Customer Reviews

Panasonic SC-HT830V 5-Disc DVD/VCR Combo Home Theater System

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

I bought this system 3 weeks ago to replace a cheap home theater system I had. I was in the market for a decent system with 5-disc system. After months of research, I have decided on this sytem - even though I couldn't find any reviews. You can get detailed specifications on Panasonic's Web site or elsewhere on the Internet.

What I liked so far:
1) FM/AM presetting can be automatic. However, living in a big city, it found so many radio stations that it ran out of all presets before even it got to my favorite stations. Manual setting is pretty easy.
2) VCR rewinding is high-speed. I used to use a rewinder, but this one rewinds much too quickly.
3) DVD quality and sound quality exceed my expectations - but that doesn't mean anything to you. I never liked my music/movies too loud anyway. System automatically sets subwoofer level at 4 (high) for DVD and at 2 for music CDs - which can be easily changed. We watched Incredibles at level 4, but volume at a decent level. Sounds from ending scenes were way too much realistic for us (and for our children).
4) Remote is very functional and feels good. Some features need reading the manual.
5) FM reception is very good.

Things that I don't like:
1) Doesn't play MP3 songs written to a DVD disc. My older (cheap) system used to do that. Big disappointment for me.
2) Manual says that I could randomize between different audio CDs. I couldn't get it do that among MP3 disks. It might work on regular audio CDs, but I haven't tried that yet.
3) Only one set of input jacks. I have HD receiver and a cable receiver. I have connected HD receiver right now and cable goes directly to TV. I am somewhat disappointed with that. Fortunately VCR is built-in. When you want external signal, sytem should be put in VCR mode with AV selected (described in the manual).
4) Connecting wires to sub-woofer and speakers is difficult. Holes are very small and inserting a multi-strand wire in that hole was a big challenge for me. Wires that come with the system may work fine, but we have pre-wired surround sound in the room which has multi-strand wires.

Other:
1) Manual clearly says not to push the disk trays in (use the close button)
2) Disk trays look and feel like delicate
3) Cable that comes with the system can be used as component cables
4) Manual could have been better
5) Best Buy carries them - if you want to look at it

**Updated on 7/3/2005 **
1) It does randomize between different CDs. However, setting that up was a challenge for me.
2) It does not play MPEG movies. BIG turn off for me.
3) I have an extremely scratched DVD. All the other DVD players skip/freeze on that disc. But, this DVD player played it fine.
4) Overall, still happy with the system.

**Updated on 9/13/2005 **
I recently encountered the same problem Donald (another reviewer) had experienced. DVD dialogue volume becomes very low or diminishes. However, MP3 music and CDs play fine. So, I called Panasonic. The lady _quickly_ told me to refer to page 41 of the manual and set the 'Center Focus.' I tried that with skepticism, but it worked. Now, the system is back to normal. My overall satisfaction is still high because I found some cool features as I am also finding problems like this. One such cool feature is the ability to search for a song in an MP3 CD of hundreds of songs.

** Update: 9/29/2008
Display at the front died (like it did to many other users), but I am continuing to use it. Yes, it is hard to use it without the display on the unit, but on-screen-display (OSD) on the TV helps to some extent. Replacing the unit is such a time consuming process that I am willing to put up with the inconvenience of no display.

** Update: 6/24/2010
The DVD player quit working. It takes too long to read the disk and then displays the error message "Check the Disk". I have tried DVDs, MP3 CDs, music CDs, etc. and the problem persists. Customer help didn't even try to help - he just pointed me to the local service center. My next DVD player will not be a Panasonic.

I have last years' model (SC-HT820V, slightly less power, otherwise the same.) There are only about 4 or 5 companies on the planet that could attempt a system like this - RCA, Sony, Toshiba, JVC, or Panasonic. VHS player / recorder in this system is actually of mid to high-end quality. Here are some minor annoyances - - -

- doesn't have digital sound inputs

- only has 1 line-in, 1 line-out, annoying to some

- remote lacks a PREV CHAN button, annoying, esp. on my TV

- DVD volume is less than VHS

- still looking for 1-frame advance on VHS

Here are some major good surprises

- Wealth of front panel controls & Illuminated displays

- Per-speaker sound balancing & microsecond delay compensation

- JET rewind, 40 secs to rewind a 120 minute tape

- S-VHS playback; special 5x EP mode (10 hours from a T-120 tape)

- AM/FM Radio surprisingly good; fully controlled from remote

- Headphone jack (need this badly with my own system)

- DVD player is very fast.

