Panasonic SC-BT730 Blu-ray DiscTM 5.1 Home Theater System

by Panasonic

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 36 x 20 x 16 inches ; 36.6 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 42 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0038KV8U0
• Item model number: SC-BT730
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #32,341 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
  • #97 in Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Home Theater Systems

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Get your home theater going right out of the box with the Panasonic SC-BT730 home entertainment system, which includes a Blu-ray Disc player/amplifier plus a complete 5.1-channel surround sound speaker system. The Kelton subwoofer adds impact to your movies and music with dramatic deep bass, while the two tallboy front speakers add dramatic visual impact to your home theater. Additionally, this system comes with two wireless rear speakers--enabling you to cut down on the cords--plus

It also features 1000 watts of total power, Panasonic's VIERA Cast streaming video, 7.1-channel virtual surround sound (from the 5.1-channel speaker set), an FM radio, SD memory card slot of medial playback, and bamboo cones in the speakers. And you'll be able to play music and video stored on your iPhone or iPod thanks to the included iPod dock.

Key Features

VIERA Cast: Enjoy Great Web Entertainment on Your HDTV

VIERA Cast's assorted online content just keeps getting better--in addition to the popular contents such as YouTube and Picasa Web Albums, it now offers Pandora Internet Radio, movies streamed from Netflix (unlimited membership required) and Amazon Instant Video, exciting sports from FOX Sports, and tweeting web communications with Twitter.

And no PC is required. Connect to your home network via Ethernet or go wireless using an optional Wi-Fi dongle that connects to this home theater system via one of its USB ports.

VIERA Cast streaming content.

Wireless Rear Speaker: Smart Layout for Rear Speakers

The wireless system transmits the audio signals by radio waves, so there's no need to run cables from the main unit to the rear speakers.

Cinema Surround: Reproduces Realistic Movie Theater Surround Experience

By using a combination of real speakers and virtual speakers, a more natural and smoother sound can be enjoyed. You'll notice the difference, especially in an action scene--you'll feel like you're sitting in the center of a true cinema theater.

Advanced Bamboo Cone Speaker: Clear, Beautiful Vocals

With the new bamboo cone speakers, the sound becomes much more responsive. Vocals are more pure and cleaner, and the dialog is crisper and easier to understand than ever before.

Audio Return Channel: Simple Connection with HDMI Cable

The SC-BT730 is compatible with a new feature of ARC (Audio Return Channel). ARC allows receiving audio signals from the TV, on top of the preexisting HDMI function of sending audio/video signals to the TV with just one cable. This new feature will simplify the connection by eliminating an audio cable connection between the TV audio output and the main unit's audio input. (ARC compatible TV is required.)

Specifications

Total power: 1000 watts RMS (125 x 2 for front speakers; 250W for center speaker; 125W x 2 for surround speakers; 250W for subwoofer) Dolby Digital decoder: Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby Digital DTS decoder: DTS-HD Master Audio Essential, DTS HD High Resolution Audio, DTS DVD+R/RW/R(DL) playback formats: Video, AVCHD DVD-R/RW/R(DL) playback formats: Video, DVD-VR, AVCHD, JPEG, MP3 CD-R/RW playback formats: CD-DA, MP3, JPEG BD-RE/RE DL playback formats: BD-MV, JPEG SD memory card slot: Compatible with SD/SDHC/SDXC cards; plays AVCHD, MPET2, and JPEG media Universal Dock for iPod/iPhone: Integrated VIERA Cast: Yes Wireless LAN system: Ready (requires optional USB dongle) FM radio: Yes, with 30 presets Main unit dimensions: 2-1/8 x 16-15/16 x 11-5/16 inches (HxWxD)

Connections HDMI output: 1 Digital audio input: 2 (optical) USB port: 1 (for optional Wi-Fi dongle) Ethernet: 1 Audio input: 1 (stereo minijack, 3.5mm) Speakers Front speakers (x2): 2-1/2-inch full range, cone type; 40-5/32 x 10-1/32 x 10-1/32 inches (HxWxD) Surround speakers (x2): 2-1/2-inch full range, cone type; 4-11/16 x 3-5/32 x 2-11/16 inches (HxWxD) Center speaker: 2-1/2-inch full range, cone type; 3-11/32 x 5-23/32 x 2-13/16 inches (HxWxD) Subwoofer (Kelton Type) : 6-1/2-inch woofer; 10-inch passive radiator; 12-11/16 x 7-1/8 x 13-13/16 inches (HxWxD)

What's in the Box

Blu-ray Disc player/amplifier, 5.1-channel surround sound speaker set (subwoofer, center channel, two tallboy front, two wireless surround), wireless speaker system digital transmitter, remote control (with batteries), speaker cables, video cable, operating instructions

Product Description

The rear speakers come wireless right out of the box (no additional purchase necessary). The Blu-ray player is wireless ready, and compatible with the wireless LAN adapter DY-WL10 (sold separately).

