Panasonic SC-HT730 5-Disc DVD Home Theater System

Bring amazingly clear surround sound to your home at an affordable price with the Panasonic SC-HT730 Home Theater System, which features 470 watts of total power output (800 watts peak) and a slim design 5-disc progressive scan DVD player/changer with integrated reciever that measures just 2.7 inches tall. It includes two tower front speakers with height-adjustable stands, two satellite surround speakers, one center channel speaker, and one dual-unit active subwoofer (which has a built-in amplifier). The surround, satellite, and center channel speakers are all magnetically shielded so as not to interfere with your TV's video signal and are wall mountable. This system also features built-in Dolby Digital, DTS, and Dolby Pro Logic II decoders.

The 5-disc DVD player/changer is compatible with a wide range of disc formats, including DVD-Audio, DVD-RAM, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, and CD-R/RW, as well as HighMAT, JPEG, MP3 and WMA file formats. The incorporated High-Performance Media Access Technology (HighMAT) provides enhanced the method of storing, arranging and playing back personal digital photo, music and video collections on recordable discs such as CD-RW media. Other features include a 10-bit, 54 MHz DAC (digital to analog converter), cinema mode, dialogue enhancer, and Depth Enhancer feature (for startling depth and true-to-life skin tones, as well as a soft, movie background focus). It also features an AM/FM tuner with 30 total presets (10 AM, 20 FM). It provides the following connections:

• Composite Video Out: 1
• S-Video Out: 1
• Component Video Out: 1
• Analog Audio In: 2
• Headphone: 1

What's in the Box
5-disc DVD player/changer with integrated amplifier/receiver, 1 subwoofer, 2 front speakers, adjustable stands, 2 surround speakers, 1 center channel, remote control, speaker cords, printed instructions
Customer Review: Good, but where are the audio outputs???
I bought this system because it was highly rated by a consumer group as having excellent sound. They're right - it sounds awesome with soundtrack-heavy DVD's. However, I'm going to get rid of it because I already have an extensive home theater system that I don't want to replace, and there is NO WAY to output from this receiver to my current system!! Rather, I can output VIDEO, but not AUDIO. What kind of idiot at Panasonic decided that no one would want to output audio? Granted, the speakers that come with it are great, and the dialog-enhancement feature makes it much easier to hear what the actors are actually saying (you'll hear dialog that you totally miss at the theatre.) It would be a great system for someone who has nothing else they need to hook up - thus the 4 stars. For me, however, it's just a few hookups short of basic utility.
Customer Review: Nothing but Disappointment, and I'm Not Alone!
Just like a previous reviewer, R. Adams from Austin, I have had nothing but the very same problems with my Panasonic home theatre. It is alarming to hear that he has had the same lack of customer service from Panasonic that I have experienced. Since day #1, I experienced major problems with it. After nearly five hours of disassembling my old speakers and putting this one together, I began to test it with a DVD. Within minutes, the sound shut off altogether. The movie still played, but the volume was nonexistant. I went over everything again... EVERYTHING... and tried again. Same problem. I had to turn the unit off and then on again, and the volume was back, but it happened repeatedly. It became almost comical; you buy something like this to upgrade your movie-watching experience, and instead, it turned what little leisure time my family is afforded into misery, and I am honesty not exaggerating. I've tried contacting Panasonic four times regarding this issue; the first time, they told me to take the entire system apart, make sure none of the wires are frayed, and put it back together again. It had taken me hours to put the thing together to begin with, and I'd already done exactly what they had said to do, but still, I moved furniture, traced all the wires to make sure they were fine and unfrayed, and put everything together again. Still, nothing. I watched "Phantom of the Opera" one night just to see how often the sound cut out... it took almost four and a half hours to watch the movie, and I had to re-start the theatre a mind-blowing 214 times. Panasonic never responded to any of my further inquiries. Evidently, the had stolen my money and that was good enough for them. I will never buy any Panasonic product again, almost entirely based on he way Panasonic failed to address the problem. I feel robbed.


Surround Sound Systems