Customer Reviews

Panasonic SC-BT330 5.1 Channel Cinema Surround Home Entertainment System

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have been in the market to get streaming content on my TV for a while now. I compared this unit against the LG-LHB535. The LG has some added features.

1. Built in Wifi
2. Streaming software... which means you can stream from your computer.
3. HDMI inputs.

Otherwise the Panasonic works awesome. It's fast and responsive, easy to setup, small and sleek, and it's cheaper than the comparable LG unit.

It includes the following features.

1. Amazon video rentals... Awesome.. However it's $3 for most regular rentals and then more for HD. I'm still a bigger fan of RedBox $1 for anything... Amazon I might be holding out on your steep prices.

2. Netflix the same as everything else... other than the interface is really simple and ugly like the PS3 interface. It's not as easy to navigate and search like the X Box 360 or on your computer.

3. Youtube which is cool.

4. Picas pictures which is neat but almost useless in some cases.

5. iPhone/iPod doc that allows audio and video playback. Very cool, it charges and doesn't display the "this accessory is not made to work with your device" message.

6. Blue ray, DVD, burned DVD's etc.

7. Two fiber optic inputs that allow you to plug in your infamous HD DVD player or some other audio sources. Would have liked to see HDMI here... LG has it.

8. Viera Link which is cool if you have a Panasonic TV like I do. It turns the stuff on off etc by communicating over the HDMI cable.

9. The sound is AMAZING for as cheap as this unit is. The speakers are crisp and clear. Very nice surround sound. I had a Sony STR-K750P, and this Panasonic system is way better.


Overall the packaging was slick with everything well packaged for shipment. I couldn't find the electronic version of the manual online anywhere. The specs say it's wireless ready, which means it has a USB port on the back that you have to pay $100 to get the $5 Panasonic WIFI dongle. Total rip off. I just hard wired.

The menus are not quite as elegant as the Apple TV, it also has this hard switch thing.. Basically if you need to adjust any settings, it unloads the web content dashboard thing, then takes you back to the DVD menu. So there is a bit of a lag making adjustments. I don't understand why they just didn't layer the menus and then reload if your settings require it. It also has some sort of quick on feature. Basically if you start it up from scratch, AKA no power supplied, it takes about 30 seconds to boot.. So they added this quick boot thing which makes the unit run in some kind of a standby. It tells you it will consume slightly more power while in this mode. I did have a couple times where the web interface streaming thing had garbled text, I tried powering on off, but it doesn't fully reboot if you use the quick boot. In order to get it to fully reboot, you have to turn it off, then unplug the power and re-connect.

The manual isn't very descriptive and there is a lot of technical jargon as you wade deeper into the settings. Lots of color control, bit level, sound stuff, display stuff etc.

It does have the capability to adjust the surround and EQ levels while playing. It's not entirely intuitive, and the manual is wrong, but it works. When you use the buttons on the bottom of the remote to adjust the surround, it displays on little screen on the unit, the levels. In the manual it tells you to use up and down to adjust these. I must have wasted 20 minutes on this part before I tried left and right and then it worked. Looks like Panasonic needs an updated manual. The firmware on the unit is 1.0 which hopefully means there will be some software updates sooner than later. It would be nice to see layered settings menus, and they have some room on the dash board for new content.

The unit is so new that if you use a Logitec Harmony remote, it won't detect your unit yet. I had to use the older model Bt-300 or something to get my Logitec remote to work.

anyhow.. thats my review... Enjoy!

What a great home theater in a box. I did my homework checking out all the competition and reading the reviews.Then with the help of my IT manager we settled on a mid-range system that delivered great perfomance and Blu Ray at an affordable price. The Panasonic SC-BT330 5.1 met all of my criteria. The system was easy to install and the sound balancing capability was a bonus. It perfomed well in all modes. I especially liked the I-Pod playlist display capability. Bottom line is this is a great buy that as a discriminating consumer I can readily endorse.

Purchased this for a large den vacation property. The BluRay video system works surprisingly well. The audio is good for the price. It doesn't compare to Denon, but neither does the price. The wireless USB adapter works well. We use it a lot for Nexflix etc & the streaming working very well. Pandora Radio included in the system was a pleasant surprise. I'd not used Pandora Radio, but find it to be a great source of back ground music. The Panasonic system plays it very well. Sounds like an add for Pandora....but it is impressive, so much so I bought a Samsung BluRay player with Pandora to use for my home Denon system. With Denon receiver & Klipsch speakers Pandora is truly impressive. The reason I give the Panasonic a 4 is the Subwoofer isn't powered and quite wimpy. I replaced it with a Polk Audio PSW10 Powered Subwoofer from Amazon, and it completed the setup nicely.

As far as stereo equipment goes,I'm from the old school:2 three way speakers and a meaty receiver a cassette deck and turntable (or CD player).Eventually,in this generation,that's played out.I took a chance on this "creation" because I've been dealing with Technics (Panasonic) equipment since 1990.First off,the box was about as big as the box that Rock Band 2 comes in.A whole stereo? Then upon opening the box I found it was half Styrofoam.The actual "stereo" is as big as a DVD player.The speakers came in three pieces.

That was the questionable.Now for the good.
It actually sounds good.
The integrated Blu-Ray player shows a GREAT picture.
The ipod/iphone slot looks and sounds GREAT.

