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Entered CNET Catalog: 05/15/2003
SKU: 0037988406692
Manufacturer: Panasonic
Manufacturer description
Panasonic SC-HT700 is a Home Theater System with Built-In 5-DVD Changer and Surround Sound Speaker System. PRODUCT FEATURES: DVD-Audio Compatibility; Dolby Digital Decoder; DTS Decoder; Dolby Pro Logic Surround; FM/AM Digital Synthesizer Tuner; Audio Inputs; Cinema Mode; Dialog Enhancer; Multi-Channel Sound Field; Sound Field Control (SFC); Compatible Media Formats VD-Audio, DVD-Video, DVD-RAM/DVD-R 4, CD, CD-R/RW 5, Video CD, JPEG, MP3, WMA, HighMAT; Progressive Scanning; Super Surround Sound.CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on: 10/16/2003
The HT700's receiver/DVD changer is a mere 2.5 inches tall, but its nearly 17-inch depth makes it a tight fit for some cabinets. That pancake profile mandated a token number of tiny keys, but the volume control felt smooth. Panasonic added a touch of luxury with the aluminum-clad remote, whose minimalist button deployment made it easy to use.
Each of the four silver, plastic satellites stands 7 inches tall and is wall-mountable. The one center is 9.75 inches wide. All the speakers are admirably compact, but the subwoofer has less modest proportions. At 17.5 inches high and 16.75 inches deep, the sub weighs an impressive 26.5 pounds.
All the sats hook up to the subwoofer, which connects to the receiver/changer via just one cable of medium thickness. Setup proceeded without any hitches, though the sub emitted a click whenever the HT700 entered or exited standby mode.
Powered subwoofers aren't terribly common in HTIBs of this price class, but the HT700's sub has a potent 140-watt amplifier. To keep the receiver nice and slim, Panasonic's engineers also squeezed all the other amps into the sub. They deliver 30 watts each to the front and rear sats and a mighty 110 watts to the center speaker. We haven't a clue why the power distribution is so radically uneven.
The four satellites and the center are all tweeterless. Each relies on a small woofer of unspecified size, one per sat and two in the center speaker. The subwoofer has a 6.75-inch driver. You can tweak the sub's level with the remote.
The receiver/DVD carousel changer can swallow five discs. It offers just the bare-bones Dolby Digital and DTS processing modes, but it can spin DVD-Audio discs. The HT700 is one of the least expensive kits with that capability. All our MP3 songs played, and the screen always displayed complete file information. And the changer wasn't finicky with any kind of DVD-R.
Panasonic's connectivity suite will satisfy basic needs. You get three sets of stereo inputs; one line output; and composite, S-Video, and progressive-scan component-video outs. Unfortunately, the HT700 lacks a digital-audio in, so you can't have a satellite receiver for a source.
The twisted Confessions of a Dangerous Mind flick is a biography of TV game-show producer and possible CIA hit man Chuck Barris. The film's perky '60s music was pleasantly warm, and the tweeterless sats surprised us with their detail and resolution. More-demanding DVDs such as Pearl Harbor occasionally overtaxed the HT700, and the sound during the bigger battles was harsh. We solved that problem by turning down the volume, so we recommend you keep the system in a room no bigger than 250 square feet. At moderate levels, the sub demonstrated decent poise under pressure, but it couldn't reach down as deep as some of the better HTIB subs we've heard.
We next moved the HT700 into our small den and rocked out with the Who on the Kids Are Alright DVD. The kit brought home all the exhilarating excitement and power of the band performing at its peak. Funny, the towers of the HT900 and the ST1 didn't fare nearly as well on this test, and they didn't "disappear" into the sound field as nicely as this system's baby sats.
Unlike many entry-level HTIBs, the HT700 handled music as adeptly as home theater. Its excellent sub/sat blend resulted in well-balanced sound. Van Morrison's Moondance CD was sweet; bouncy bass lines and jaunty horns perfectly framed Morrison's soulful vocals.
User opinions
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2/10
DEFECTIVE!!!
Pros: it's nice for a few months
Cons: DEFECTIVE!!!
