Customer Reviews

Panasonic SC-HTB500 2.1-Channel SoundBar Speaker System with Wireless Kelton Subwoofer (Black)

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I paired this with the Panasonic TCP42G25. The Viera link means the speakers are automatically integrated with the TV and Panasonic Blu-ray player, which is convenient. It's a great upgrade over the TV speakers. Definitely recommend this for anyone who wants better-than-average sound without the effort and expense of putting together a full 5.1 or 7.1 home theater setup.

I recently took advantage of the Amazon Gold Box Deal and bought the Panasonic TCP42G25 and got this sound bar for free. This was exactly what I needed to replace a poor quality Olevia LCD TV in my bedroom. I have a fully decked out audio/video room already so all I wanted was something decent for the bedroom. After some tweaking and rewiring, I was able to integrate this with the new Panasonic Plasma, an old Panasonic Blu-Ray DMP-BD35, and a low end Dish Network VIP211. The big puzzle was a bug in the Dish receiver that caused it to fail to deliver Dolby 5.1 over the HDMI cable. I took advantage of the second HDMI input on the soundbar with an optical input to solve this problem. Bottom line, no new wires, no new A/V receiver and fantastic sound from a very simple setup. It is very easy to do a "side-by-side" comparison because Panasonic's VieraLink will return the sound back to the TV if you turn the soundbar off. What a difference! I am only giving the unit 4 stars because of the lack of some, in my opinion, basic functions being absent. Why would Panasonic not put simple bass and treble controls on a unit that retails for $349? Other than that, I am really enjoying the new setup.

This is a great value for the price. With the subwoofer being wireless, placement possibilities are endless. Sound is really good. The sound from Panasonic TV speakers outranks others by far, but this sound bar is great. I would highly recommend this product to anyone who has limited space but still wants great quality sound. Very nice.

Highly recommended. I'm really enjoying the virtual surround sound of this system. The subwoofer is just plain awesome, and the voice output is crystal clear from the soundbar. It's a pleasure to watch movies, regular TV, and listen to music from Pandora from these speakers, in the bedroom. This product exceeded by expectations.

I bought this along with a 42" Panasonic LCD TV. I waited to post a review for a few months so I could get a good feel for the system.
Here are a few impressions:

Likes:
1. Matches my Panasonic TV.
2. Wireless Sub is really handy. It can be placed several feet away from the speakerbar. The bass quality is quite good for a sub of this size.
3. Works with HDMI CEC. This means that my Panasonic TV remote controls the soundbard via "Viera Link." Simply put, I turn on the TV, the speaker bar turns on. I can control the volume on the speaker bar with the TV remote too.
4. Sound quality for TV shows is much better then the built in speakers.

Dislikes:
1. When switching TV inputs the speaker bar will often not change over. I will put it on "TV" and watch TV via OTA antenna then change it to my PS3 on "HDMI 1" and the sound stops working. I have to use the Viera Link control to change the sound back to the TV speakers then back to the sound bar for it to work. Sometimes I have to power the whole system down then back on for it to work. This seams to happen more to my wife then me though.
2. The mid and low tones are terrible. High tones sound fine. If you are just watching TV its not bad. If you are watching a movie or playing a game it can be a bit disappointing. Explosions and loud noises are very tinny sounding and can lack depth.
3. It lacks any optical or analog connections so there's no connecting an iPod for music.
4. I have a long and narrow living room with an 8 ft ceiling. The room is too big for the system. These only work well in smaller rooms like a bedroom or office or small living room.

Overall, if I knew then what I know now I wouldn't have bought this system. I'd have gone with the Onkyo 2.1 system or even just sprung for a receiver and some decent bookshelf speakers. Speaker bars are nice to save space, and they are superior to the built in speakers, but know what to expect before you buy.

The local Geek Squad recommended a "sound bar" for our new Panasonic 50" Viera TV due to the size of the room it is in. The hook-up was easy (according to my husband)and the sound is great ... can shake the windows!

