'S

[Macman45]

I've been considering attaching an external directly to the new TV. Sony's official take on compatibility is that the WD passport is the only listed product. Has anybody used another make of drive in a powered caddy?

I have 3 SATA3 HDD's that are not in use at present, and a caddy. Anybody tried this method?

 

[Macman45]

No replies to my original query, but rather than starting a new thread I thought I'd post this here.

In the UK (and this may well apply globally) a recent update to the Bravia range has enabled the ARC (audio return channel) for products other than Sony's own.

My Onkyo AV is now fully compatible with the TV, making the optical cable connection unnecessary, and allowing you to use the HDMI cable from the AV receiver to the TV to return sound to the DTS system.

It also allows control of the Onkyo via the TV's remote control. I guess Sony decided they would sell more TV sets if they de-restricted the feature.

Only downside to this is that I now have to work out which button on the remote is assigned to the various functions on the Onkyo. Most things are set to "Auto" on the TV itself, so Dolby PL, PL2 etc are detected without the need for user input.

I would imagine that this will apply in the USA too.

 

[Macman45]

Will close this now, but I can report that the Onkyo and Sony now work perfectly using the ARC channel. A tip...Keep your cable as short as you can, and use high quality gold connections.

The sound and the options are far superior to using an optical connection, so it's worth changing over if you have this equipment.