Rating: 
Summary: Great system
Review: Great system. Nice sound. Beautiful design. Plays all formats you need. Great for playing CDRs recorded on my computer(mp3, vcd, etc). For $419 it definetely gives you much more than can be expected for this price. This system is all you need for a family room. Thank you Panasonic.
Rating: 
Summary: A Very Fine Value
Review: Having owned various Home Theatre surround systems, and knowing
the prices paid for them, they invairiably become a mismatched system when speakers go bad, or receivers do.
This system is a matched, complete one, with all the necessary power and fine looks to match any decor; the free standing surround speakers do not require mounting or guesswork.
A very good system, in technical specifications, at a low, remarkable price.
Rating:
Summary: Looks good for the money
Review: I advised a neighbor to buy this system simply based on the name and price. ($ after MIR at Costco). It seems from the reviews here that there may be issues but for the price and store's return policy it's worth the risk. I'll be setting it up for him tomorrow so we'll see how it actually performs, I agree the remote is too complex but hey, with the money saved buy an HTM MX-500!Revision: OOps it's the 690 model that's $. Set it up tonight (no stands) Still pretty sweet.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Value, Awesome Sound, Complex Usability
Review: I bought mine over a month ago to upgrade from my 1st inexpensive home theater. I run it continuously and haven't had any functional problems with it at all. The design is sleek in all ways. Looks great and I have my VCR stacked on top of the player and they still fit in a tiny shelf under my TV (and don't overheat). It has picture quality controls and auto decoding of Dolby digital, Pro-logic II and DTS and has progressive scan, which is a must if you're in the market for an HDTV, as I am. I did have a problem with the picture having interference if I used ch3 as my input channel on the RF modulator. (Like I said, my TV is ancient.) But changed it to ch4 and that was fixed. It has tons of features you wouldn't expect on a unit in this price range. Love that it has a 5-disc changer. The universal remote works on my ancient Magnavox TV and of course my Panasonic VCR. I like that it always remembers where you stopped a disc (any type) and automatically resumes there, even if you change modes. So you can stop a DVD, change to AUX/TV/Video, maybe check out a TV show, then go back to DVD and resume, just like a VCR tape does. (My old DVD player didn't do that) (Someone else said it doesn't have a memory. I don't think that person even glanced at the manual! Anyway, if changing to the TV/DVD or AUX modes you just need to press 'P.Memory' then stop or pause before changing modes.) If you read anyone complaining about the bass on this being weak, don't listen (unless you actually like pulsating fuzz). Anyone with a keen ear for accurately reproduced sound will tell you this system has plenty of punch in the bass department! I don't even set the bass or subwoofer on the highest settings. The sound is spectacular! I'd never heard the highs (or lows) that this system brings out on my old one! The clarity, intensity and separation are awesome! Oh, and you don't need to use heavier speaker wire either. It seems flimsy but it's fine (although I found mine to be on the short side to get around my 12x17 room).
The subwoofer having all the speaker connections and power cord doesn't bother me. There's much less wire clutter behind the TV cabinet. Just note you will be limited to an 8' distance between the DVD player and subwoofer and there's a thick black cord connecting them that you'll have to hide. The simulated surround sound (S.Snd) superbly sends 2-speaker stereo signals through all 5 speakers so when playing CDs, radio or aux/TV/VCR the sound is amazing (especially CDs and radio!). There are also excellent back speaker enhanced sound placement settings. The only complaint I have is that Panasonic made the sound settings too complex and could have designed it far more simply. There are too many different sound quality and speaker volume controls that could have been combined into something much simpler. My old system had straightforward volume controls for each speaker. This one combines control of the front left and right as a single balance setting, yet the rest have individual volume controls. Then there's a seating position setting to adjust volumes if you're sitting to one side. I could have just manually controlled that with individual volumes on all speakers but some of these controls don't work in combination with all others, or certain modes,(Really frustrating!)so that's why they have all these seemingly redundant variations of functions (DUMB DESIGNING by our friends at Panasonic!!!). The pre-defined sound quality themes are quick but I'd prefer more control with a graphic equalizer plus adjustable reverb and echo controllers. Most buttons on the remote (and there are many) have dual functions (using a shift button). The remote and features were clearly designed by tech-heads who over-think things. It's crazy. Keep the manual with the remote- forever. You'll need it! (Although it is missing some information.) Learn the features and try them all out. You will discover a world or pleasure with this system if you do!
