Panasonic SCHT820V Home Theater System with Progressive Scan DVD / VCR Combo

Other products by Panasonic

Product Details

Product Manual [4.22mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 56 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001ZRN8G
• Item model number: SCHT820V
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #90,721 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 31, 2004

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Geared for the 21st century, Panasonic's multidisc SC-HT820V offers high-quality audio and video from a system that's as compact as it is easy to assemble. All you need is a television and a living room--the SC-HT820V provides the 5-disc DVD and single VHS-tape playback, the surround-sound processing, the radio tuning, and the multichannel audio delivery.

The system pumps 370 low-distortion watts of total power through a specially matched six-speaker system (left, center, right, left and right surround, and low-frequency subwoofer). And its versatility with media playback--from DVD to VHS videocassettes, MP3/WMA CDs, and JPEG image CDs--means you're never far from your favorite movies, music, or digital photos. Topping it off, the system's DVD-Audio abilities offer super high-fidelity (192 kHz/24-bit) sound from specially formatted, music-oriented DVD-Audio discs. DVD-Audio offers super high-fidelity (192 kHz/24-bit) sound; DVD-Audio discs provide multichannel and stereo sound, incredible storage capacity, and unique bonus materials not available on regular audio CDs.

Your DVD movies will look and sound great through the system's 54 MHz/10-bit video decoder, Panasonic's video Depth Enhancer, progressive-scan video output (for use with high-definition and HD-ready televisions), and Dolby Digital, Dolby Pro Logic, and DTS discrete 5.1-channel surround decoding and rendering. 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. This feature can only be appreciated on high-definition and HD-ready TVs.

The VCR's 4-head 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. SAP audio receptions lets you listen to alternate-language tracks on select broadcast programming, and the unit boasts the ability to record in extra-long, 5x mode--just don't expect superior video quality at that setting. It also offers high-speed (600x) rewind--crucial when you're running late in returning videos!

The speaker set includes 4 wall-mountable bookshelf satellite speakers (front and rear left and right) powered by 30 watts each, a 110-watt center-channel speaker (critical for handling most of a movie's dialogue), and a powerful, 140-watt, subwoofer with a 6.5-inch driver, optimized for unobtrusive placement. All speakers are magnetically shielded to protect your TV from distortion induced by the speakers' magnetic fields. A digital-synthesized FM/AM tuner with 30 station presets (15 FM, 15 AM) lets you listen to your favorite radio stations.

What's in the Box
DVD player/receiver, 4 satellite speakers, 1 center-channel speaker, a powered subwoofer, a remote control, remote batteries, FM/AM antennas, a user's manual, an RF video cable, a composite-video cable, a system cable, a sheet of speaker-cable stickers, an antenna plug, an AC power cord, and all requisite speaker cabling.

Product Description

For the consumer who wants all video options in one convenient package, model SC-HT820V is the world's first integrated five-DVD/CD home theater system to also include VHS VCR. The system features 500W of total output power for true home theater surround sound. Included is a vertical 5 DVD/CD changer mechanism with Panasonic's easy-to-use play 1 change 4 function. While one disc is in play, the other four can be easily exchanged at the touch of a button. This mechanism also reduces the disc changing time to as little as four seconds. Also included are convenient VCR functions such as: High Speed Tape Rewind and x5 Extended Recording, which lets the user record up to 10 hours of television on a 120-minute tape.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Convenient, but..., January 20, 2005

By	Igor Khmelnitsky (Philadelphia) - See all my reviews

Well, I'd like to warn everyone about a serious (in my view) shortcoming of this system, which to me came as a big surprise. I am not a tech junkie, so I did my research in mainstream media - Consumer Report, Amazon etc...and I haven't seen this emphasized anywhere - there is no Optical / Coaxial Audio Input! Well, I didn't know what it means, but now I do - you have to connect your cable box to the system via regular Red/White cable. Thus, if you have a digital cable where many TV programs (movies, football, etc...) come in 5.1, you can't get the full 5.1 out of home theatre. Only when you watch DVDs or listen to Cds.

Now, I am NOT a TECH PERSON, and I love several things about the system - very easy to set up, one unit does DVD and VCR, etc... It plays DVDs great, both video and sound. Yet, unless someone can explain to me how to overcome the above mentioned shortcoming, I am planning on going through the hustle of packing everything back and returning the item.

Another warning - customer service wasn't very helpful, in responding to question on setting up the system.

Best of luck!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Combo System But A Little Complicated To Operate, August 7, 2004

By	T. C. MCCLIMANS (Caldwell, Idaho United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I like DVD/VCR combos for simplicity (one less remote to worry about) and wanted an upgrade w/decent sound quality. The Panasonic SCHT820V certainly delivers impressive sound quality! Physical setup was easy, the only snag being the discovery that you *must* use the included video cable to connect the main unit to your TV as the antenna/CATV cable hookup (unlike other systems) only passes your antenna/cable signals to your TV, *not* the DVD/VHS signals. Included speaker wires were refreshingly long (33' for the 2 L/R SS speakers). Picture quality is excellent on a std 36" TV (especially w/the S-video hookup I use) and individual speaker delay/volume is adjustable for personal preference. Lots of features listed in the specs so no need to rehash them here but the 5 CD/DVD changer is nice allowing you to store a couple of music CDs in the system while still loading/watching DVDs as you want. My only complaint is that the remote is a little complicated/cumbersome to use (the manual answers all questions). I would have given this system 4.5 stars because of this but to be honest this is nothing that a little practice won't take care of. I'd buy this system again.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consumer Reports, right on the money, November 27, 2004

By	J. Bartlett "Jeffnusa" (Williamstown, NJ (Wishing I was in NV)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Consumer Reports rated this a best buy. I picked up my system today. Took more time to unpack the system and pull out the old equipment than to setup the new system. Total cake walk. If people only new how easy it was to setup a system like this, everyone would have a 5.1 system in their house. Not sure what everyone is talking about complicated. It's very remote driven, but it has DVD, VCR, FM/AM, so what I expected.