Panasonic brings two more choices to the theater rack market

Panasonic's new SC-HTR510-K (pictured) and SC-HTR10-K are a pieces of gear that, for lack of a better term, is called the theater rack -- that union of furniture, electronics and speakers that in an audio-only time would have been called a console system. We'd much prefer a HTIB (especially one of the Japan-only models) to these electrified pieces of furniture, but they are probably only meant for space-constrained Japanese market. The larger ¥200,000 ($1,800) SC-HTR510-K is a 3.1-channel system with 3x65-Watts of power and a 90-Watt subwoofer, while the ¥50,000 ($450) 2.1-channel SC-HTR10-K makes do with 2x25-Watts in the front and a 30-Watt sub. Simplicity is obviously the drive with these, so Viera Link shows up along with AAC, Dolby Digital and DTS decoding.