Customer Reviews

Panasonic SC-BT200EB-K Blu-ray Disc 5.1 ch Home Cinema System

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Panasonic SC-BT200EB-K Blu-ray Disc 5.1ch Home Cinema System

Bought this cinema system to go with Panasonic Plasma TV I ordered. Although couldn't find any reviews on this system, took the plunge, and I am so glad I did.

The picture quality is as good as I hoped, normal DVD's look great upscaled via HDMI, I received Planet Earth on Blu Ray at the same time, and blu ray quality is awesome as expected.

The 5.1 is very clear, loud and very punchy! I am glad the neighbours have been out for the day as I was trying a few films with it. Top class stuff.

Connection wise, the SC-BT200 has HDMI output, with 2 Digital Optical inputs for other systems i.e. Sky or Freeview. There is also an analogue input for stereo input too. On the front of the player there is an SD card reader for pics and movies, plus a USB port, oh and not forgetting an Ipod dock plus a Headphone socket. There is also an ethernet socket on the back for accessing VieraLink features such as HD youtube vids and firmware updates for the system. The system even has FM radio too.

A wireless adaptor for the rear speakers is also available (SH-FX70), for about 100 pounds if you dont want to pull up your carpets to hide the wires.

An in all a great buy, and one of the 'cheaper' blu ray home cinema systems available. You wont be disappointed with this system.

On a final note I would like to thank Amazon for a smooth transaction from start to finish. With great communication and updates.

My system spec now is:
Panasonic TX-L37V10 (100,000:1 contrast ratio versus 50,000:1 for the G15 model)
Panasonic DRM-EX85 250Gb DVD/Hard disk recorder
Panasonic SC BT200 Blu-ray suround sound

The TV is excellent apart from the sound (apparently like all flat-tv's). The plan was always to pair it up with some sort of surround sound and this is the one I went for after looking at separates and other all-in-one solutions. After setting up the Blu-ray and trying out a few DVD's I wass extremely impressed. As the other reviewers here have stated, the sound quality and loudness is extremely good. There are ever things in DVD's I have never heard before!

Things to watch for:
The remote for my Blu-ray worked for both DVD players! Using it would operate both of them (annoyingly!). You can change the signal setting the DVD/BLU-ray recieves from the remote so they are different - it's described in the troubleshooting section, so change it and there will be no problem with it.
Yes - turn the bass down one or two levels - it is very deep by default (unless you like it that way!).
Panasonic - please speed up your firmware via a software update, because it is too slow at starting up and reading disks. Not that it is very slow, just a bit too slow if you know what I mean!

There are quite a few reviews coming out now for the SC-BT200 and they are all favourable. I would tend to agree with them in my humble opinion. If you fancy this system, you most likely won't be disappointed - do it!

Thanks previous reviewers. Your input helped me decide to select this model ;)

UPDATE: Definitely update your software on the Blu ray player. Basically you go to the Panasonic support site, select the player and download the image file. Just follow the instructions exactly and away it goes for half an hour or so. Sorry I cannot post the link because Amazon seem to have filters to stop competitor links being entered, but persevere with it because it is worth it.
The latest version details from the Panasonic Global Support site are:
Update Version Ver 1.6
Update File Name / Size Europe/UK/CIS BT200_v16.exe / 37,269,877 bytes
Update Date 2009/12/1

I was looking for a product that could suit both my video and audio needs and I really struggled to find something that matched all my criteria (ipod dock, blu ray and suround sound and clear and nice audio sound zhen listening to the music)
This panasonic gave me everything I hoped for for a good price and it is amazing to hear such a good sound for such small speakers. It also gave me more
I knew that blurays where good but I was not expecting my DVDs and DIVX to look so good, an amazing difference from my previous DVD player. It may just be due to the HDMI output that my previous player did not have, I am not sure, but it is outstanding !

The only down sides, which are not really problématic for me are :
- no HDMI entry on the system itself but you can use the audio inputs which work just fine.
- the unit is slow to start, it takes about 30 seconds before it is ready to use and the open/close button is a bit slow to react.
- When watching blu-rays, if you stop the disk, you have to start from the beginning again (menu etc...), you have to use pause if you need to stop for some reasons. It may be common with blurays cause you don't have this problem with DVDs.

First of all let me thank Amazon for great service. I orderd this on Friday at 2pm. 8am next day I'm setting it up. Set up is easy, less than 30min. Sound and vision is AWESOME! So far I've played CD,DVD,BD,ipod and radio. Have yet to play Xbox, but I'm sure it won't disapoint.The sound is punchy and it's great that you can change many of it's
settings. The last system I had was disapointing in that respect.
Picture qulity is superb. Upscaling DVD is great and I'm now playing CD's that I had long forgotten.
Rear speaker cable is a tad too short for my room,but you have the option of having all speakers in the front which still sounds great. I also have Sky+ connected and movies sound fantastic.
At this price, with all the reserch that I've done, you would do well to beat it.

amazing picture quality and amazing sound, have also invested in wireless speakers and there is no down grade in sound quality!!!! This has all the gadgets on it you could want and can even download from you tube to play on screen, amazing!!!

I recently purchased the BT200 and I must say this product is worth every penny I paid for it, Picture wise colours are bright and vivid, and the sound quality is second to none. I did a lot of research before I took the plunged and bought this product, and I know there is nothing out there in that price range that can top the BT 200.