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

67 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Get the right expectation before you buy (so, you won't be disappointed), June 3, 2010

By 

Lakshminarayanan Alagarsamy "cdmmots1978" (Milford, CT, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic SC-BT730 Blu-ray DiscTM 5.1 Home Theater System (Electronics)

This is my first blu-ray all in one home theater system. Before this i have used to Denon 2310 with Mirage Nanostat speakers.

Since wanted to buy a blu-ray and a simple wireless (primary factor for me) home theater system i went with this after reading very few review at that time.

You be the judge before you buy it after reading this review.

The things i liked:
-------------------

#1 - Wireless speaker.
Being staying at a rental house and changing my residence every year had forced me to look for wireless and it was right out of the box in this one.

#2 - Good customer support
After i hooked up all teh speakers, i did not get any sound from my wireless unit. Called the customer service. The great thing was, he knew what i was asking about and he helped me to trouble shoot and finally fixed the problem. Looks like there is a sequence to boot up the blu-ray player and wireless which i did not follow. That was easy.

#3 - You tube
Work liked a charm. No buffering issues. It was real good. (Not sure whether i can connect a keyboard in anyway to make the typing faster....any ideas????)

#4 - iPod dock
Another primary deciding factor for me.

#5 - ARC
Works well with my TV (Sharp 46LE810UN). As soon as i turn on the home theater, audio shuts off in the TV and comes from home theater (Though i like my TV audio much better when watching talk shows)

#6 - All in one remote

The things i did not like:
--------------------------
#1 - Wires all over:
There are no video pass through. Though i knew this earlier i thought it would be okay. But, this made me to run wires btn many systems. From cable box to TV, then from TV Audio out to Home theater. Wii is connected directly to the TV. iPod video cables to TV.

#2 - Lip sync issue with iPod (video)
If you play iPod video, you will NOT get the output in HDMI cable. You will have to use separate video cable for that. Another set of wires.

So, i connected the iPod through composite video and now what? The audio and video is out of sync (lip sync) issue.

#3 - Not enough power output:
I seriously doubt whether this is a 1000W system. The mirage nanastat is around 600w and it sounds way better than what Panasonic. Again, i do not want to compare apples with oranges. Cost may be the deciding factor in this case ($1,200 vs $500)

#4 Poor FM:
Very weak FM output. You will have to find a good spot to keep the FM antenna (just a wire) in order to get a very normal reception. I covered every sq. inch to get a good audio signal but i never got good reception.

#5 Simulated sound not from all speakers:
It is mentioned that we will get simulated sound when 2 channel audio inputs is given. But, for some reason my center speaker (which i consider as critical) did not get any sound at all. That was a strange one.

#6 Wireless speakers
Again, the quality of the sound is good. But, definitly not enough if you have a bigger room.

#7 Proprietary speaker wire
If you have already wired your house, you will have to think again before you buy this. This unit uses proprietary speaker wire and connections. Though the length of the wires are enough for my home with currect setup, this is a serious restriction if i want to use it at bigger houses.



Other nice to haves:
#1 - Blutooth receiver - If there is a option to sync any blu tooth device with receiver, it would have been nice.

#2 - Shutting off wireless speaker using remote - I am really not sure whether this is a missing option or i did not explore it yet. I am 99% positive that we cannot shut off the wireless unit with remote. Which mean, if you really conscious about wasting power, you need to add this into your check list before you go to bed.

Other concerns:
If for some reason the wireless unit is not working (one day it is going to happen), then you have no way to use the rear speakers with wires directly running to the home theater.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Value, best I have experienced for the $$$, May 25, 2010

By 

Michael Nehrkorn (St Louis, MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Panasonic SC-BT730 Blu-ray DiscTM 5.1 Home Theater System (Electronics)

I bought this system to go with my Panasonic Viera 50" plasma. The system was very easy to setup, works great, and when new updates are released it automatically notifies you that a newer release is available. Then you just select the update option and leave it alone. Common sense should tell you not to turn it off or mess with anything while it is upgrading. The Viera-Cast with built in Pandora, Netflix, and YouTube is sweet! I am very happy with this purchase.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best bang for the buck, hands down., September 27, 2010

By 

T. Lemelin "Electronic toy connoisseur." (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Panasonic SC-BT730 Blu-ray DiscTM 5.1 Home Theater System (Electronics)

Let me preface this by saying I consider myself a little bit of an audiophile; I pride myself on my music and my movies sounding pristine. So, needless to say I was a little hesitant about buying this (or any) home theater-in-a-box for my girlfriend. But, I did my research and decided on the Panasonic SC-BT730.

