I have just bought the home cinema kit from Pansonic - the Sc-BT100 with 3,.1 sound system and a built in blue-ray DVD. The sound is great. Has anyone tried or bought the wireless surraound speaker kit/ Model numbners are sh-fx67 and SB-HS100. If so, is it easy to set up and what is the sound quality like? What size are the speakers? There is very little info on these at the moment.
Panasonic SC-BT100
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I was really looking forward to buying this system.
It ticked all my boxes, I had read a really glowing review but then I read the review on here :-(
Now I 've only owned a DigiTheatre DTS before and found this to be perfect for me (LOUD!!!!!)
I'm wondering if I thought that was good (which I'm informed it isn't) then I maybe Happy with Panny?
It ticked all my boxes, I had read a really glowing review but then I read the review on here :-(
Now I 've only owned a DigiTheatre DTS before and found this to be perfect for me (LOUD!!!!!)
I'm wondering if I thought that was good (which I'm informed it isn't) then I maybe Happy with Panny?
Snoffy - I'm hoping the same is true for me. The spec and product worked really well for me, and I'd eagerly anticipated it's release, particularly as I don't have a home cinema system at the moment and am just playing DVD's through my Arcam hi fi (and I think that sounds pretty good!).
Has anyone actually purchased the system yet, and has it really got poor sound? Or did the unfavourable review scare everyone off at the end of the day??
I guess it's all relative at the end of the day, but even though it seems good value for money, 600 quid is a lot to spend if it turns out to be a complete howler!
Has anyone actually purchased the system yet, and has it really got poor sound? Or did the unfavourable review scare everyone off at the end of the day??
I guess it's all relative at the end of the day, but even though it seems good value for money, 600 quid is a lot to spend if it turns out to be a complete howler!
I agree £600 is a lot and that doesn't include rear speakers, I was given a brief look at it by a local dealer, picture wise using blu ray it looked good, seeing as it's the BD30, no suprise there, but he fought shy on allowing me to see how it upscales dvd, so that put me on my guard, the performance from the ipod dock was uninspiring to say the least, however LPCM from dvd sounded good, sadly I think that I would have to agree with the test done here, despite the high expectations I had when the product was announced, it seems unless you spend mega bucks and be prepared to turn your living room into a studio, you can't get an all round system for dvd/blu ray/music.
Snoffy:
I was really looking forward to buying this system.
It ticked all my boxes, I had read a really glowing review but then I read the review on here :-(
This is the problem...You read one review elsewhere which is good and then another like on here and it ain't so good and which also appears to have been enough to put you off.......Well don't let it....The first poster at the top seems quite happy with their system and remarks that the sound is good....so why shouldn't you too be happy with the system......
Goodness me if we are always going to rely solely on people's opinions about what is good and isn't how are we ever going to come to our own conclusions about what is in fact good or isn't for ourselves ...the problem is we rely on too much technical detail too....Go with your gut.....audition the SC-BT100 yourself, if you can at one of the Panasonic shops...and if you like what you and see and hear that should be enough to make YOU decide on whethere or not to buy it......
I'm not saying we shouldn't all read the Reviews......but also don't confine yourself to just one negative review which is often countered by another positive Review from elsewhere...The main thing though is that YOU need to decide...don't solely rely on other influences...go and audition for yourself
I remember when I bought my TV about a year ago.....I went nuts reading all the good reviews about it tempered by a lot of negative ones too.......but the latter didn't sway me not to buy...instead I went and saw for myself and decided it was the TV for me in terms of picture quality and I don't for one minute regret that decision now but had I taken too much note of all the negative reviews I might have actually gone ahead and wasted £2,000 on a Pioneer as good as they are which I'm thankful I didn't as a result of which I still ended up with a great £700 42 inch Plasma which is more than adequate for my needs
I was really looking forward to buying this system.
It ticked all my boxes, I had read a really glowing review but then I read the review on here :-(
This is the problem...You read one review elsewhere which is good and then another like on here and it ain't so good and which also appears to have been enough to put you off.......Well don't let it....The first poster at the top seems quite happy with their system and remarks that the sound is good....so why shouldn't you too be happy with the system......