- DVD and VHS eject from the remote

- sound is AWESOME CLEAR at FULL VOLUME.

Think of this as a compact Home Stereo that will beat anything under $500 and that happens to come with a free VCR ! The system has a wealth of useful features, and the manual is condensed at only 60 pages and is not for the faint of heart. Its so complex and so cheap that I'm terrified it will croak any day now, but my mom has enjoyed hers for over a year.

I bought this system from BestBuy for 330$ and very happy so far. I noticed some ppl say they are not able to play VCDs but i am able to play them.

+ I configured the universal remote for my tv and I dont need to use my TV remote any more.

+ supports MP3 with greate sound quality

+VHS works perfect to

-but i can not find some controls I use to have with my old VCR like fintuning or setting the picture quality (I may have to open the mannual or play with the remote more)

+/- installing was little complicated but I was able to do it without any technical help.

- when I play any DVD screen tries to balance the brighness aoutmatically (I am not sure it is by my TV or DVD but it is

annoying) so screen keeps changing its brightness.

-not intresting and funky LCD display or easy to use menu control unless you get use to it.

Over all I am happy so far

I bought the version of this system that did not include the VCR in May, 2005, at a Radio Shack, not through Amazon.

I spent five hours removing my old system and setting this one up; my old system was a Sony 5-disc DVD player hooked up to a ten-year old receiver and four big stereo speakers. When I finally hooked everything up, my wife and I sat down to watch our first movie on it, and within ten minutes, the sound cut out altogether. I went through every section of documentation I had to learn about what the problem might be, and I went over every connection to every speaker. Everything seemed to be in order.

Except there was no sound at all. I turned the system off, turned it on again, and the sound was back... for another ten minutes. Then it vanished once again. And this process happened many, many times.

I contacted Panasonic via e-mail and explained the problem in every detail I could imagine. I received a response days later which said that I should remove all the wires from the speakers, check the wires for frays, make sure they were all inserted into the correct slots, wait 15 minutes, and try again. I did this, very carefully. Then, that night, my wife invited her sister over to watch a movie. The sound cut out no fewer than 15 times, and I was humiliated.

I wrote Panasonic back, and they did not respond. I've just written them a third time, and I felt compelled to warn others about this system. I've hooked up my Sony DVD player again, and I'm listening to it through my television without any external speakers, and it's working perfectly. If I can somehow get Panasonic to reimburse me for the piece of junk I bought from them, I'm going to do what I should have done to begin with; buy one of the Sony systems. They may be a couple (or even a few) hundred dollars more, but movie lovers buy these systems for their enjoyment, not to be frustrated.

I would have given this product a zero if I could. It has been the most maddening purchase I've ever made.

As others have noted - the display quits working after about 12 months. Worked great until then but don't recommend it now!

My display also quit working just after it went out of warranty (1 year). There is obviously an issue with these. Since Panasonic is not addressing it, I suggest you avoid this one!

Do not buy ANY Panasonic Products. My Home Theatre that I bought was the SC-HT830V. I paid nearly $400 for it. Exactly 1 year & 2 weeks after buying it, the display quit working, and no sound came out of the speakers. One year after spending $400, its worth nothing.

And, of course, their customer support were nicely saying..."I'm sorry, sir, but since it is out of warranty, company policy says we can't do anything." So, despite spending $400 (which is a lot to me), they would not do a thing because I the system broke 2 weeks too late.

Therefore, they lost a customer...for life. And I urge you to stay away from them.

I've owned this product for 14 months and it's had no display for a month and a half. The display just went blank just after the warranty went out(12 months) I bought this system for a nice little sound system for limited use but it's a pig. The remote is a CF with no easy way to get from here to there. Getting the DVD's out is a pain too the thing either spits them all out so you can't any but the top one out or you have to guess as to which slot is empty. Now it's going to cost me 1/3 of the purchase price to fix something I barely used. It works but you have to guess as to what the thing is doing and with the miserably put together remote ... is just sucks... I replaced a cheap Sony unit for this ..BAD MOVE ! Zero STARS

Panasonic SC-HT830V 5-Disc DVD/VCR Combo Home Theater SystemI bought this system because of favorable reviews on the web.
Unfortunately the people that rated it did not have long enough for the
display panel to die.I got 14 months out of mine before the display died
almost impossible to use with out this.Replacment board is not available
Do not buy this product.

Just like many others are complaining the display stopped working a few weeks before warranty expired. I did not have a chance to call tech support to get it fix and now they won't fix it. I thought panasonic made good products and in fact they were on top of my list until now.