Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box

by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [3.70mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 37 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000B11I1
• Item model number: SC-HT650
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,619 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Problems i have had, January 12, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box (Electronics)

The SC-HT650 has one major problem that I have found with the two different models that I have bought and returned, the fan that keeps the dvd player cool does't work and causes the module to overheat and shut down. The Longest that I have had the thing running at one time is two hours before it shuts down.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box, October 24, 2003

By 

Les (Rapid City, SD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box (Electronics)

I purchased this from wal-mart, and at first it was nice. DVD's Play nice and the audio is good. However, when watchin TV, it's almost impossible to get the rear speakers to put out any sound other than hissing. I adjusted the rear speakers and was able to manage just a bit of sound, but still for $300, it was unsatisfactory. I ended up taking this back for a refund, then went to Sam's club and purchased the Kenwood HTB-306 model and WOW!!! What a big difference! The Kenwood sounds so much nicer and the woofer blows away this panasonic woofer. Don't get me wrong, if you are on a budget and just want good sounding dvd system, this isn't bad. However, the Kenwood HTB-306 was $50 cheaper, but don't have a DVD Player, but I'm heading out tomorrow to pick up a DVD Player with Optical out and I'll be good to go. With my kenwood, all my speakers work well in TV mode. In Conclusion, I'd recommend going with the Kenwood system over this one as there is no comparison.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good system for home theater newbies, March 18, 2004

By 

Daniel A. "danielthechskid" (Iowa USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SC-HT650 5-Disc DVD Home Theater In a Box (Electronics)

First of all I agree that it does take too long to change discs. The instruction manual shows the front left and right speakers next to the TV instead of in the corners of the room where they should be. The subwoofer has some port whistle to it but it is usually not noticeable unless you are playing a bass test cd. The unit does remember the Dolby Pro Logic setting for each source but does not automatically switch it on when playing a 2 channel DVD or a CD and off again when you play a multichannel disc and the pro logic kills the surround effects if it is left on when playing multichannel movies. I have found that the DTS tracks sound better than the Dolby Digital ones on most DVDs when played on this unit so I would reccomend selecting DTS if the disc has it available. The overheating amplifier module problem is caused by the fact that the fan on the back of the unit only runs when the system is pushing max power to the speakers it is not temperature controlled(I have measured 200° fahrenheit air coming off of the amplifier with a constant bass drone to the sub). I have found the best way to fix the problem is to put an 80 or 92mm thermally controlled computer fan over the rear set of ventilation openings on top of the unit (above the main heatsink) to help pull the excess heat out.

Update1: This unit will play DTS-CDs (CD audio disk with DTS data instead of PCM audio, if the disk is put in a standard CD player you will only hear static)

Update2: The true FTC (1% THD) power output of the unit.

Front: 8 ohms, 22.5 watts RMS

Rear: 8 ohms, 28.5 watts RMS

Center: 12 ohms woofer, 6 ohms tweeter, 40 watts RMS

Sub: 8 ohms, 108 watts RMS

Total: 199 watts RMS

Note that the actual impedance of the speakers is 8 ohms for all but the center which is 12 ohms. This information was obtained by opening the enclosures and noting the impedance number marked on the speaker magnet(s) inside. Also note that the total output power is much closer to the 190 watt rated input power of the unit.

I currently have a 10" MTX RT1044 Dual Voice Coil subwoofer connected to the unit as follows: Receiver>High-low level converter>240 watt car amplifier>subwoofer

The factory sub is still connected and the two working together has really improved the bass performance(my neighbors came over a few times to complain)