Bought the Viera Cast 50" plasma HDTV (TC-P50G25)and got a bundle deal from Amazon for this 2.1 soundbar. I have been on the telephone and online Technical Support Chat with Panasonic 5 times. There is so much conflicting information in varying reviews of Panasonic plasma tv with Panasonic soundbar with some people saying they had no problems, but they all seem to be people who used BOTH the optical and the HDMI cable connections. If you follow the Panasonic tutorials and read their user manuals it all points to needing only ONE cable connection and plugging it into the first slot on back of tv where it says ARC in parens. After talking to support I have experienced having the soundbar sound come from the soundbar -- which I loved -- but it only lasts 2 to 5 minutes. The Technical Support people, having now spoken with 6 different individuals - want to get you to use optical cable even though that is against the directions. Then they look at the documentation and agree that it is supposed to work with just the HDMI cable. I am so disappointed that I cannot get this to work and hesitate going to yet another store to purchase an optical cable and having yet another cable sticking out of the tv and into the soundbar if it is not supposed to be necessary! Is there anyone out there who has experienced this frustration? Please advise. I would love to watch a movie with the soundbar on and not using the tv speakers. Otherwise...have to send the soundbar back where it came from.
UPDATE: After doing everything possible to resolve, I decided I must have gotten a lemon. I do want to give the soundbar another chance, so I am using the Return functionality allowed by Amazon having UPS pick it up tomorrow and I will have another one to try. I will update later to report on hoped for success with another unit.
UPDATE 2: Amazon Customer Service is A#1. No problems with returning first soundbar and have already received replacement unit. Regret to report that I only got one burst of sound out of it. Now I feel I MUST approach the problem with the purchase of a new HDMI cable. I had settled for the Amazon brand because I could not get a Panasonic brand immediately. Also, Panasonic told me I did not need to use their brand for the soundbar to work. If anyone else has experienced failure of two units and or have solution other than this attempt to fix please advise. I thank you in advance. To be specific, I used Amazon's Basics hdmi cable that states it is ready for 3D as well.AmazonBasics High-Speed HDMI Cable (6.5 Feet/2.0 Meters)[Supports 3D + Audio Return Channel]
FINAL UPDATE: I now have a working soundbar. When complaining to my daughter across the country she immediately suggested that I swap out the hdmi cables before I go to the store and buy another and/or optical. So - I listened. I switched the Amazon cable with my cable box hdmi cable which is labeled as 1.3b. Voila! My soundbar works beautifully as I am sure the first one would have done had I tried this. After all the tech support people I worked with I wonder why they did not think of this. My cable box is a tad funky right now and looks like I may not get HD signal from it with the Amazon cable. But I will wait until tomorrow, go through all my setup rituals and see if it self heals. If not...another round of calls to Amazon to report this problem with their cable so others do not go through this. Hope this experience helps someone else out there.
12/31 resolution report: I had to return the Amazon Basics hdmi cable as it was the cause of all problems. Having read so many reviews on Amazon I learned of monoprice for cables. I then read on CNET that they use their hdmi cables and I jumped in and purchased the latest technology hdmi cable from them for just $3! Got it, plugged it in, and now EVERYTHING GOOD. Although I like to support Amazon - I highly recommend to anyone that they purchase home theatre cable needs from monoprice.com.

Hookup is very easy. One HDMI and one optical cable was needed to complete the installation to an existing Panasonic plasma hd tv and a panasonic blue ray player. No speaker wires required. This device interfaces to my existing Panasonic equipment with complete ease of use. Iron Man 2 on the blue ray player had awsome sound. Totaly satisfied with this product.

I got the package deal from Amazon and got this free with Panasonic TC-P42G25 plasma.

Viera Link meant an easy integration of this soundbar with the TV, and it works perfectly for me.

You can set it up such that, whenever the TV is turned on/off, the soundbar automatically turns on/off. The only thing I did for setting this up was to connect the first HDMI port of TV (labeled "ARC" or Audio Return Channel) and the first HDMI port of the soundbar, turn TV on, press "Viera Link" button on TV remote, and change the "speaker output" from "TV" to "Home Theater" (at least these are the parts I remember).

The convenience alone makes this worth 5 stars to me.

Now, two personal non-success stories, one of which is not Panasonic's fault.

1. Dead remote.
If you plan to use the speaker independently of TV, e.g. play music via optical link while the TV is off, you still need the soundbar remote.
The first unit I got stopped responding to the soundbar remote after a week or so. Changed the battery of the remote and still no luck. I didn't know if it was the remote itself or the soundbar, but ended up returning the entire thing.
The second unit has been working so far.

2. Be careful about bad HDMI cable.
The first time I set it up, no sound came from the soundbar no matter what. After an hour or two of frustration I swapped the HDMI cable and voila! It worked.
This kaput HDMI cable worked with Panasonic DVD recorder, so apparently it works to some extent at least, and all HDMI-compliant cables are supposed to be compatible with ARC according to HDMI specification, so I don't know what's going on. But the cable went to trash bin. Problem solved!

I have used this unit for about a week now and find one problem I have not been able to figure out.
After a period of time, the system cuts out and I have to return to the TV speakers. If this changes or
I am not able to correct it, I will follow up on this evaluation.

I am using Panasonic Viera TV, BluRay. DVD and a TiVo Premiere. All Connected via HDMI cables and
Optical cable.