Home > Consumer Reviews > Panasonic SC-PT870EB-K 5.1 DVD Tall Boy Home Cinema System

Bought this system to replace an existing Sony set-up after doing much research and evaluation. I was not disappointed. Sound quality is blistering, crisp, clear and full of punch in "explosive" scenes. Dolby Digital II 5.1 and full Dolby DTS as well. Upscaler nearly as good as standalone Blu-ray player. Listen to CD's in 5.1 surround is amazing. One excellent feature is the Whisper Mode, used for when you're watching a movie late at night and you're trying not to upset the neighbours. Basically it highlights the low volumes, such as voices and background sounds whilst gently subdueing the deep bass, without spoiling your enjoyment of the movie. Some of these features are only to be found on really top end products at top end prices. To find this feature and others on a unit of this price in the mid-range bracket is superb. One minor drawback although this is not serious, is the lack of an open/close on the remote control. Rear connections are well catered for. I have a Sony Blu-ray connected via Toslink to this unit for the sound output. There is also a co-ax digital in plug as well. HDMI and component output connections and SCART socket and analogue audio in, plus USB and iPod dock on the front. AM/FM tuner complete this excellent package. Well worth the money. Be aware that there is a new model which is absolutely identical to this model. Only difference is that it uses less power in standby mode, although this feature will cost you an extra £80!.

I bought this surround sound system to replace my old Technics Hi-Fi. The system takes a very long time to install, about 1-2 hours as it is quite diificult to set up. However the sound quality is amazing! Watching sky movies through an optical cable is absolutely stunning as the 5.1 Dolby Digital audio plays beautifully through the system. The sub-woofer provides excellent bass and it's level can be controlled easily. The ipod dock feauture is also fantastic and can play music AND videos from an ipod at amazing quality.

I was slightly doubtful about the dvd hd upscale feauture as I thought it could be a gimic. However after testing a couple of dvds I found that the picture quality does improve considerably. The only down side of the system is the usb playback which does not give good video and audio quality so I prefer to use my PS3 for that.

Overall the home cinema system is excellent, providing fantastic sound and picture quality. I would recommend it to anyone interested in a home cinema system.

Easy to set up- even for a novice!

The older Panasonic players had clearer remotes but that may be my lack of tecno- know - how :-)

Sounds is reasonable from something quite cheap when compared to a stereo for example, DVD quality is good. Speaker design is a little obtrusive but they all seem to be like this until you spend more. I found the wires fro the front speakers to be too short but no real big issue.

It would be useful if they included a bracket for the front central speaker or a template for screws- we got it right first time but it could be easier.

We bought this to replace a previous surround system and wow, what a difference! I do not often feel strong enough to write a review but this surround system is an exception. It sounds great, looks great (if ever so slightly plasticky speakers). My only gripe is the length of the back speakers - the wires are quite long but not long enough to hide round the edges of a large room. They have special attachements on the end which meant I had to cut them in the middle and join them up in two places on each wire, but this was a minor inconvenience really.

Love how it works on Vieira link with our TV and comes on automatically when we put the TV on (and goes off when we turn the TV off). My husband also loves the iPod dock so that he can see what;s playing on the TV (pretty basic display that tells you the artist, track and time left but he likes it!) DVD player good too.

Buy this with confidence. I would get exactly the same one again.

Lots of good reviews before I bought it so hopes were high, but I have been disappointed by the voice quality as it seems to be lacking mid-range power. Normal TV (news, drama, sport - ie anything with lots of talking) voices sound like they're coming from a cardboard box. How loud I turn the volume up is not limited by the power (plenty of low down bass) but by the fact that voices sound so harsh it's uncomfortable. There are only limited setting changes you can make to improve this and no manual equaliser. A program broadcast in DD 5.1 is quite a bit better - to the point where I'd describe voices as acceptable quality - unfortunately almost all the 'freeview type' channels do not use DD 5.1.

Integration with my Panasonic TV is good (which is a good part of the reason I bought this). Upscaling picture quality is excellent - at least halfway between standard def and high def.

Overall at this money I would have expected better mid-range performance.