It's not really worth fixing, and because of the bizarre, proprietary connector between the dvd and the speakers, I can't use the speakers with any other system. What a waste!!!
Stay away from this and ANY OTHER PANASONIC OR BEST BUY PRODUCT. I am extremely disappointed!!!
User Rating: 
8/10
Good quality..... worth every cent
Pros: Plays virtually every CD/DVD format available.
Cons: A tad touchy
In regards to sound- I couldn't ask for more. It sounds great; perhaps not as good as a >$2000 system but I'm not that picky.
In regards to playing DVD- never had a problem at all. It plays everything from Blockbuster even home made DVD's (as mentioned above).
In regards to ease of use- You need to remote control to do most all settings on this unit. There are few buttons on the unit so this is my only gripe.
I like it. If it dies tomorrow I expect I got my money's worth.
Cheers,
b
User Rating: 2/10
Don't Ever buy this product
Pros: Works for one to two years
Cons: Doesn't work after two years
- A disappointed customer
User Rating: 
7/10
Good system if you're not a gizmo freak
Pros: Inexpensive when compared to others out there putting out the same level of sound. This will definately fill up an apartment with some good bass. 5 disc changer is quick and easy to use. Bottom Line: Lots of sound for not a lot of money. I'm very h
Cons: Some of the more advanced features take a little reading to use. The antenna for the radio feature is pretty weak. As others have said, it's not digital, but I don't even know what that would do for me.
User Rating: 
6/10
Bad for EDM
Pros: It's great for watchind DVDs and television, and even most mainstream CDs.
Cons: People who listen to a lot of continuously mixed CDs, for example Enigma, or any discs mixed by DJs should avoid this one. If you don't listen to any continuously mixed CDs, feel free to stop reading here. For the rest of you EDM freaks who will be annoy
User Rating: 2/10
Worst buy ever
Pros: The features are easy to use
Cons: I cant watch a whole dvd it freezes and skips. The service center closest to me is 6 hours away no one is willing to do anything. not impressed with sound friend has one that is 400 watts blows my 600 away bought new one scratched the money spent as a los
User Rating: 
10/10
Great System - plays all my DVD-R discs!
Pros: Nice sound. Could use a bit more bass, but the neighbours would complain, so... Compact size. Excellent remote - classy looking too. Plays all my DVD-R discs so far - Maxell 4X DVD-R and Memorex 4X DVD-R.
Cons: Takes a bit longer to read discs, but can put up with that.
User Rating: 6/10
Excellent First HTIB!
Pros: Simple and covers all the basics. Excellent for a small room and/or if this is your first HTIB. Can't beat it at $200.00.
Cons: The only "con" I've had in 6 months is that I am learning more and more about home theater systems and I am getting more and more demanding. If this will be you then I recommend you start with something on the higher-end.
User Rating: 
4/10
Centre-Channel and Woofer Died
Pros: When it works, it sounds beautiful. Easy Dolby Digital detection...
Cons: The centre channel stopped working (clipped it I think), and the woofer's dead. We may have blasted it too much? I didn't think so. I was pretty hyped from reading the reviews here, but am going to have to return it. At the very least, I recommend buy
User Rating: 6/10
Great entry-level all-in-1 system
Pros: Has many features generally reserved for more expensive units. Setup was pretty easy. Center unit tends to drain out peripherals due to unbalanced amplifiers, but nice option to increase/decrease volume for specific speakers helped with that. Decen
Cons: Biggest thing was that inputs were lacking. No digital audio input, and no optical video/audio input either means connections to other sources besides the DVDs aren't quite as good quality as with DVDs or were limited in number. Felt that the cables pro
User Rating: 6/10
mine started pixelating at 4 months
Pros: I actually LIKE the unique speaker wire setup. All wires go to the sub, and one honkin' cable goes from the sub to the unit. This big cable includes power. So the only connection on the unit is video out and the big all-in-one cable. But that keeps th
Cons: Mine pixelates about half way through new DVDs now. This started at 4 months. It has to be serviced at an actual electronic shop (imagine). I find it hard to believe that an electronic device can actually be "repaired" these days, so I'm reluctant to t
User Rating: 
1/10
no digital video
Pros: most covered by other reviewers. I would add the incremental zoom on this and other panasonic ht and dvd players is a big plus.
