Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic SC-DM3 Home Theater System

Although the unit does everything it advertises, it leaves out one critical piece of functionality that I literally could not believe when I opened the box. There are no inputs whatsoever. No S-Video, Composite, or even Audio. I thought I was getting a combination DVD player and receiver with speakers, but there is nothing ressembling a receiver here.

Unless you plan on using your surround sound system *exclusively* for movies or audio CDs, stay away from this otherwise seemingly amazing unit. It does have a single set of outputs (S-Video/Composite/Stereo), but that hardly seems like the important part here. Panasonic missed the mark.

I wish there were other similar vertical units, as I will be saddened to return this, but without inputs... it's very, very limited.

It's been couple of days i had this product, i have both goods and bads to share.

Goods:
1)excellent sound quality
2)very stylish
3)ability to play all kinds DVD's,MP3 discs,VCD's and of course regular CDs
4)sound is good enough for any bedroom or office room,but not for a big size living room
5)has a pretty good AM/FM tuner

Bads:
1)What the heck a fan is doing behind the reciever,I had played with so many music systems but none had a fan(Probably meant for cooling.)
2)You can't use random feature with MP3 discs , i guess this is a very desirable feature.
3)Wish there was an Clock/Alarm feature
4) Speaker wires are not lengthy enough for a decent sized bedroom

The Panasonic SC-DM3 Home Theater System is the best bang for your buck. The only negative drawback to this system is that it is not to be used as a digital amplifier for external systems - however it will do a single L/R analogue input no problem. So if you want to hook your television, hi-fi or games console, into this unit then it will have to be done via an analogue line. This means if you are looking for an amplifier for several inputs from other sound sources then THIS IS NOT FOR YOU and at the price it is clear that the item is intended for limited purposes and is not a full blown digital IN/OUT sound system (be prepared to pay the $600 + mark for these types of systems that are only for advanced system setups). Although no true digital input is achievable you can always choose a digital OUT to analogue IN cable as an addition. However when all said and done I have my PS2 and TV hooked up to this box using analogue connections and it is fine and works but really the heart of this package is in the DVD player's quality and the SOUND.

The item has 3 front speakers, 2 surround and a woofer. The sound is sublime for the price. The picture quality is well above average and the functionality is pretty outstanding. The system is simple to setup (took me 20 minutes out of the box) and can play nearly every DVD disc format (including MP3, CD-R, CD-RW) and has several sound formats to choose from (DTS, Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Surround and Stereo). Also each sound format has several variations for room shapes and sizes. You can also adjust the levels of each speaker individually. The unit then gives you multiple options for screen sizes, playback types, picture quality etc. In short there is nothing this player is missing except for maybe some advanced features like zooming in on frames. If you are looking for an out-of-box home DVD theatre system then this is the package to get. The tower also looks funky and the ejection system is beautiful. I would encourage those who are looking for a good DVD system and who do not want to spend unreal sums of money to give this one a try. It is far from disappointing.

Pros:
1) Great Sound and a very nice speaker system to boot.
2) Multiple sound formats and disc types can be played back on the unit.
3) The DVD player has multiple options to choose from.
4) The quality of the DVD image beats the XBOX or PS2 any day.

Cons:
1)Load up times take a few seconds.
2)No true digital in/out.

Overall I was and still am very impressed with the sound and build quality of the system. However the main negative point that irritates me is the fact the the system has hardly any connectivity, especially that there is no digital input, which as the AUXILLARLY curcuit 'only' supports Dolby Pro-Logic, unables me to watch SKY MOVIES and use my XBOX etc in Dolby 5.1 as intended, and as I have paid over £350 for the device is disappointing.