Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic SC-HT700 CD/DVD Home Theatre Sys

We purchased the Panasonic SC-HT700 last week so I can only give you my initial impressions of the machine. First let me say that we are extremely happy with our purchase. This system replaced a stereo, dvd player and sub-woofer that we had been using for quite a few years. This sound quality of this new system is far superior to what we had been listening to for both DVD's and Music. The system comes nicely packaged in a fairly large box, it is well organized and comes with everything you should need to get up and running. While I was shopping for a home theater system I had discovered that this unit was a bit different than most, part of the electronics for the unit apparently reside in the subwoofer, there is a special fairly heavy electronics cable that attaches the control unit to the subwoofer and then all of the speaker wires attach to the subwoofer along with the power cord, the special cable is probably about 8 feet long so if you are considering this unit you may want to keep this in mind, the sub will have to be within about 8 feet of the control unit and all of your speaker wires (including the center channel) will attach to it. Depending on your room and where you want to place your components this may or may not work for you. For me this was not a problem, I did give a bit of thought to the fact that if anything ever goes wrong with the sub it will probably render the entire unit worthless. Once I had the unit installed and the speakers all hooked up I pulled out the manual and remote control, the manual is very good, it is well written and easy to understand, the remote is a universal remote and while it will control my TV the buttons are small and it is a bit confusing. There are more functions on this unit then I will ever use. The on-line information that I found (not much since this unit just came out) while I was researching this unit was not always correct on every feature, I happen the have a VCD (predecessor to DVD) and this unit plays them fine, this was not listed anywhere that I could find. The speakers also have brass threaded inserts in them so that they can be mounted to brackets, the on-line information indicated the speakers did not have these inserts. Once again, we are quite happy with our purchase, if I were doing it again today I would purchase the same unit.

During my research for a reasonable home theater system i found that this HT 700 is the best selling and highest recommended system on amazon.com is. I read all the reveiws and decided that it is the kind of middle-class system is that I would need. First the good: the system comes with everything you need and set up is straight forward and simple until you get to actually using the system first. The challenges: First, you really have to learn and closely read the manual to master all the options crammed into that little remote. Don't put that manual too far away. I am sure you will need it again for reference a few times after first learning how to use the system. Next and this is IMPORTANT !!! Earlier reveiws ahve mentioned that the HT700 is the same as the HT900, just with smaller speakers. THAT IS NOT TRUE and in between all the different smaller differences, there is one big one (at least for me) that I wish I would have known and which may have made me rather purchase the HT900 system: The HT 900 can decode Dolby Surround sound from satellite transmissions and from DVDs, the HT700 can only decode Dolby Surround sound from DVDs. So, all my DirecTV shows that I TiVo are not played back with surround sound.......the HT 900 CAN DOD THIS !! Other the differences are rather minor.more power in the HT900, but the HT700 has anyway enough power for me.......in general, I would have expected maybe a little more sound from this system. Don't get me wrong it is not disappointing, but a little more I did expect. For the price it is probably one of the best systems you can get.

My last home theatre was a Sony 5.1 Dream System Surround Sound with DTS, 300 Watts, satellite speakers, etc. After a year I needed to upgrade to another system. Here was my 3 top choices.

1. Bose 3-2-1 System...
2. Sony DAV-C990 DVD Dream System...
3. Panasonic SC-HT900...
4. Panasonic SC-HT700

After much research on all three. The Panasonic HT900 seemed to be the best choice, since that had progressive scan, 600 watts, a 5 disc changer, and great reviews on amazon, epinions, ask jeeves, and every other website. But for [the price] it was a good deal. I did not like the tower speakers when I looked at them for myself... They were made of cheap plastic and most of the tower was useless. They were lightweight and were easily toppled (especially if you have pets or kids).

The Bose had a lot of system bugs still encountered by many buyers. Bose DID NOT have progressive scan and not a true surround sound and the price was way HIGH ... I did not see a lot of good reviews on the Bose. Also no disc changer.

The Sony at first was my top choice since I knew the quality in their Trinitron TV's and because I owned an older Dream System that was great. But once again for [the price], this did not have the 5 disc changer.

Finally I checked out the little brother of the Panasonic HT-900 the HT-700. The only difference is that this system does not have the speaker towers. Instead they have the modular satellite speakers. Also at $300 it was cheaper and had all the features of the HT-900 such as the 5 disc changer, 600 watts, progressive scan, etc. I decided to buy this one.

BOTTOMLINE: This was a GREAT and ECONOMICAL PURCHASE. The sound is crystal clear, the subwoofer has active bass, and the satellite speakers give true 5.1 surround sound. I cannot rave enough of this HT-700 system. Save your money and buy this sytem instead and spend the extra $$$ on DVD's, CD's, and the component cables instead. But don't take my word on this. The Average Rating speak for themselves. Thanks

I just bought this unit for my father-in-law (Father's Day gift). The value is just incredible! A 5-disc changer, AM/FM radio, progressive scan DVD, Dolby digital 5.1, DTS, and various CD formats for [this price]! Most importantly, it's simple enough for my dad to use all the features.

It's very easy to set up and easy to use. Everything you need comee right in the box. Even the speaker wires were pre-stripped. If your TV has component video inputs, I recommend using component video cables or a S-Video cable instead of the RCA cable that was included. (Has anybody tried using a RCA audio-video cable as a component cable? Other than the color on the plugs, heavier guage wires and hefty price, I don't know if there is any other difference.) The remote control takes a little getting used to. The volume buttons are left-right rather than the up-down that you would find on most TV remotes.

There's a lot to say about the all-in-one design. Simplicity. One hint... do not connect the audio to the tv audio in. That way, when you play DVD's, you don't have to mute or turn down the TV volume.

OK. It does not give you that ear splitting train crash or the earth shaking rumble of Black Hawk helicopters. Nor do the strings of the violins in Pacabel's Canon in D Major resonate in your living room. If you want that, keep on looking, but hang on to your wallet when you see that comma in the total price of those systems.

I have had this sytem for about two weeks. It is my first home theater system and let me first say that the difference from a traditional TV set with speakers is incredible. The subwoofer is just enough for my room which is 19 x 14. The speakers, which have to be displayed around the room are nice looking and can fit on a wall without being noticed. The remote has a lot of features many of which I may never use. It took me about 5 hours to set everything up and that included running the speaker wire under some baseboards. They give you a lot of wires and verything fit nicely. I am very pleased.