New Panasonic "iPodized" HTIBs

Philip Wong | Apr 14, 2008

The new 2008 Panasonic home-theater-in-a-box (HITB) range supports iPods quite unlike any of its peers. These have the media player dock integrated in the DVD receiver, above the company logo, and concealed underneath a flap. They also playback iPod audio and video conveniently via the HTIB's remote, coupled with a large and legible playlist rendered on your big screen.

If you've no love for iPods, perhaps the Kelton subwoofer and bamboo diaphragm center speakers may be worth considering, too. The former is a sealed box with an internal 160mm and side-firing 250mm driver, trading tighter bass vs. volume and loudness. Lastly, according to its press release, the rigid and low-density nature of bamboo enhances clarity for crisp and cleaner dialog.

Aside from the above mentioned, other standard bits include USB host for MP3, WMA, JPEG, MPEG-4 and DivX playback, microphone input for karaoke wannabes and multiformat DVD (-R/-R DL/-RW/-RAM/+R/+R DL/+RW) compatibility. Check the table below for more details on these Asia entries.

	SC-PT865	SC-PT565	SC-PT465	SC-PT160
iPod dock	X	X	X	-
Kelton sub	X	X	-	-
Diaphragm center speakers	X	X	-	-
HDMI	X	X	X	-
1080p DVD upscaling	X	X	X	-
Digital amplifier/power	X / 1,250W	X / 1,000W	X / 750W	- / 330W
Price	S$999 (US$657.24)	S$699 (US$459.87)	S$499 (US$328.29)	S$349 (US$229.61)
Availability	Now	Now	Now	Now