Ab Work Outs: Panasonic SC-HT800V Progressive Scan DVD/VCR Home Theater System Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I have owned the SC-HT810V for four days now, after a month-long decision making process.That's the same as this model, with a little more output power, and with table stands for the speakers. The only reason I got that model rather than the 800V was that I stumbled across it at Fry's Electronics for $249 -- cheaper than the HT800V, anywhere!Otherwise, I don't really care for output power that much, the 800V has plenty to fill up even larger rooms.
Compared with some of the other models I looked at, these are its strengths:
* Compact, includes DVD, VCR and FM/AM Radio in one small unit.
* Plays a multitude of disc formats (incl. DVD-A, VCD, and Panasonic/Microsoft proprietary HighMAT discs). (Compare to the Zenith XBS344 and XBS245, which only play DVD Video and CD Audio).
* The sound quality and surround effects are, ahem, awesome.Now I just wish more DVDs (including children's, cartoons, etc) had surround sound.
A few things that did not quite appeal to me:
* No digital audio (5.1) input. (Unlike the Zenith, or the Philips LX3750W wireless theatre). This means that I cannot get surround sound input from my Comcast HDTV converter. (But who watches TV these days anyway?)
* With the DVD progressive scan enabled, thin lines, text, etc flicker a bit. It turns out that my Panasonic (CRT) HDTV in some ways does a better job of de-interlacing the standard (480i) signal (whether through component or composite cables) than the unit does, despite the D->A->D->A conversion.
* Operating the unit (+ the remote) is a bit cumbersome. For instance, to switch to the external sound input, you need to press the DVD/VCR toggle button to VCR mode, change to channel 2, then press CH- (channel down). This is only the sound - you also need to switch your TV to the appropriate input source. Basically, you need a good universal remote control - be sure to get one with plenty of macro capability, such as the One For All/RadioShack Kameleon. And because the DVD/VCR button is a toggle, you first need to press the FM/AM button, then DVD/VCR, after which it always comes back in VCR mode. (OTOH, if you don't have an external input source such as a digital cable box, you can get by quite easily using this unit's built-in TV tuner).
That said, with a good universal remote, this unit is a real, real good buy, especially considering Panasonic's attention to durability and quality.You will not be disappointed.
One thing to be aware of is that unlike most others, the subwoofer is the only speaker that is directly connected to the unit (via a 4m = ~13ft cable); the other speakers is wired to the subwoofer. The subwoofer requires external power.

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Product Description:
The SC-HT800V offers high-quality home entertainment from a system that's as compact as it is easy to assemble. All you need is a television and a living room--the SC-HT800V provides the DVD and VHS playback, the surround-sound processing, and the multichannel audio delivery.
The system pumps 220 low-distortion watts of total power through a specially matched six-speaker system (left, center, right, left and right surround, and low-frequency subwoofer). And its versatility with media playback--from DVD to VHS videocassettes, MP3/WMA CDs, and JPEG image CDs--means you're never far from favorite movies, music, or digital photos. Topping it off, the system's DVD-Audio abilities offer super high-fidelity (192 kHz/24-bit) sound from specially formatted, music-oriented DVD-Audio discs.
DVD movies will look and sound great through the system's 54 MHz/10-bit video decoder, Panasonic's video Depth Enhancer, progressive-scan video output (for use with high-definition and HD-ready televisions), and Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, and DTS discrete 5.1-channel surround decoding and rendering. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, providing higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts. This feature can only be appreciated on high-definition and HD-ready TVs.
The VCR's four-head design ensures smooth slow-motion play (forward and reverse) and clear still-frame images, and with hi-fi sound the unit records and plays back stereo audio tracks. SAP audio receptions lets you listen to alternate-language tracks on select broadcast programming, and the unit boasts the ability to record in extra-long, 5x mode--just don't expect superior video quality at that setting. It also offers high-speed (600x) rewind--crucial when you're running late in returning videos!
The speaker set includes four wall-mountable bookshelf satellite speakers (front and rear left and right) powered by 25 watts each, a 30-watt center-channel speaker (critical for handling most of a movie's dialogue), and a powerful, 90-watt subwoofer optimized for unobtrusive placement. All speakers are magnetically shielded to protect your TV from distortion induced by the speakers' magnetic fields. A digital-synthesized FM/AM tuner lets you listen to your favorite radio stations.
What's in the Box
DVD player/receiver, four satellite speakers, one center-channel speaker, a powered subwoofer, a remote control, remote batteries, a user's manual, and all requisite basic cabling.