Rating:
Summary: Great Home Theatre System
Review: I bought this Home theatre system around 2 weeks back. After lot of research I narrowed down to Panasonic and Onkyo. But due to my recent good experiences with Panasonic products I went for this one. I did not want to spend more than 500$.This one cost me around 425/- . The sound quality was very good and the speakers are very stylish. I hooked the whole system in about 2 hrs. The speaker wires that come with the system are 33 feet each for the surround sound speakers and should be good enough. I unecessarily bought the extra speaker cords and ran short of the 50 feet wire that I bought and then only did I open the speaker wires which came default, should have opened them first. The Remote takes some time to understand, but if you are savvy with electronic gadgets it should not be a problem. You can hook up the digital cable and VCR player pretty easily (For this you may have to buy the cord). I was pretty impressed with the sound quality from the digital cable I have, It sounded better than my friends BOSE 3.2.1 system. The DVD player could play my home DVD's which I burnt on a DVD+R disc although the official manual says it plays DVD -R discs.
Overall a good system for the price. I would recommend it if you are looking for a sub 500$ home theatre system.
Rating: 
Summary: Decent system
Review: I bought this unit from Amazon about 6 months ago. I must admit, this is a very stylish system with very low profile. The dvd player itself is very very slim. It is wider than normal components though.
Sound is pretty decent. I have not had any problem with the sound. Some folks have complained about the subwoofer being weak. But in my setup it is delivering robust and rich bass. I think this unit is not meant to be in a very big room. In small rooms sound is great.
The remote feels flimsy. I am scared one day may 20 months old daughter is going to break it and my system will be unusable. Sometimes the buttons need to be pressed hard. And since there is no indicator LED on the remote, you can't tell if the button got pressed or not. Little annoying.
It does not play dvd-rw or dvd+rw. I think this day and age all dvd players need to handle the above formats.
Rating:
Summary: This the CHANCE...GO GET IT!!!
Review: I got it yesterday and as soon as I got it I installed it to unleash the magic of it. And it was a wonderful experience. I mean totally amazing. I tried my "LORD OF THE RINGS - TWO TOWERS" on it and it played it like I was watching it in the cinema hall. For the price of Amazon.com I must say it's worth it. I am a sony product lover but with this Panasonic Home Theatre I broke that rule!! Only go for the BEST!! Recommended to all....Go Get It while the prices are low!!!
Rating:
Summary: Very Very good inded!
Review: I have just bought a Panasonic SC-HT900 to replace a rather messy collection of aging seperates. I am a major Sony fan and of course audions a few of the Sony options first but could never quite get excited about them then the Panasonic was recommended to me so I gave it a go. It beats the Sony's hands down (I am sad to say!). Now, to get this out the way, unlike many of the reviews I've read, I have so say that the Panasonic unit is pig ugly. Especially compared to some of the Sony units but then I'll live with it's rather dated and cluttered apearance for it's superb picture and sound. I dont understand how some people consider it underpowered unless they have VERY large rooms but in my 12'x20' room, the Panasonic has no trouble at all in filling the space with detail and a deep, warm, well controlled bass. I wouldn't score it highly on ease of use initially but you get use to it. The 4 floorstanding speakers are attractive and seem to do their job admirally. The inclusion of DTS was a big plus for me but I'd never compared DTS with DD5.1 before. Only 2 of my DVD have DTS but flicking between DTS and DD shows a clear difference. Add also that apart from SACD, I dont think there is a shiny disc format it wont handle. The system was a breeze to set up and delighted me straight away. For the money, this truly is superb. I think the build quality could be better on the main unit. It feels a little flimsy so I will be especially gentle to it. Bottom line, despite the negative points, I am delighted that I didnt buy the Sony. It would have been a choice of fashion over function and I have a better system for choosing the Panasonic. Maybe I'll get used to the looks. Who knows. Love is blind. And just 1 final complaint to the manufacturers about all of the systems I looked at. Why do none of them have optical out? I will have to keep my CD player just to copy stuff on to my MiniDisc walkman! So, why 4 stars and not 5? Well, not attractive, unclear manual, feels a bit poorly built. But I'll forgive a whole lot for what it does do well. Picture and sound are just great. I was grinning for ages. Buy now and you wont be dissapointed. Especially at the price.