Goodness me if we are always going to rely solely on people's opinions about what is good and isn't how are we ever going to come to our own conclusions about what is in fact good or isn't for ourselves ...the problem is we rely on too much technical detail too....Go with your gut.....audition the SC-BT100 yourself, if you can at one of the Panasonic shops...and if you like what you and see and hear that should be enough to make YOU decide on whethere or not to buy it......
I'm not saying we shouldn't all read the Reviews......but also don't confine yourself to just one negative review which is often countered by another positive Review from elsewhere...The main thing though is that YOU need to decide...don't solely rely on other influences...go and audition for yourself
I remember when I bought my TV about a year ago.....I went nuts reading all the good reviews about it tempered by a lot of negative ones too.......but the latter didn't sway me not to buy...instead I went and saw for myself and decided it was the TV for me in terms of picture quality and I don't for one minute regret that decision now but had I taken too much note of all the negative reviews I might have actually gone ahead and wasted £2,000 on a Pioneer as good as they are which I'm thankful I didn't as a result of which I still ended up with a great £700 42 inch Plasma which is more than adequate for my needs
I'd love to read this positive review of the Panasonic - every respected reviewer I know who's seen and heard the system has agreed the speakers are the weak point. Even in the earliest demos of this set-up (February) they sounded harsh and thin - we didn't say so then as we hoped Panasonic would improve things for the production model. They didn't.
If this was a cheap home cinema system, we could accept the sound, but as pointed out above, it ain't cheap, and should be a LOT better for this money.
I'm sorry if I offend any users who are enjoying their system - good luck to you, but Panasonic should have sold you something better still!
EDIT - I've just read an 8/10 review, if that's the one referred to. Even it refers to the harsh top end and boomy subwoofer, so i'm not quite sure how it ended up with that mark. But then it wasn't comparatively tested, either
If this was a cheap home cinema system, we could accept the sound, but as pointed out above, it ain't cheap, and should be a LOT better for this money.
I'm sorry if I offend any users who are enjoying their system - good luck to you, but Panasonic should have sold you something better still!
EDIT - I've just read an 8/10 review, if that's the one referred to. Even it refers to the harsh top end and boomy subwoofer, so i'm not quite sure how it ended up with that mark. But then it wasn't comparatively tested, either
Claire your Reviews are anything but offensive....you guys and gals give us the guidance we consumers need.....but in this case my point is that Reggie in the first post obviously likes his system but Snoffy has been entirely put off by the What Hi Fi Review
All I'm saying is that Snoffy shouldn't wholly rely on the Review and should instead go see and hear the system for himself and then make his own mind up
He may well end up agreeing with the review and the point made about poor sound quality but he needs to go and see and hear that for himself
All I'm saying is that Snoffy shouldn't wholly rely on the Review and should instead go see and hear the system for himself and then make his own mind up
He may well end up agreeing with the review and the point made about poor sound quality but he needs to go and see and hear that for himself
Tallyho:
All I'm saying is that Snoffy shouldn't wholly rely on the Review and should instead go see and hear the system for himself and then make his own mind up
He may well end up agreeing with the review and the point made about poor sound quality but he needs to go and see and hear that for himself
I agree entirely - but anyone auditioning it should take especial care to take their own discs and not be afraid to push the sound up and have a good, long listen. A rushed listen with flattering material could deceive...
All I'm saying is that Snoffy shouldn't wholly rely on the Review and should instead go see and hear the system for himself and then make his own mind up
He may well end up agreeing with the review and the point made about poor sound quality but he needs to go and see and hear that for himself
I agree entirely - but anyone auditioning it should take especial care to take their own discs and not be afraid to push the sound up and have a good, long listen. A rushed listen with flattering material could deceive...
professorhat
Well-known member
It's also worth mentioning that you should also audition at least one other system around the same money which has received a decent review (such as the ones in the "Also Consider" section in the WHF reviews). You could go and listen to this all in one Blu-Ray system having never seen a Blu-Ray before and be blown away by the picture and sound quality. However, if you then went out and checked a separate Blu-Ray, AV amp and style speaker package, you may well then see why the review wasn't that favourable!! That's the worth of reviews to me.