All that and it looks good.
True,it not a $1,500 Technics setup but it's okay and highly recommended.

P.S.:DO NOT LOSE THE REMOTE thinking you can run to the corner drug store or the local big box store and get a universal one.When you see it,you'll know why.

I bought this product in March of 2010. Used it 5 times and it broke. An IC power fried on it. Took it to a service center and have been waiting 2 months now for a part. Complained to panasonic and they told me the part was on backorder. Threatened to return the product and they told me that they could get it to the service center in 7-10 days. It was not, called to complain again and wanted to return the product and customer service was horrible. They said if the unit was repairable, I just had to wait fo the part. I spent a good amount of money for a poor quality product and even worst customer service. Save yourself a headache and buy a different brand.

I got this as a gift for my boyfriend and it seems to work quite well. We did have to update the firmware as the bluray would shut off for no apparent reason prior to the update but it seems absolutely fine now. The sounds is good and the picture quality is fantastic. We have a Panasonic tv so they play nicely together and being able to use basically any remote to control both is quite nice. It went together quickly and with minimal difficulty. The reason I only gave it 4 stars is because the price for the dongle to make it wireless is so expensive. If you are going to pay this much money for a system (its not a fortune but its still a fair amount) I feel it shouldn't cost an additional $100 to use a function of the system. Just my take on it. For the money, I feel like it was a good choice.

I have previously had a Upconvert DVD player in addition to an older Surround Sound system thats had quite a few years on it. I also purchased a Panasonic 42" plasma TV a while back, and I finally decided it was time to start delving into Blu-Rays to get the most out of my TV. While shopping for a simple Blu-Ray player online, I noticed that a Theatre system -- with the Blu-Ray player included, didn't cost that much more. This is what began to sell me.

Personally, I was quite happy with the quality of product with my Panasonic TV. Very much so in fact that I started to look at reviews for the Panasonic Theater systems and seen mostly favorable ratings. I'm a firm believer in "you get what you pay for", and while this is probably better then your average Theater system, it simply isn't "the best". If you figure your going to get "the best" for a low price (this is currently listed retail value at $499, I ended up striking an almost 50% off deal during black friday deals), then you are simply going to be disappointed. Nonetheless, a good sale and deal is always a good thing, but if your looking to spend a little bit more for better (7.1?) quality, you may have to search elsewhere.

Now onto THIS product....

Pros:

-Movies are crisp, clean and clear -- like you'd expect.
-Sound is pretty darn good for the small size of the speakers (which is convenient). I can't complain about the sound for movies, TV, or even listening to my Music.
-iPod dock is great, the menu is simple. (you can switch to the iPod display rather then it being displayed on your TV)
-Youtube, Netflix, etc., are all fun and easy to use via network capabilities.
-Packaging was very neat.
-Easy set-up

Cons:

-Wi-Fi card is not included. I ended up being able to connect my router to the back of the player with no problems. Wouldn't mind getting the specific Panasonic brand card (the only one it WILL use) but then again I don't feel like shelling out $80-120 bucks. This is kinda outrageous, as Panasonic should include this.
-Noise "beeps" that are on the network menu gets a bit annoying. No biggie, but still.
-The actual setting up of Wi-Fi takes a firmware update, and it kind of gets to a point where you can't tell if WHATS going on. While this isn't really a con for me per se, I can see others can get distraught over this.
-Quite a bit of wires all over the place. Bugs me a bit since I need a new console (and you can see all of the wires), but really it isn't that big of a deal.



Other then that... I haven't really used the Radio, so I can't review it.

This product can be ideal if you get a good deal on it. I was looking to spend around $250-300 and this product fit that range. I don't think I would(ve) paid $499 for it, so thats why I say just make sure you know what your looking for. I thought to myself: a good Blu-Ray player is at least $100-$150, so why not just shell out an extra $100 and get the whole shebang? I am absolutely glad I did and would recommend this to those that are looking for something a little better then average. Panasonic has not failed to impress me with the electronics it has thus far, and hopefully it won't in the future.

Simple to put together and it really does sound great. The blu-ray player takes about 10 seconds to boot up, and switching between audio inputs (I use digital in for my media center) takes a few seconds, but those are very small cons considering how good it all sounds. I got it on sale for around $250 and it was worth every penny. Sound is crisp, no annoying pitches, and the base levels are outstanding. It has a base boost function and 4 levels of base controlled from the remote not locally on the sub itself. The center speaker seems a little dominate at times, but I haven't read much into adjusting levels of individual speakers if thats even possible.

Buy this audio package, it works wonders with my Panasonic p50u2 television!

I bought this as my first Blu-ray player and Home theater bundle. The sound on the SC-BT330 is amazing, links up with my 42 inch Viera and connects to Netflix, twitter, youtube, weather and viera cast in a second. It's surely worth the money I paid for.

I looked for weeks at many systemts before deciding on this one. I was nervous that it would be hard to jhook up or that it would not sound good. WRONG! I had it set up in less than 30 minutes, without reading the instructions.

The sound is AMAZING!! I can't believe how crappy my old system was and I never realized it until I got this one. I love the radio and ipod sound, as well. I plan on watching many movies this weekend!