Zenith XBS344 Progressive Scan DVD-VCR Home Theater System (Silver)

by Zenith

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 53 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: B0000A2UAT
• Item model number: XBS344
• Batteries: 2 AAA batteries required. (included)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #261,444 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Turn your living room into a movie theater with the affordable and feature-packed XBS344 home theater. It's ideal for bringing large-scale cinematic and musical excitement to rooms where space is at a premium. The system consists of a combination DVD player/VHS player-recorder with an integrated surround receiver and FM tuning, five two-way satellite speakers (left, center, right and left/right surround), and a 50-watt powered subwoofer to drive home the dramatic low-end frequencies.

Whether your living room is currently home to a high-definition-ready or HDTV or you're merely thinking of "someday," the XBS344's DVD component stands ready to deliver the full potential of your DVDs. Progressive scanning, referred to as 480p for the number of horizontal lines that compose the video image, creates a picture using twice the scan lines of a conventional DVD picture, giving you higher resolution and sharper images while eliminating nearly all motion artifacts.

The integrated surround receiver decodes DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound and processes stereo and music sources with Dolby Pro Logic II, generating immersive, 5.1-channel surround from any two-channel input. You can also choose from a suite of nine DSP (digital signal processing) algorithms to further tailor the sound to your taste or programming preferences. This system is made to handle music, too: just pop in a CD-R or CD-RW full of MP3 music files and sit back to enjoy up to 10 hours of your favorite digital music.

The XBS344's four-head VHS design ensures smooth slow-motion play (forward and reverse) and clear still-frame images. And, with hi-fi sound, the unit records and plays back stereo audio tracks. Its 19-micron heads deliver the clearest possible picture when recording or viewing in EP (extended-play) mode, and a handy one-touch-record button lets you tape programs "on the fly."

With 225 watts total power (35 watts per channel) and a 7-inch driver on the subwoofer, you'll enjoy dynamic, ultra-clear sound. All speakers are magnetically shielded to prevent image distortion when placed near a television, and a .125-inch headphone jack lets you listen at night or in private. The system includes an FM antenna, and its phase-lock-looped tuner offers 30 memory presets to keep all your favorite FM/AM radio stations within a finger's reach.

What's in the Box
DVD player/VCR/amplifier unit, five satellite speakers, one subwoofer, remote control, remote batteries, user's manual, stereo analog audio interconnect/composite-video cable, subwoofer interconnect, requisite speaker cabling, FM antenna, foot pads for the speakers, registration card, and warranty information.

Product Description

Complete with a DVD/VHS player, a digital receiver, and built-in AM/FM tuner, the Ultimate Home Theater in a Box provides the full solution to turning your room into a theater-like audio/visual experience. 225 Watts of Dynamic Sound and Progressive Scan DVD playback fill your house with a beatiful picture and ultra-clear sound. The XBS344 plays DVD's, CD's, CD-R/RW's, MP3's and VHS tapes and supports DTS, Dolby Digital and Dolby Pro Logic II.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth every penny, October 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Zenith XBS344 Progressive Scan DVD-VCR Home Theater System (Silver) (Electronics)

Just bought this system. Sound quality is great, almost comparable with Sony but a lot less expensive. When I first used the unit, I thought the sound was not as loud as I was expecting (I was expecting it to cause my whole room to vibrate), but learned from the manual that you can add 6dB more per speaker. When I did that, it was awesome, though I might not be able to always set it to maximum since I live in apartment.

I tested FM/AM Radios, DVD, VCR. All work great. The only thing I wish Zenith could have changed is the remote. It's not universal so I need to have the remote of my TV too to watch movie.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My First Home Theater System, February 19, 2004

By 

K. Schermerhorn (Delhi, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Zenith XBS344 Progressive Scan DVD-VCR Home Theater System (Silver) (Electronics)

I just recently started thinking about getting a DVD/VCR and a home theater system. Of course I turned to Amazon.com first.My favorite place to shop online. I found just what I was looking for in the price range I wanted to spend.
I have had the system for one week now and am very pleased. I am in the 'over 50 club' and just wanted quality sound when listening to CD's, DVD's and Video's. This fits the bill.
I have seen various comments about setup time and setup being a challange. I'm new to all of this but it was not difficult at all.
I especially like how you can adjust each speaker for db's and for distance. It is also very clear how you are to best arrange them physically for the best sound. It takes a while to get used to the remotes if you are not real familiar with their use, but by the end of the second day of use - I had it down pretty well.
In the price range I doubt you could find a better deal.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Nice at first but now does not work well, June 5, 2005

By 

Mark Twain (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zenith XBS344 Progressive Scan DVD-VCR Home Theater System (Silver) (Electronics)

I am currently searching for a new system to replace the Zenith XBS344, and I was surprised to see that it is still on the market. I was so excited with the system when I first bought it, and for a while, everything worked perfectly. About two months after I bought it, something happened that seemed minor at the time, but I should have suspected that it would develop into a bigger problem. When I inserted a DVD, the unit could not read it, and I got a message saying there was a "disc error." The DVD was automatically ejected, and I had to re-insert it. After a couple of attempts, the player read the DVD just fine.

Over the next few months, I occasionally had similar occurrences, but again, it did not seem like a big deal. Then one day, I sat there for over an hour trying to get the player to accept a DVD that had no scratches or fingerprints on the back of it. Of course, by this point, the warranty had expired. This problem became a semi-regular occurrence, so I bought a DVD cleaner disc. I used the cleaning cycle several times, but it did not make any difference. What I discovered, however, is that the DVD side does not work very well if a VCR tape is in the player as well. Therefore, I started ejecting videotapes whenever I wanted to watch a DVD, which meant that I could not record a TV show while watching a DVD. After a while, even this solution did not seem to work.

Now, the problem is even greater in that DVDs sometimes skip or get stuck, even if it is a brand new DVD. The machine makes this sluggish noise, and I suspect that the problem is with the laser that reads the discs. I have had this unit for almost two years (I bought it in August 2003), and I have finally given up on it. I should have listened to the advice of the salesperson at [a familiar electronic chain store], who advised me not to be tempted by the low price.

I have never had problems with the rest of the system, just the DVD player. The VCR component, including programmable recording, is fine, as is the stereo receiver. The speakers are nice.

I am so disappointed with this system because of the DVD problem, and I just wish I had been more concerned about that initial incident, which happened when the unit was still under warranty. My advice would be to shop around for another brand/model. That is what I am doing right now.