Of course on the other hand, you may well disagree with the review in which case you'd be foolish to be swayed by it.
Of course on the other hand, you may well disagree with the review in which case you'd be foolish to be swayed by it.
I set it up today, as the shop I work at received a few units yesterday. Initially, I too had high hopes, seeing as Panasonic had impressed me with some previous systems. This one, not so much. Sound is decent, but I agree with the points made in the WHF review, it was spot on. The speakers are indeed the weak point, to my impression the speakers and subwoofer are exactly the same as the ones that come with the PTX-50, a system that costs half of the BT100. Obviously it's lacking the centre channel, but still it felt somewhat underwhelming. Picture quality through a BD-flick was decent, but this was to be expected. The iPod felt somewhat flimsy, haven't tested this audio wise yet though. All in all, I feel it's not a bad system but the price may be somewhat steep..
For me it was a toss up between a Kef Kit 130 system for £1000 plus a blue ray for another £350.. That's £1350. That's nearly the price of the TV!!
This cost £600 inc built in Blue Ray DVD. I save £700 compared to the Kef and I get (what I think anyway) is a decent system. As I have never had one of these before it difficult to know what to compare to. I also saw a decent Sony home cinema kit in John Lewis but there's wire everywhere. The benefit of the Panasonic system is that it is wireless enabled for surround speakers so there won't be any wires going from the TV to the back of the room. I havn't seen any reviews on these yet and they are hard to get hold of - anyone seen these?
I watched the same Blue Ray DVD in a local dealer on both the Kef ( fantastic sound by the way!!) and this Panasonic system. The Kef sounded much better but that's £1000 JUST for the speakers. This Panna system sounded really good as well and sounds even better in your living room. The guy that set it up in his shop had installed one at a customers house a day earlier. Even he said it sounded better in a living than in a shop. They have been selling bucket loads of them.
Reviews can only be used as a guide. It's one person's (expert's) opinion. You have to go and see what you want and experience it and go with your gut instinct.
I think you get what you pay for. How far do you go? I think it was really good. You can spend an absolute fortune on these things!!
This cost £600 inc built in Blue Ray DVD. I save £700 compared to the Kef and I get (what I think anyway) is a decent system. As I have never had one of these before it difficult to know what to compare to. I also saw a decent Sony home cinema kit in John Lewis but there's wire everywhere. The benefit of the Panasonic system is that it is wireless enabled for surround speakers so there won't be any wires going from the TV to the back of the room. I havn't seen any reviews on these yet and they are hard to get hold of - anyone seen these?
I watched the same Blue Ray DVD in a local dealer on both the Kef ( fantastic sound by the way!!) and this Panasonic system. The Kef sounded much better but that's £1000 JUST for the speakers. This Panna system sounded really good as well and sounds even better in your living room. The guy that set it up in his shop had installed one at a customers house a day earlier. Even he said it sounded better in a living than in a shop. They have been selling bucket loads of them.
Reviews can only be used as a guide. It's one person's (expert's) opinion. You have to go and see what you want and experience it and go with your gut instinct.
I think you get what you pay for. How far do you go? I think it was really good. You can spend an absolute fortune on these things!!
My last set of equipment was due for replacement when I started searching for a setup but agonised over the panny when I saw the mixed reviews (2 good, 2 berating the sound).
I did go for the Panasonic SC-BT100 in the end. I am very happy with this decision, but it was a troublesome road and whilst most things in the garden are rosy, there's still a faint whiff of compost hanging around.
Some History: My last system high-end seperates system (Sony 46X2000, Denon 3805, Denon multi-region 2200DVD, KEF Q7 5 channel speakers, Xbox 360, SKY HD) was purchased a few years ago. It needed replacement due to the DVD packing up (replaced with an XBOX - clunky and noisy for DVD's) and the receiver been relegated to the sideboard by my better half for being 'an ugly monstrosity'.
Due to i) being fed up with not having a decent DVD player, ii) the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war being fight, iii) my concern for the amp stuck sideways in the cupboard and iv) most importantly, a bonus appearing; woohoo, it was upgrade time!
