Panasonic SC-PTX7 Premium Home Theater System
- 80GB hard Drive for storage of Digital and Analog Music
- i-Pod Dock Incl
- Opt. Second Room Sp.
- Center Speaker built into front speakers
- 1080P Output with HDMI
Product Description
Premium Home Theater System with 80GB Hard drive, DVD/CD Player, 3.1 Speaker System… More >>
Panasonic SC-PTX7 Premium Home Theater System
This unit is just ok when working normally. But as other reviewers have noted, it frequently will freeze up refuse to operate, requiring unplugging of the unit, and re-booting. Telephone customer service with Panasonic was a nightmare. I brought it in for repair under warranty to an authorized serivce center. The shop kept it for 2 months, returned it to me in worse condition than before. When I complained, they said that replacing the hard drive might help, but that would cost about $175 for labor because the warranty had run out while the unit was in for repair.
Do yourself a favor, and pass on this unit. I wish I had.
Rating: 1 / 5
Good Product
Our use is specific – office based — and it appears to work –
piping music into different rooms – though because bass is on a different channel, lacks the bass response in these other rooms which are wired with paired wiring. Also realize it appears to
need to have a TV attached to take advantage of full programming capabilities.
Rating: 3 / 5
I went trolling for after Thanksgiving returns and found this for $275 with no box. The store was listing it at $799, so I thought I was getting a great deal. Even at that low price, I have just returned the product and moved on. The negatives on this unit didn’t justify me keeping it even at that price. The most significant are as follows:
(1) Uploading a music collection onto its 80gb hard drive is absurdly difficult in today’s plug-and-play world. The Panasonic rep I talked to had no idea about the unit or how to upload from my Windows Media Player to the unit. Turns out, I simply couldn’t do it because it requires a router with two LAN inputs (she didn’t even know what LAN was!). Yes, you have to be connected to the internet and set up some complicated network just to transfer music. To do this, you have to have a router with two LAN ports, which I don’t. Why not just a USB transfer at this price?
(2) One reviewer mentioned a :30 boot of the unit; I’ve found it to be >1 minute every time, with as much as 3 minutes! Slower than my old computer to boot up, probably because of that hard drive (which, incidentally, is why it’s priced so high).
(3) Proprietary speaker jacks means you can’t add any different speakers or add more speakers, other than the $$$ wireless ones.
(4) I played a Pearl Jam DVD and the sound was nice at about 3/5 max volume. CDs also sound good, but my high quality mp3 player, plugged into an auxilary jack, was nowhere near the sound I had with my old system that had its own receiver.
(5) You can’t play CDs without the tv on, and, when in DVD mode, you can’t turn the tv off without the whole system shutting off (so, to play music, you then have to reboot it and wait).
In short, this unit is worth neither the price (especially the list price!) nor the risk, as you will be putting all your proverbial eggs in one basket — if the dvd player, hard drive, or speakers go bad, you’re pretty much screwed.
Thumbs down.
Rating: 2 / 5
I was looking for a complete system with virtual surround (VSS), I looked at everything from Bose to the Sony systems. They all had two similar problems, 1. You could not add your own sub woofer. – The systems are closed. 2.Except for the Bose GS 123 system, the sub woofer was very poor. Additionally Bose system did not support upconverting dvds.
I had almost given up when I saw the Panasonic SC-PTX7. It was sleek looking and had everything that I wanted including “Upconvert”, VSS and tons of other stuff. What I really liked about this system is the ability to change the sub woofer out. This is where this system becomes very interesting.
So after adding my 12inch JBL sub, the whole system rocks. My friends are in awe. Adding the sub is very easy, just cut the ends of the wire that connects to the crappy sub that comes with the system. Now, connect them to your POWERED SUB and you are in business.
NOTE:ONLY USE A POWERED SUB, if you don’t you can burn the receiver out.
DISCLAIMER:I accept no responsibility for anything. Try at your own risk.
In regards to the other issues mentioned in the reviews I am yet to experience them – maybe panasonic finally fixed them.
Hope you enjoy.
George Richardson
Rating: 5 / 5
The unit looks slick, sounds great, has 80GB hard-drive so I can store more music and books than I can think of,etc,etc. However, just like other two reviewers have said, it locks up more often than not – especially when I click “open” while in dvd/cd mode. I really hope panasonic will have a software patch to fix this problem.
Rating: 3 / 5