Playing Ipods on this unit also sounds clear and solid with the sub woofer kicking in to give the low end plenty of depth. Watching you flat screen TV would never be the same again the silly speakers they put in flatscreens don't come near the sound that this produces, as soon as you turn the sound down on your TV and you turn up the Panasonic you will be amazed at the sound quality and ask yourself why you waited so long before you up graded.

The only gripes I have about the BT 200 is that when you first turn the unit on it goes through it's Please Wait phase before it come on and takes about 20 seconds or so but that is about the only niggle I have with this machine.

One more thing to mention the expert's out there who review these product's in there magazine's say this is not a good looking system I beg to differ the LG for instance have these glossy pretty speakers but for me there to big when you hear the sound that comes out of the Centre speaker and the little Satellites you'll see and hear there is no need for them to be that big.

Just to end this review as I could go on, this is one hell of surrond sound system and if you have the extra cash to pay for this system I dare you not be impress by the quality of sound and build and if you think my review is a bit bias check out what What-Hifi has to say about this system.

A great all-in-one system; set it up with my Panasonic TV works very well with the Viera Link. Very quick and convenient controls. I also liked the Viera Cast feature which gives you full YouTube access and Picasa Web photos (but you have to get a ethernet cable connection which may require a mains internet connection if you have the wireless router origin point in another room like I do.)

Be warned this is only a 5.1 system, the information suggests you can add the wireless system for the back speaker which you can and works very well but this then extends to 7.1. However the smart setup on the SC-BT200E only works for 5.1.

I have recently purchased a Panasonic TX-P50G10B TV and an SC-BT205 Home Theatre System.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the system but I do think Panasonic could make the TV and Home Theatre Systems work better together and also integrate more completely with non HDMI Video Sources.

Here are the 3 issues I currently have with the system, which Panasonic have acknowledged as the way the system currently works.

1. Home Theatre System does not detect Non-HDMI Video Sources.

The TV is connected to the Home Theatre System via HDMI with its Audio Optical output connected to D-In-1 on the Home Theatre System.

The SKY + Set Top Box is connected to the TV via SCART AV1 with its Audio Optical output connected to D-In-2 on the Home Theatre System.

D-In-2 is not automatically selected when AV1 source is selected on the TV, which means you have to remember to press "EXT IN" on the Home Theatre System remote until D-In-2 is selected.

Note. Automatic switching of the Audio should work for STBs with an HDMI connection i.e. SKY + HD Box.

2. Preferred TV input ( AV1 ) is overridden by Home Theatre System.

Preferred TV Startup Source is set to AV1 but as soon as the Home Theatre System Powers up the Blue Ray Source is selected and overrides this preference, which means you then have to select back to AV1. The Home Theatre System takes a few seconds to power up so it's a case of waiting for this to take place before selecting AV1. As far as I'm concerned this is a bug - the Home Theatre System should only "grab" the TV if it has some input to display.

Note. I have the TV and Home Theatre System Units on different IR Channels and the Home Theatre System powers up automatically via Viera Link when the TV is switched on.

3. TV does not detect that DVD has been inserted.

When a Blu Ray or DVD disk is inserted into the player the TV does not automatically switch source to display the content - HDMI/Blu Ray has to be selected manually on the remote. As far as I'm concerned this is also a bug.

As I say, Overall, I'm really pleased with the system. The TV and Sound quality is Awesome.

The Amazon Ordering and delivery experience was also flawless.

I got this because I wanted a system with great 5:1 sound (it comes with 6 speakers) to play all my digital music (I bought an iPod too) and watch BluRays (it came with 7 free blu ray movies as a promotion). It fits the bill, and for the price, I'm very happy. Using playlists on an iPod, it's really easy to turn it into a music system which can effectively play hundreds of CDs at the same time. I gave only 4 out of 5 stars mostly because of the poor/slow iPod controls and because it doesn't have multiple video inputs so you have to switch the TV as well as the Hifi to change devices.

Pro:
Best price - way cheaper for what you can get in any shop in Ireland.
Great sound
Blu rays are excellent - fantastic sound and sharp pictures
iPod dock means you can play weeks of songs effortlessly.
Lots of sound input channels (2 Optical + 1 standard hifi)

Cons:
Dumb iPod controls. Doesn't remember the last playlist you played. You have to turn on the TV while you select your playlist. Scrolling through iPod menu is slow.
Slow start up - 5 to 10 seconds
DVD is not region free
No video input channels - so switching from the Sky box to the Blu Ray requires you to change the input on the Hifi AND on the TV.
Digital movies only work in the US. Such technological advances haven't made it to Ireland...

Have had this for a little while now, and I am still pleased with it.
The sound is just fantastic. Really feels like you are in a cinema, right down to the vibrations on the floor!
The main reason I bought this one instead of anything else was the iPod Dock, and I must admit love the ability to listen to my music at that level. Also love the fact the speakers are so small, never liked the tall speakers, take up too much space. But they are only small in size other than that they are just fantastic.
When watching a Blu-ray film on it I must admit the clarity of the image and the sound is just supperb!

Highly recomended.
Not found anything wrong with it yet, and I use it on a daily basis!