The setup was quite easy. The first thing I did was plug the wireless transmitter into the back of the player/receiver, put it in its nest, then plopped the rear speakers* in their places. The "tallboys" assembled easily enough, and while I was a little worried about tightening the screws fully, they held together fine. Due to the living room setup the wireless receiver sits next to one of the rear speakers, so the cable from the far speaker barely reaches... but it did indeed reach.

Next I setup the two front side speakers and the center speaker, noting the heft of the center speaker as I did so. These also setup easily enough that my girlfriend's 11 year old could have probably done it.

Lastly I connected the HDMI cable and antenna, then quickly and eagerly swooped up the plastic, styrofoam, and twist ties strewn about the floor.

I powered up the TV, flipped to HDMI input and turned on the BluRay... and we had blast off! I was apprehensive about the long power up time, but was relieved to find that the second time I turned it on it was much faster (even with fast start up disabled). I followed the easy on screen instructions (oops! Left the wireless receiver off), plugged in the mic for auto speaker calibration (buzzzz, buzzzz, buzzzz), and immediately played with the other settings.

After I was happy with my setting choices I turned to my girlfriend's favorite FM station and made sure it came in crystal clear (it did... as much as FM can) and programmed in a few other stations (which was pretty intuitive).

20 minutes later we were settled in (I rented the new Clash of the Titans specifically to test out our wonderful new toy) and were immediately immersed in a torrent of surround sound and visual goodness. Every time something passed "behind us" and I could *hear* it back there I would grin and momentarily flash-back to the mid (or was it late?) 80s when my father had the first surround sound setup I'd ever seen (outside of the theaters) and how giddy I was then.

I have the speaker setup reversed, if you will, with the "tallboy" speakers as the surround speakers, and the satellite speakers up front. The couch is against the wall and I don't wish to mount the satellites, but since the tallboys and the little small monitors are both 60w with the same response (120Hz - 20kHz) and the same impedance (3ohms) I thought "what the heck", and so far it's worked out well. I'll end up playing with their locations and swapping them around, but until I decide on some speaker stands it's more than functional.

The overall sound is great. The sub-woofer, of course, isn't what a powered one would be, but it produces enough to make you feel it. The tallboys, middle speaker, and the surround speakers all produce a nice clear sound... not tinny at all. While there are, of course, limitations to what a small monitor's capable of, these exceeded my expectations. Also, after adequate burn-in (played) time these speakers should sound even *better*.

In summary, I was very happy and quite impressed with the great sound this HTiB delivers, and especially for the price! ($350 on dear ol' Amazon) I've been a fan of Panasonic since I can remember, and they once again demonstrate why.

EDIT: (11/04/10)
I got a set of speaker stands and moved the satellites to where they should be and put the tallboys up front where they belong then re-run the auto setup. I have to admit, the sound is much better this way. Primarily because with the tall boys behind us most of the speaker was blocked by the couch which, of course, defeats the purpose of surround sound's detail. Now the satellites sit just barely below ear level and the tallboys are positioned to each side of the TV stand. In the time we've had this player I have had one BluRay disk not play (but it worked fine on my PS3). It was a rental so it's possible the Panasonic is just nit-picky about the condition of the disk. I've also had the opportunity to try out the NetFlix capability of the player and I'm quite happy with it. To note, you cannot search for and add things to watch from the player, but all you have to do it add something to your NetFlix queue online then enjoy! Still VERY happy with this purchase!

EDIT: (07/06/2011)
One of the rear speakers has developed a "popping" issue. I haven't had a chance to swap the rear speakers to see if it moves with the speaker (an issue with the speaker) or stays on the right side (an issue with the wireless device or cable). It's not a terribly big issue, it only happens once or twice within the time frame it takes to watch a movie, just kind of surprised me the first couple of times it happened. (It didn't startle me, it surprised me that this was happening with a Panasonic product.) I'll troubleshoot it some and update.

Also, I currently have a toslink (optical audio) cable from my TV to the system, and I have my PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and cable all wired into the TV. This was I can switch to the appropriate input for the receiver and no matter what I'm watching I get my sound on out here! The downside is you may have to adjust the surround settings in order to get sound on more than just two speakers.

Lastly, I forgot to mention in my original review, I have the BluRay and DVD playback limited by rating (GREAT feature!) but the process to unlock the player for "grown up" use is a pain. It got to the point that I've now left it unlocked as the kids are pretty much good enough that they're not going to try to watch a grown up movie.