Cons: the problem with this unit is that it is essentially useless in taking advantage of audio from your cable or satellite signal. Already digital cable is essentially a free upgrade from analog cable. in most major markets digital is now the same price. it
User Rating: 
9/10
Wonderful HTIB
Pros: Nearly 8 months and it has been flawless. My wife and I subscribe to NetFlix and see three movies a weekend -- the picture and sound have always been flawless. We also use it as a stereo and I'm exceptionally happy with the sound. In fact I hear things on
Cons: Not one.
User Rating: 7/10
Good value; digital input needed
Pros: I've been very happy with this system. The sound quality is good and the features exceed what one would expect for the price. The size of the speakers allows for them to be fit in unobtrusively around the room and the size of the receiver fits into the
Cons: Not having a digital input is the biggest downside, since many HDTV broadcasts are in Dolby 5.1 and the Xbox also can support 5.1. I also had a problem where the sound cut out during one of the more intense battle scenes of "Band of Brothers" unless the
User Rating: 9/10
Great bang for little bucks
Pros: Easy set up. Crisp detailed sound. Geat looking, powered sub woofer. First system and I,am very pleased. Not too bad for music mp3,s Would highly recommend.
Cons: Not a window shaker but enough to have my neighbors upset.
User Rating: 9/10
Great Buy- Great Sound
Pros: Excellent sound with all media. You get 600w for $250, can't be beat. Excellent picture on DVDs. No problems.
Cons: Sub-woofer could use a boost, it has 4 lvls, and none is really high. So if you like deep base that will knock your fillings out, this isn't it.
User Rating: 4/10
Wierd speaker configuration
Pros: Great price, good value.
Cons: I was thrilled to get this system from Dell for $314. Once I took it out of the box, I realized that the speaker configuration will not work with my wall mounted speakers coming from a central connector in the back of my entertainment system. I have NEV
User Rating: 7/10
Super Price
Pros: Great sound! Wow, looking at the other reviews that some customers sent in...I was a little doughtful. But, we went to Circut City to look for the Sony model that was 500 Watts, but my wife found this model. I looked it up in CR and it was rated below the
Cons: I found that the insructions were not the easiest to understand, for it was written for 3 models nit just the HT700. But no tools, which was nice. I do still find the Universal Remote not as Universal as you think, and far to many buttons on it. You even
User Rating: 7/10
i'm thrilled with it
Pros: i'm no audiophile, but overall a great system, skip the scht900 its not worth the extra cost. this is perfect for an apt, anything bigger my neighbors would kill me, setting up the speakers was a snap, jazz cds and dtv music channels sound amazing thru t
Cons: no audio cables, one lame video cable, unclear instructions for how to listen to sound from cable box and to see video on my tv for dvds, i had to read my tv manual to figure it out, no auto tray shuffle for cds and the small buttons on the remote are ann
User Rating: 8/10
Great deal but with a few flaws
Pros: Sounds great, excellent design, easy to use etc... It's amazing, really.
Cons: A very 'quiet' system! Even on highest volume setting [you can hear distortion big time] the DVDs aren't as loud as I'd like them. Also, no 'shuffle' mode when playing CDs or MP3-CDs :(
User Rating: 7/10
Great Home Theatre So Far
Pros: 5 Disk changer, slim factor, nice speaker sound, great MP3 filename support, DVD-RAM
Cons: No seperate bass/treble control
User Rating: 7/10
This is a great buy.
Pros: This system is great for a small living room. Crisp sound, nice picture and the radio reception and cds play very well.
Cons: After 6 months, I don't have any yet.
User Rating: 7/10
Damn I love this thing
Pros: After looking at an endless line of under-specced and obvious cost-cutting models, I was thrilled to find this jewel of a system. In my den (not a huge room), the sound is even and well balanced. Installation is simple and operation is pretty intuitive.
Cons: Nothing much, I wish the unit played DVD-R AND DVD+R but thats minor.
