Customer Reviews

Panasonic Prestige NN-SD688S, 1.2-Cubic Foot 1300 Watt Sensor Microwave Oven, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

Overall this is an excellent microwave, but with a few caveats:

1) I had read other reviews regarding the unreadability of the display on this and similar Panasonic microwaves, but didn't fully appreciate the problem until it was set up on my counter top. The display is unreadable above 45 degrees from the horizontal, which means that at arm's length to operate the controls, you must bend over to see the display. My solution, which was to build a stand to raise the top of the microwave up to the bottom of the cabinets, made the display high enough to be (barely) readable while standing up, but is probably not acceptable to a lot of people. Panasonic should have caught this in testing and provided a flip-up display that could be adjusted to the installation.

2) Also as mentioned in some of the other reviews, the door release button requires so much force (at least when new) that the unit will skid across the counter-top unless you hold it with your other hand. Mine is mounted in the corner, where it has some stability, but it is still marginal.

3) This unit replaced a Panasonic in which the touch-pad controls died, and the buttons here are indeed logical and have a good solid feel to them. It does take some time to learn programming without a touch-pad, but that shouldn't be an overall issue in your decision.

4) Panasonic could do themselves a favor by better explaining the benefits of the terms Turbo, Inverter, and Sensor, as this microwave indeed performs very, very well after you get over some of the other problems.

This microwave is fast fast fast. It cooks items in 40 seconds that our old microwave took a minute to cook (and the old one was not bad at all!). The only two problems are: 1. the display is absolutely impossible to see unless you are at eye level to it. So if you are putting this on a high shelf or your eye level is twelve inches above your counter, you will have no problem seeing it., and 2. the buttons or touch screen is annoying -- you often have to touch it two or three times to register the contact. If I had not opened it and used it already, I would have returned it, even considering the speed of the oven. I would definitely purchase a different microwave.

Four pluses, two minuses.

First, this is a seriously powerful oven. Second, it looks almost elegant--especially for a microwave. Third, the Panasonic inverter technology definitely helps in thawing evenly. For me, this practically eliminates all microwaves but Panasonics from consideration. Fourth, I like the dial.

Okay, now for the troublesome issues. First, as others have remarked for this and similar Panasonics: what on earth were the designers thinking with the awful display? Standing at normal height, you cannot read the display when you are close to the oven. Like, oh, say, when you are trying to USE it. I say I love the dial, but to use the dial to set a time, I need to bend over to counter height. That is simply astoundingly bad design. My five foot two wife has the same problem. Looks great from across the room, though. Second, so far when I've used the reheat sensor it has heated up my soup and tea until it is boiling. Perhaps this is operator error, but I'm not *that* dim a bulb. If I find the error of my ways I'll revise this review.

Still in all, a solid feeling product that does the job with a bit of style.

We loved this microwave....but first one died at 6 months....second one at 5 months. I was thrilled at first just as most of these reviewers were or are.
I wish they would come back after about 5 or 6 months....the inverter will go out. We are 2 adult users...no kids...unit was pampered...no abuse.
I have knowledge of two others going bad due to the inverter/megatron going out.
Mine is now at a repair center under warranty after numerous calls to Panasonic....so once it comes back it will no longer have a warranty....dunno how long it will last.

Panasonic has very poor warranty service....made over 10 calls trying to get my microwaved repaired under warranty. Still don't have it back.

This microwave died after about 4 weeks! It is difficult to impossible to return, so think twice about ordering one online!

I received this microwave a few days ago. It is replacing a 5 year old GE. Reading reviews, I had some concerns.

- the display light is readable from all angles. It is green. Inside the door next to the model/serial number is listed the Manufactured Date. My date is October 2010.

- during cooking, the light inside the microwave is on. Otherwise, there is no light. I do not feel this is an issue cooking with a kitchen light on. I like the light being off, as I can keep the door slightly open to 'air it out', without concern of bulb life.

- the 5 beep sound level after cooking is sufficient. I can hear it from another room. There is a 2 beep signal when there is a countdown or a cycle change.

- the bottom 4 feet do slide when opening the door, I placed the microwave on a mat.

I am using the owner's manual until I figure out the sensor reheat/cook features;

Popcorn can be set for 3 different sized bags.
There is a more/less feature that add/subtracts 10% cooking time.
There is a kitchen timer which also can be used prior to cooking up to 90 minutes.
There is a 30 minute warm feature.
Also a quick 1 minute feature that can go up in incrediments to 10 minutes. (I do miss a 30 sec feature)
The dial set the times.
There is the Power High button. 10 (one press) is the highest. P1 (10 presses) the lowest. Medium P6 take 5 presses.
Child safety lock and clock.
No comment on the invertor turbo defrost feature. I haven't used it yet.

**That is why I am keeping my manual nearby** The booklet is very thorough with examples.
Also the website has a demo video with some receipes.

All of these people here mentioning the digital display needs to be at a certain level. I'm sure that must have been the case initially, but I just bought this 11/18/10 and it's not an issue at all. I can read it from any height/angle, above, below, whatever.

Otherwise, it works as expected, and I was glad to find it since I needed to fit a specific space and it was one of the few microwaves that was less than 13" tall but wide.

Very happy with the purchase.

UPDATE:

It's now 8/11/11 and we've had no issues at all. Everything's working fine. Very happy with the product.

When shopping for a microwave I read many great things about this specific one, but the one issue a lot of people pointed out was the difficulty in reading the display in normal operating conditions. After receiving the product and using it for a couple weeks, I can safely say that the issue is overblown, or possibly was fixed, because the display is bright and easy to read from pretty much any angle in my kitchen.

Other than that, this is a fine microwave, very fast and easy to use, and easy on the eyes!

I have this microwave for 5 months now, and I'm still not a fan of the oven:
Pros:
* It does cook the food quickly and thoroughly.
Cons:
* Inputting the time using the dial knob instead of a keypad just isn't convenient.
* My biggest gripe is that the light inside the microwave does not turn on when you open the oven door. The only way to check if it's done cooking is to take the item out of the oven, and then put back if more time is needed.
* When the oven is cooking, the light isn't very bright making it tough to see the food inside.
* There is no way to turn off the beeping when the cycle is completed, making it hard to make coffee first thing in the morning without making a lot of noise.
* The microwave has a lot of features, but unless you can remember the pages of codes in the manual, or look up the codes before cooking - you never use these features. Would be helpful if there was some onscreen help or code listing on the oven.

Liked this microwave until it died an early death--giving the dread "H98" code which means the magneto is dead.
Only lasted about 18 months, which is pretty good, I guess--there are reviews in which people say it gave up the ghost at 6 months.

Again, no complaints until it died...