First, I am not using this receiver with the Control4 module (yet). I am just using it as a stand alone receiver. I have had the unit for two weeks.
The Good:
The sound and power handling of this unit are fantastic. I have it set to power a 5.1 Klipsch in-wall system and is smooths out the pitchyness of the speakers. Set-up of sound to customize room acoustics was incredibly easy.
The set up GUI is very user friendly.
The netflix one-touch button is very nice and quick. My receiver is hardwired and I get about 8mbs download speeds. No stuttering or glitching.
The Bad:
The instruction manual...well it sucks.
No volume indication projected on the TV screen. Kinda annoying because all other equipment I have had did this. May take a bit of getting used to.
Sony tech support. They suck too. Why? Because they were not well-versed in all the features of the receiver. I had called them on the below issues I was having and from one tech, I got: "well, I don't have it hook up to anything so I don't know how the control of the other AV equipment works." That's not too helpful.
My first issue with the receiver is the ability to use Zone 2. The receiver has ability to output both video and audio to a zone 2 system. For example, if you have HDMI in from Cab/Sat and DVR, you can output either of those signals via the HDMI out to a second receiver that receivers HDMI input. The Sony tech said all you need to do is hook up via HDMI and you automatically get Zone 2 out. True, but what he failed to mention is: if you want to play audio to a second zone not using the HDMI second zone out, but either using the line out or Zone 2 speakers, the receiver will only output analog audio input from line out or zone 2 speakers. This means that if you want to hear cab/sat on main AMP zone, and output the audio to Zone 2 (say on whole house speakers) you will need to (in addition to the HDMI cable) attach RCA audio cables from the Cab/Sat box to the Cab/Sat analog input on the receiver. So for my installation set up, I have both RCA's and HDMI cables from my cable box and DVD players to the receiver so that I can play the audio from those sources over the line out RCAs over a whole-house amplifier.
Second issue: the remote is NOT a learning remote. The partnership with Control4 means that the receiver downloads information from the internet on how to control various AV devices. If its not on the list, there is another way of having the receiver learn the remote, but I haven't had any luck. The receiver has IR output and comes with 4 IR dongles. This means your other AV equipment must be within the same cabinet as the receiver (the dongles have about 4 feet in cable length). So for me, I can control my apple tv, DVD, and cable box, but I cannot turn on/off my television because it is across the room from the media cabinet. Plus, the receiver does not turn on/off the AV equipment (or at least I haven't figured out how to do this), it merely controls them (i.e., channel up, down, menu etc). Sony tech support didn't even know about this feature. On this aspect, I was happier with my Onkyo TX-SR508 remote because it (the remote) learned the codes for all my AV equipment. What this receiver screams out for is the Control4 remote or a universal remote. However, one would think that even for $1000, Sony would be able to have a learning remote like Onkyo.
The Zone 2 analog output was not a big deal. Just a pain in the set-up. The remote is what knocked down the review to 4 stars. But, it is a flaw I can over look (because eventually I will have a control 4 and universal remote) and in the meantime, I just have to use the other remotes to turn on/off the eqpt. If I figure out how to turn on/off my other AV devices with the receiver, I'll re-post.
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