Page 1 of Looking to buy a good all round Cinema System

I hope someone out there can help. I am looking to spend around £400 on a new cinema system that is a good all rounder, both for audio and DVD formats. I have been considering the new Panasonic SCDT310E but can find no reviews on this system. Can anyone comment on this system. I have just recently bought the Panasoninc LCD TV which is excellent and thought a panasonic system would be more compatable as a complete system.

I recently bought a Roadstar DVD-5104 PSPK DVD player with built in amp and 6 speakers (total 200 watt output). It gives excellent video & audio reproduction. The cost is around 300 pounds approx. However, in the UK/Ireland, this model may be sold under the name of Goodmans, Alba or Grundig. You can surf the net to see what it looks like or mail me and I will send you a photo. E-MAIL: 1ANARCNUB[at]MOC.LIAMTOH
Even better, this model can be changed to be region free, ie, region 0. Check it out. PARIS.

For just under £300 I can recommend the Pioneer DCS303, has everything you could possibly want, 75w per channel output, Dolby Pro Logic II, optical in and multi region (except from Currys or Comet) etc etc.

You will not be disappointed.

I have the Pansonic SCDT310E. I bought it from the local Panasonic shop for £400ish (they were having a 10% off day at the time), and they kindly made it multiregion for me at no extra charge.
Having previously owned a Wharfedale and an Aiwa DVD player I am in awe of the features and quality of this system.

In summary:

Pros:

DVD: Quick pickup, variable speed playback (with sound - up to a point), variable zoom (with presets), disc memory for five discs (ie, it remembers where you got up to even if you switch it off / remove the disc). Very clear picture. No lip-sync issues that I can see.
Centre channel enhancement to increase volume of dialogue. `late night viewing` option (reduces loud noises and enhances quieter noises).
Settings for everything - enough options and buttons to amuse anyone! You can even decide where you want to the GUI to appear on the screen and the brightness of the subtitles (I think) if you must.

CDS: It is has decent left and right hi-fi speakers (rather than the small front surround speakers you find on other systems) CDs sound superb - highly impressed by this. Claims to have full DVD-Audio bandwidth (not many other systems have this). I listened to the same CD on this system and the other Panasonic systems for around £300-£400
and this one won hands down. Random play, program play. Has other features (can`t remember the name of them) to improve the sound of CDs by `filling in` the lost frequencies - this also seems to improve the clarity of the sound.

Other discs: Plays CD-R(/w)s with MP3s, or JPGs on (using a neat tree structure to find your way round multiple sets of photos). Plays VCDs.

Radio: RDS, presets.

Sound: 5 Equaliser presets - and one user editable. Adjustable sub-woofer volume and surround speaker delay. Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby Prologic 2. 6 speakers - subwoofer, left, right, centre, rear left, rear right.

Misc: Ability to switch LCD display off when viewing DVDs - ability to switch off video output when listening to CDs (apparently this improves sound quality, but I haven`t noticed the difference!) 10m cables for surround speakers, 4m cables ( I think ) for left/right front speakers.

Cons:

Bizarrely enough it doesn`t have a SCART output - just a video `jack` plug - an adapter is provided to connect it to a SCART input on the TV. I was concerned with the quality of this, but my concerns have gone now I`ve seen it. So, not really a `con` at all.

Strange shaped left and right front speakers - we have ours on speaker brackets and we had to buy brackets that hold the speakers at the sides rather than the front and back due to the position of the un-removable speaker feet. Not a problem if you plan to use the speakers on the floor.

Despite being two separate units the length of cable that connects them together is so short you basically have two choices - one unit on top of the other or both right next together.

It takes some time to connect the various speaker cables - this is not truly a con because you are provided with everything you need - you just want to get the system working as quickly as possible!

Not a DAB (digital) radio


All in all, as you can no doubt tell, I`m highly impressed by this system and would recommend it to anybody. Stick The Two Towers in here and you`ll feel right in the midst of the action!

You`d be much better,in my opinion,going down the seperate DVD and surround sound route.
For some strange reason a fair few all-in-one systems omit a scart from their spec,which is truly bizarre.It means they cannot offer RGB output.
You could go for something like the Toshiba SD330 DVD for around £100, and then any of the Sony surround sound systems for around £200.
That way you`re getting the best of all worlds instead of compromise somewhere.