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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Blows you away, 18 Sep 2007
This review is from: Panasonic SC-PT850 - 5.1 Home Cinema System - With HDMI & 1080P Up-Conversion (Electronics)
I had been looking for a home cinema system for some time and given i had overspent on my new plasma i could not afford separates, AV receiver with speakers and DVD.
I looked around the all in one home cinema systems and to be honest did not like the look or quality of what was been offered (as i had set my mind on originally buying separates), until i stumbled across this Panasonic PT850 package.
I was looking for a unit that looked good, especially the speakers which i needed to be floor standing as i did not want to start knocking holes in the wall to hide the cables.
The PT850 comes with 4x Tall boy speakers that were ideal for my requirement, along with the fact that you can split the tall boy speaker in half to give you a reduced height floor or cabinet top speaker.
Once i had set this up ( 2 front tall boy speakers, 2 rear surround speakers, sub woofer and center speaker)the biggest suprise i had when i started to play a DVD was just how much more enjoyment i got from replaying old DVD's such as the lord of the rings. The sound was AMAZING.
I also purchased a Digital optical cable to connect my SKY HD box into the unit, which again sounds fantastic on sports and movies when they transmit in Dolby Digital. The unit only comes with 1 digital input(as do most all in one packages), but you can readilly purchase optical splitters to connect other input devices.
You can setup the speakers quite easily(once you have got to grips with the instructions) to alter each one for volume or time delay. For ease of setup it also includes an auto setup program that uses a microphone to alter the speaker settings automatically.
The unit also enables you to plug in your ipod, which is quite handy and the speakers handle the music wonderfully.
Another suprise was the DVD playback quality. I had not appreciated the difference a DVD upscaler would make on the picture quality. The unit can upscale to 1080p, 1080i, 720p depending on what HD TV you have. You really notice added sharpness and detail on the playback.
Overall for the money this is a great buy, i have had it 2 weeks and love going back through my old DVD catalogue to hear the difference a surround sound system gives a movie.
If you have a new Panasonic system there is an added extra, you can also use the Viera link function to manage both the home cinema system and the TV from a single remote.
You will not be disapointed with this system.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Very Good picture quality. Sound Quality Above average., 20 Oct 2007
This review is from: Panasonic SC-PT850 - 5.1 Home Cinema System - With HDMI & 1080P Up-Conversion (Electronics)
My old Sony Home Cinema died on me quite recently but, It lasted 3 years so I decided to treat myself to a new one and I went for this one.
The reviews of this system on various websites were generally pretty good and in general they were saying that the Picture Quality is excellent (which it is) and sound quality is OK (again which it is).
After the package arrived I set it up which is no where near as easy as they would have you believe for a start there was no labels on the back of the speakers to tell which one was which, so I had to go through instructions for clues as it transpires there is no Left or Right speakers they are both the same and does n't matter which way you have them and the only way you can tell Front from the Rear is the cable length supplied which I felt was a real time waster. Anyway after putting it together I was rubbing my hands together in the prospect of 1000w Home Cinema that up-scales ordinary DVD's to near High Def picture quality. The tallboy speakers would look impressive in any living room! After popping a DTS DVD in I was n't disppointed. The picture quality was fantastic. My only quibble was with the sound. It is nowhere near as loud as I thought it would be I tried to alter a few settings and I used the mic that comes with it that is supposed to find the optimum for listening area and I was still turning it up to 25/50 in order to get the best out of it. Although I will say that if you put settings onto clear, on certain DVD's it sounds Very good on action films not so great. Despite this being a new model I would say that my old Sony system was better on action type films than this system. Which is a suprise as this is a new system and has 3 times the power output.
I also ran XBOX360 through my optical lead into the back of the DVD player and it done a good job of amplifying the sound. It sounds great playing Halo3 on this.
All in all Worth considering. The picture quality excellent and sound good but, should be better.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid system - does what it says on the tin, 22 Nov 2007
This review is from: Panasonic SC-PT850 - 5.1 Home Cinema System - With HDMI & 1080P Up-Conversion (Electronics)
I chose this system after reading some very positive reviews, and also for its HDMI link and 1080p up-conversion, and the ability to link up an ipod.
The system looks nice, and I was impressed by the fact that the output is 1000watts (must be better than 800 watts, right?). I guess.
A couple of things - two of the speakers have longer speaker wires than the other two, which I assume is because these are meant to be the surround sound speakers. However, not only does the directions booklet NOT make mention of this, it claims all of the speakers can be used in any capacity...hmmm. Also, once hooked up, when playing music CDs, the front 2.1 speakers work well, but I had to check to see how to activate the surround sound...and WOW - it is awesome! I also hooked up my ipod, and the sound is spectacular
There is also no mention of the various sound modes, and how to really best use the system, but I do have to say that the surround sound in movies is great (tested the Matrix out on the system).
Another curiosity - no where in the booklet is there mention of the 1080p up-conversion, so I am wondering what the deal is...
Despite all of this, this system is attractive and the price is fantastic. I also considered a Samsung system, but that system did not have a 1080p up-conversion. This system that I purchased also came with a multi region DVD player, so a plus.
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