Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box

Rating:
Summary: Stay away from Panasonic!
Review: Customer Service - the Panasonic website claims this is very important to them. I had my home theater only 3-4 months when a VCR tape got stuck. I has now been at the service center for almost 4 months! When I am lucky enough to get a response from Panasonic (which is rare), they make promises of completion and/or replacement. But promises won't play the DVD's my family would have liked to watch together over the holidays. When we finally got through to the customer service center on the phone, they had the nerve to hand up on us twice. IF YOU WANT A COMPANY TO STAND BEHIND THEIR PRODUCTS - STAY AWAY FROM PANASONIC!!! I have truly given up hope of even getting my home theater back from the Panasonic service center.


Rating:
Summary: Good system for home theater newbies
Review: First of all I agree that it does take too long to change discs. The instruction manual shows the front left and right speakers next to the TV instead of in the corners of the room where they should be. The subwoofer has some port whistle to it but it is usually not noticeable unless you are playing a bass test cd. The unit does remember the Dolby Pro Logic setting for each source but does not automatically switch it on when playing a 2 channel DVD or a CD and off again when you play a multichannel disc and the pro logic kills the surround effects if it is left on when playing multichannel movies. I have found that the DTS tracks sound better than the Dolby Digital ones on most DVDs when played on this unit so I would reccomend selecting DTS if the disc has it available. The overheating amplifier module problem is caused by the fact that the fan on the back of the unit only runs when the system is pushing max power to the speakers it is not temperature controlled. I have found the best way to fix the problem is to put a 60 or 80mm thermally controlled computer fan over the rear set of ventilation openings on top of the unit (above the main heatsink) to help pull the excess heat out.

Rating:
Summary: Great Home Theater System
Review: I bought this system not expecting too much(didn't have much cash). I was pleasantly suprised. Lot's of power and very well balanced sound. I do admit that if you value feeling the walls shake when there is a big explosion you will have to save some more cash for a higher end system or replace the subwoofer. The sub might be adequate for most people but not me. I replaced the sub with one of my old Bose 601 speakers and now you really feel the room vibrate. The remote was very easy to just start using and is more intuitive than most. Lots of options for adjusting the speaker levels, sound formats, etc. Plays my home made DVD -Rs, MP3s, & Video CDs. Also music sounds great on this system. My brother who has an expensive Home Theater System came over to check it out and he was very impressed. Of coarse I do have it in a smaller room with all the speakers in the right positions so I'm sure this helps. It's amazing how much a good surround sound system will add to most movies; I have been watching all my DVD's again. Anyway, I have no regrets and would recommend this system to anyone who has to watch their cash.

Rating:
Summary: Great Home Theater System
Review: I bought this system not expecting too much(didn't have much cash). I was pleasantly suprised. Lot's of power and very well balanced sound. I do admit that if you value feeling the walls shake when there is a big explosion you will have to save some more cash for a higher end system or replace the subwoofer. The sub might be adequate for most people but not me. I replaced the sub with one of my old Bose 601 speakers and now you really feel the room vibrate. The remote was very easy to just start using and is more intuitive than most. Lots of options for adjusting the speaker levels, sound formats, etc. Plays my home made DVD -Rs, MP3s, & Video CDs. Also music sounds great on this system. My brother who has an expensive Home Theater System came over to check it out and he was very impressed. Of coarse I do have it in a smaller room with all the speakers in the right positions so I'm sure this helps. It's amazing how much a good surround sound system will add to most movies; I have been watching all my DVD's again. Anyway, I have no regrets and would recommend this system to anyone who has to watch their cash.

Rating:
Summary: 500 watts?
Review: i just bought this panasonic "SC-HT650" home theater system and i put the model number in parenthesis because on the dvd player the model number reads SA-HT650. i took back my philips mx 3660d home theater system to buy this pansonic model, the philps model was 300 watts and sounded extremely better than the panasonic "500" watts that i just recently bought. i was wondering how a 300 watt system could be louder than a "500" watt system. and today i was changing the sound to surround sound and came this ear piercing noise coming from the system that was heard from 3 rooms away, still trying to figure out what that was. its a 5 disc changer and it takes forever for a disc to change. i had a VENTURER 130 watt sytem that sounded better than this "500" watt system!

Rating:
Summary: 500 watts?
Review: i just bought this panasonic "SC-HT650" home theater system and i put the model number in parenthesis because on the dvd player the model number reads SA-HT650. i took back my philips mx 3660d home theater system to buy this pansonic model, the philps model was 300 watts and sounded extremely better than the panasonic "500" watts that i just recently bought. i was wondering how a 300 watt system could be louder than a "500" watt system. and today i was changing the sound to surround sound and came this ear piercing noise coming from the system that was heard from 3 rooms away, still trying to figure out what that was. its a 5 disc changer and it takes forever for a disc to change. i had a VENTURER 130 watt sytem that sounded better than this "500" watt system!

Rating:
Summary: Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box
Review: I purchased this from wal-mart, and at first it was nice. DVD's Play nice and the audio is good. However, when watchin TV, it's almost impossible to get the rear speakers to put out any sound other than hissing. I adjusted the rear speakers and was able to manage just a bit of sound, but still for $300, it was unsatisfactory. I ended up taking this back for a refund, then went to Sam's club and purchased the Kenwood HTB-306 model and WOW!!! What a big difference! The Kenwood sounds so much nicer and the woofer blows away this panasonic woofer. Don't get me wrong, if you are on a budget and just want good sounding dvd system, this isn't bad. However, the Kenwood HTB-306 was $50 cheaper, but don't have a DVD Player, but I'm heading out tomorrow to pick up a DVD Player with Optical out and I'll be good to go. With my kenwood, all my speakers work well in TV mode. In Conclusion, I'd recommend going with the Kenwood system over this one as there is no comparison.

Rating:
Summary: Buyer beware
Review: If you purchase this product, I hope you are completely satisfied. It is my opinion that the reliability of Panasonic products has slipped in recent years, and this was confirmed to me when a product I purchased quickly failed. The reason I'm posting this is to warn you that the warranty that accompanies Panasonic products only has value if the company chooses to stand behind it. In my case, they weaseled out of it, leaving me with a total loss and no further recourse. Good luck with your decision.

Rating:
Summary: Problems i have had
Review: The SC-HT650 has one major problem that I have found with the two different models that I have bought and returned, the fan that keeps the dvd player cool does't work and causes the module to overheat and shut down. The Longest that I have had the thing running at one time is two hours before it shuts down.