Several weeks were then spent on the enjoyable task of choosing a new system (I do really enjoy the comparison/review bit - must be a sad AV nut I supose), but I had a couple of significant problems, the main one being the better half did not want another 'big ugly' amplifier. Big problem. I looked at TEAC kit and realised I had a BIG problem.
The Selection: I found a couple of reviews for the Panasonic SC-BT100 on the internet and thought I had found my ideal system. The wife even approved the 'visuals'. I was just about to order when disaster - the What Hi-Fi review. I reviewed the forums and cross checked and it did make sense to not buy.
I agonised over this for a week and then decided to go for it. I purchased a multi-region DVD version (not multi-region Blu-Ray - you can get both but multi-region DVD is good enough, and I worked out I'd only get my money back on Multi-region Blu-Ray after I'd bought 27 disks!) at £550 which came with a fre Blu-Ray. The box turned up next day, when I had taken a day off work and packed the wife off somewhere so I could install without interference.
Results: Initially, I was very absolutely and incredibly bowled over with the Blu-Ray and DVD quality/performance. It knocks the socks off of the HD-DVD and PS3 Blu-Ray demos I had seen previously from friends. The sound though, was even more of a disappointment than the What Hi-Fi review said. It almost did grate my ears to turn it up high, and was worse on good old Music. The movie quality was OK. I was dashed. I sooo wanted it to be good.
Some other problems not considered (lets get the bad out of the way before the good) is that the iPod interface works well but the panny interface software is way too slow to use; the AVCHD does NOT work with Sanyo AVCHD camcorders; this is truly a 3.1 syste, Take note: if you want 5.1, you MUST buy the wireless rear amplifier. The manual (which I downloaded before purchase) suggests you can hard wire the back speakers. You can't. Simple as that.
One last downside thats not unique to the panny, is that most Blu-Ray movies are not shot widescreen, but in the super widescreen )(I forget the exact ratio figure) dound in cinemas. That means the movie will display as a letterbox, even on a widescreen Full HD TV. It is amazingly good though!
So how did I turn my opinon around? The first thing to go was the appalling wire that panasonic call speaker cable. I wouldn't wire a door bell up with it, let alone an AV system. Truly cheap and nasty stuff. I rewired with some decent cable and got a big leap forward. Bear in mind though that the panasonic has non standard connectors. You can either butcher the old plugs, or go to halfords and find some small push on bullet crimp connectors. You can't get gold plated (ask for the AV ones though, not the power cabl ones), but the pins on the panny are not gold anyway. Fiddly and prone to pop out when you disturb the panny unit from under the TV, but it works.
After buying the rear amplifier (from MRMDVD.com - again next day delivery) and rewiring, the next thing to hit the bin was the front/centre speakers. With the panny sub retained but back to my KEF's, improved again. They made little difference in movie mode over the 'bamboo specials' from panasonic, but in music mode the KEF's offered far more power, depth and balance (less boomy, more under control treble). A few hours audibly tuning improved as well. The panny is very limited here as there are no bass/treble controls, you have to pick an AV profile, but there's a good few to choose from).
Final Verdict: I have paid £650 for very good Blu-Ray/DVD player with average sonics. I had to spend a long time messing with cables, and you will need some good quality speakers if you like quality music load.
So why not buy the latest Sony RG receiver and Blu-Ray player for £100 less?
If you have to fit around a family, still want your AV kicks and don't mind a bit of fiddling, the Panny is a still a very good option.
Last point is an unpublished but very welcome talent for the panny - its headphone output is absolutely fantastic. This produces a really improved listening experience over my old Denon 3805, and as I spend half my time listening to movies in the evening that way, very welcome.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post here.
I did go for the Panasonic SC-BT100 in the end. I am very happy with this decision, but it was a troublesome road and whilst most things in the garden are rosy, there's still a faint whiff of compost hanging around.
Some History: My last system high-end seperates system (Sony 46X2000, Denon 3805, Denon multi-region 2200DVD, KEF Q7 5 channel speakers, Xbox 360, SKY HD) was purchased a few years ago. It needed replacement due to the DVD packing up (replaced with an XBOX - clunky and noisy for DVD's) and the receiver been relegated to the sideboard by my better half for being 'an ugly monstrosity'.