Rating:
Summary: great system for price under $400
Review: I have owned this system for over three weeks now -- one word I am very pleased. Picture quality is great and sound is exceptionally crisp for the system under $400 price tag. You will have to master the manual and remote to fully appreciate the system. This comes frustration as few examples below. I agree with many reviews on the web -- manual instructions need major improvement. I don't mind it is being long and intensive however in addition to afore-mentioned problems, few keys aspects of the system are not explained throughly in the manual. For instance, the system allows you to adjust the volume of the speakers, but only when you set the system in particular mode. It would be nice to tell consumer when this function will not work (speaker volume adjustment won't work when you turn on Super surround function, etc).
Many other functions are the same. It will work only if you set things properly. Unfortunately, there are not extra explanations in the manual. Good sides are many useful convenient functions such as my favorite CSM, which allow you to memorize your customized sound to each disc (up to 30). Those present sound fields are quite surprisingly good as well. I normally hate those preset things, but this system is exception. Currently, when I play music CD I set Super Surround Movie and choose SFC as per type of music (heavy for rock, etc.). I use Super Surround Music and SFC as per type of music whenever I play my concert DVD. For movie DVD, I always turn off Super Surround function and turn on Digital PL-II, Movie then adjust speakers volume, change the delay time for speaker setting depending on how I position myself in the room. SFC is chosen according to how sound from the movie is edited and recorded. Boy I have been in the heaven thus far. I am now thinking about upgrade the speaker wires. The factory ones are too small. I will check if I by pass the connection from the stand to speakers directly with bigger wires will make any big different. If you are having a limited budget, I highly recommend this system. Amazon merchant is great as well. I received my system full three to four days sooner than I anticipated. Make sure to read and UNDERSTAND the manual prior to use. It will only make you feel worth for every pennies spent.
Rating: 
Summary: Excitement to Disappointment
Review: I picked up an open-box of this system at Best Buy one evening and thought I'd made a steal. Normally $500 I got it for $300 with some scuffs and damage, no big deal. I brought it home and immediately plugged it in to test it out. The sound was great on the radio but the DVD player failed to function! After much fighting and hassle I googled the error I was getting, DVD H02. I'm not suppoesd to post URLs in the review, so I'll just say to google "panasonic H02" (without quotes) for yourself and see what you find. It's not pretty. Panasonic DVD players consistently fail after 1 year of use and the repair bill is more than a new DVD player. The problem is, this unit is linked together and can't be separated for components. So if one thing goes, the entire system goes and you're out of luck. Oh, and you'll also find that the fan in the subwoofer (where the amp is) goes very quickly and will ruin the amp if you don't repair it in time.
The only really nice thing about this system are the speaker stands. They are stylish and very convenient.
In the end I returned the item the next day, got my money back, and bought a Yahama YHT-150 600 Watt 5.1 channel system without a DVD player. My current DVD player already had a coax out for surround sound, so I ditched the "complete system" idea and went for a component system instead. The Yamaha system is amazing, has _incredible_ sound, and if I want I can replace its speakers with nicer ones because the amp is not directly reliant on them.
And no matter what you decide to do, always upgrade the speaker wire. It will prevent amp over-heating and give your speakers a much better sound. I needed about 75 feet to wire all the speakers in my medium size setup. I chose to use 14 gauge wire.
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