Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I bought this system at Costco after reading good reviews for the BT230. I was also impressed with the sound of the system at Costco, compared to the other displays. But after setting it up, several problems arose.
The good:
-Excellent sound
-Sleek design. My wife was a little put off by the tall boy speakers but tolerated them.
-Online content. Access to YouTube, netflix, etc.
The bad:
-Blu-ray player has problems. It was not able to play Baraka without locking up and rebooting. I thought it might be a problem with the disc, but I cleaned it and saw no scratches, and still the same problem. I read that Baraka has some of the most data-rich graphics, and the player always jammed up on very busy scenes with lots of movement and sound, like the panoramic views of waterfalls with roaring sound. This leads me to believe the blu-Ray player cannot handle it.
-Unit shuts down in the middle of movies, radio, etc. This has consistently happened - the unit just powers off automatically in the middle of a movie or while listening to the radio. Very frustrating.
-No wireless compatibility. Before I bought it I read that some of the panasonic systems have an upgrade for wireless rear speakers, but after contacting support, it does not work with this system. And the wires are way too short for stretching across any but the smallest of rooms.
That's too many bads for me, so I'm returning it to Costco today.
**Update: I got the Sony home theater, and Baraka (the exact same disk) played just fine. So there was a problem with the Panasonic blu-ray player handling the data load. And that was after updating the firmware.
Click Here to see more reviews about: Panasonic SC-BT235 Blu-ray Disc 1000W Home Theater Sound System with True Cinema Surround and Advanced Bamboo Cone Speaker - Full HD 1080p Playback
VIERA Cast - Enjoy great web entertainment on your HDTVVIERA Cast's assorted online content just keeps getting better - in addition to popular content such as YouTube and Picasa, it now offers Pandora Internet Radio, Netflix streamed movies, exciting sports from FOX and Twitter communications. No PC required.
Cinema Surround - Reproduces Realistic Movie Theater Surround ExperienceBy using a combination of real and virtual speakers, a more natural and smoother sound can be enjoyed. You'll notice the difference, epecially 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 VocalsWith the new bamboo cone speaker, 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 CableThe New ARC feature 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 will simplify the connection by eliminating an audio cable connection between the TV audio output and the main unit's audio input.
FORMATS:Bluray-ROM/-RE/-RE(DL)/-R/-R(DL)DVD-RAM/ROM/-R/-RW/-R(DL)/+R/+R(DL)/+RWCD/-R/-RWSD/SDHC
RECEIVER SECTION:Selectable Speaker LayoutWhisper-mode SurroundDolby Digital Decoder/Pro Logic II/TrueHD/Digital Plus/DigitaDTS-HD Master Audio Essential/High Resolution AudioDigital AmplifierTrue Cinema Surround7.1ch Virtual Sound with 5.1chDynamic Range Compression
INPUT/OUTPUT:HDMI OutVideo Out3.5mm Audio InputEthernet Terminal2 Optical Digital Inputs
VIDEO SECTIONDeep ColorDigital Noise ReductionHigh Precision 4:4:41080/24p PlaybackP4HDx.v.Color
Item ships in mftr. carton.