Due to i) being fed up with not having a decent DVD player, ii) the HD-DVD/Blu-Ray war being fight, iii) my concern for the amp stuck sideways in the cupboard and iv) most importantly, a bonus appearing; woohoo, it was upgrade time!
Several weeks were then spent on the enjoyable task of choosing a new system (I do really enjoy the comparison/review bit - must be a sad AV nut I supose), but I had a couple of significant problems, the main one being the better half did not want another 'big ugly' amplifier. Big problem. I looked at TEAC kit and realised I had a BIG problem.
The Selection: I found a couple of reviews for the Panasonic SC-BT100 on the internet and thought I had found my ideal system. The wife even approved the 'visuals'. I was just about to order when disaster - the What Hi-Fi review. I reviewed the forums and cross checked and it did make sense to not buy.
I agonised over this for a week and then decided to go for it. I purchased a multi-region DVD version (not multi-region Blu-Ray - you can get both but multi-region DVD is good enough, and I worked out I'd only get my money back on Multi-region Blu-Ray after I'd bought 27 disks!) at £550 which came with a fre Blu-Ray. The box turned up next day, when I had taken a day off work and packed the wife off somewhere so I could install without interference.
Results: Initially, I was very absolutely and incredibly bowled over with the Blu-Ray and DVD quality/performance. It knocks the socks off of the HD-DVD and PS3 Blu-Ray demos I had seen previously from friends. The sound though, was even more of a disappointment than the What Hi-Fi review said. It almost did grate my ears to turn it up high, and was worse on good old Music. The movie quality was OK. I was dashed. I sooo wanted it to be good.
Some other problems not considered (lets get the bad out of the way before the good) is that the iPod interface works well but the panny interface software is way too slow to use; the AVCHD does NOT work with Sanyo AVCHD camcorders; this is truly a 3.1 syste, Take note: if you want 5.1, you MUST buy the wireless rear amplifier. The manual (which I downloaded before purchase) suggests you can hard wire the back speakers. You can't. Simple as that.
One last downside thats not unique to the panny, is that most Blu-Ray movies are not shot widescreen, but in the super widescreen )(I forget the exact ratio figure) dound in cinemas. That means the movie will display as a letterbox, even on a widescreen Full HD TV. It is amazingly good though!
So how did I turn my opinon around? The first thing to go was the appalling wire that panasonic call speaker cable. I wouldn't wire a door bell up with it, let alone an AV system. Truly cheap and nasty stuff. I rewired with some decent cable and got a big leap forward. Bear in mind though that the panasonic has non standard connectors. You can either butcher the old plugs, or go to halfords and find some small push on bullet crimp connectors. You can't get gold plated (ask for the AV ones though, not the power cabl ones), but the pins on the panny are not gold anyway. Fiddly and prone to pop out when you disturb the panny unit from under the TV, but it works.
After buying the rear amplifier (from MRMDVD.com - again next day delivery) and rewiring, the next thing to hit the bin was the front/centre speakers. With the panny sub retained but back to my KEF's, improved again. They made little difference in movie mode over the 'bamboo specials' from panasonic, but in music mode the KEF's offered far more power, depth and balance (less boomy, more under control treble). A few hours audibly tuning improved as well. The panny is very limited here as there are no bass/treble controls, you have to pick an AV profile, but there's a good few to choose from).
Final Verdict: I have paid £650 for very good Blu-Ray/DVD player with average sonics. I had to spend a long time messing with cables, and you will need some good quality speakers if you like quality music load.
So why not buy the latest Sony RG receiver and Blu-Ray player for £100 less?
If you have to fit around a family, still want your AV kicks and don't mind a bit of fiddling, the Panny is a still a very good option.
Last point is an unpublished but very welcome talent for the panny - its headphone output is absolutely fantastic. This produces a really improved listening experience over my old Denon 3805, and as I spend half my time listening to movies in the evening that way, very welcome.
If anyone has any questions, please feel free to post here.
hi, interested in the pan blue-ray myself. are you pleased with system? did you get sorted with wireless speakers.
cheers
Ash
cheers
Ash
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