Panasonic 3D Blu-Ray home cinema @ Currys

former legend

While a home cinema system is not something everyone wants, this is an amazing price for a 3D Blu-Ray 5.1 system with decent sound output.

http://www.currys.ie/Product/PANASONIC-SCBTT400EBK-51-Smart-3D-Bluray-Home-Cinema-System/318294/145.2

€160 vs £199 in Currys UK and on Amazon or €340 in DID.

I just got one anyway.

jmch81

Looks good

stooge

only downside seems to be lack of built in wireless. Need to buy a separate adapter for that. Even still, its a good deal.

jmch81

If your TV has wireless, I don't see the need.

delivery is coming up as €14.99! Any idea how to get around this?

former legend

jmch81 wrote: »

If your TV has wireless, I don't see the need.

delivery is coming up as €14.99! Any idea how to get around this?

I was buying a washing machine anyway so total was > €500 and therefore free delivery.

Otherwise, you can reserve and collect instore.

Yeah, it's missing a few bells and whistles like wireless, but since it will be going directly beside my modem, it'll be wired up via ethernet anyway (and if you have smart functions on your tv or set-top box, it makes no odds).

acelt67

Looks good,am mightily tempted by this to accompany my Samsung smart tv,to those who have bought it - is much kop and worth buying?

ozmo

former legend wrote: »

While a home cinema system is not something everyone wants, this is an amazing price for a 3D Blu-Ray 5.1 system with decent sound output.

http://www.currys.ie/Product/PANASONIC-SCBTT400EBK-51-Smart-3D-Bluray-Home-Cinema-System/318294/145.2

€160 vs £199 in Currys UK and on Amazon or €340 in DID.

I just got one anyway.

The features on this looks brilliant for the money.

Was told there is only one left in Blanchardstown..

melekalikimaka

no hdmi in to utilise the surround from a tv unless tv has optical out... does ps3's have optical out, the lack of inputs really puts me off

ozmo

melekalikimaka wrote: »

no hdmi in to utilise the surround from a tv unless tv has optical out... does ps3's have optical out, the lack of inputs really puts me off

Yes - i noticed the missing hdmi in. But this has lan and optical in which will suit me with the built in netflix, lan connection and the ps3....
Xbox, Ps3 and most tvs have optical out.

dingding

Ordered one thanks OP.

ozmo

Picked one up yesterday - been looking out for one for months - havn't had time to check it all out - but initial reactions:

1. The sound is really really clear - main thing really that I need.
2. It boots really fast - Disks load and play really quick - great picture.
3. Menus are reasonable speed.
4. Netflix works great on it - Not BlueRay quality obviously - HD but with some compression artifacts noticable sometimes as to be expected with. Very smooth and good quality though. Nice to have dedicated Netflix button on remote.
5. Lots to play with - have to test the compatible IPhone apps next and all the built in apps and players etc.
6. Sound can come *in* via Optical or the HDMI - so that makes hooking up the TV easier than I thought with just the one hdmi cable. Also takes coax.

- Meh-
1. There is a temp controlled fan, its not silent but very quiet.
2. The BD drive when in use is not silent but fairly quiet.
3. I can connect to NAS share, but not to a PC shared folder over lan(dunno why should be same)
4. Manual is in Chinglish and incomplete/general to several of models.
5. The speakers are really cool - good weight in them - but kinda Open/exposed - worried they will get poked at by visiting nephews. I might have to make cloth covers for them?

-The bad-
The file video media player isn't great - stuttering on the test files I had to hand(HD mpg's recordings from my camera). Fine with smaller files (IPhone recorded video was fine).

Overall really Great so far! - will do more testing over weekend.

former legend

ozmo wrote: »

Overall really Great so far! - will do more testing over weekend.

Well that's a relief, mine gets delivered tomorrow. Cheers.

The exposed speakers were a worry for me too, what with a toddler running around the house, I suppose it's just a question of creative speaker placement.

ozmo

Oh - Its got those Panasonic colour coded plastic plugs on the speakers - and the wire lengths are on the short side - Is it possible to purchase new plugs easily would anyone know - I have some decent speaker wires running in the wall Id like to reuse and don't want to destroy the original cables for the plugs just yet.

Thankfully its just on the one side (the drive side) the speaker ends are the normal wire clamp.

CuppaCocoa

Silly question - are the speakers wired or can they be used wirelessly?

ozmo

lilybarlean wrote: »

Silly question - are the speakers wired or can they be used wirelessly?

Some players have optional extras that can be used to make the remote speakers wireless - I didn't see that option here. Personally not a fan of wireless anyway when wired is an option - more to go wrong.

There are 5 speakers you need connect up with the supplied wires (bare one end - connector on other for the player) and the subwoofer has the speaker cable already attached for some reason. Subwoofer does not require separate power.

ozmo

edit - oh -
There is an option though with this kit - where you can put all the speakers to the front - so none at the back at all - and it will work like a sound bar and throw the sound behind you...

shovel

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I skimmed through the manual online ,but saw no mention of putting the speakers together as a soundbar. Would be great if you could.
Can you confirm that please

ozmo

shovel wrote: »

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I skimmed through the manual online ,but saw no mention of putting the speakers together as a soundbar. Would be great if you could.
Can you confirm that please

There is lots missing from the manuals - like how to map a network drive ...

Here is what I think is the soundbar option - image is hard to make out as Its still daytime.

Tusky

Would it be possible to hook this up to a) a Sky box for surround sound tv and b) a Western Digital TV Live media player for surround sound Mkv's?

donegal.

you'd be better off buying a reciever , with 5.1 speakers.
something like this http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/pioneer/htp072/pion-htp071
and buying a separate blu ray player

Tusky

donegal. wrote: »

you'd be better off buying a reciever , with 5.1 speakers.
something like this http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/pioneer/htp072/pion-htp071
and buying a separate blu ray player

I don't actually need the blu ray player really. So I could hook an xbox360, sky box and WDTV Live into the one you linked?

air

donegal. wrote: »

you'd be better off buying a reciever , with 5.1 speakers.
something like this http://www.richersounds.com/product/speaker-packages/pioneer/htp072/pion-htp071
and buying a separate blu ray player

What's the primary advantage of such a setup?

I have an old DVD version of the listed Blu-Ray system. Basically an all in one DVD player and 5.1 amp with limited inputs however the DVD player packed in very early in it's life.
I was considering buying the panasonic system to replace it given that it also has optical input which I could feed from my TV.
I might even reuse my old speakers.
I was considering a standalone 5.1 receiver but they are generally a lot more expensive than this offer.

melekalikimaka

air wrote: »

What's the primary advantage of such a setup?

I have an old DVD version of the listed Blu-Ray system. Basically an all in one DVD player and 5.1 amp with limited inputs however the DVD player packed in very early in it's life.
I was considering buying the panasonic system to replace it given that it also has optical input which I could feed from my TV.
I might even reuse my old speakers.
I was considering a standalone 5.1 receiver but they are generally a lot more expensive than this offer.

hdmi input, multiple inputs for example. my popcorn media player hasoptical out, dunno bout the ps3 or xbox, but at the end of the day i dont wanna have to be swapping them everytime i change system. the all in ones usually arent very powerful or as feature rich as a dedicated and limited expandabiity

DaDeadly1

Collecting mine on wednesday, will i need to buy an optical cable to get surround working when im watching tv or playing xbox?

ozmo

DaDeadly1 wrote: »

Collecting mine on wednesday, will i need to buy an optical cable to get surround working when im watching tv or playing xbox?

Lots of xboxes - so depends on how old it is:
http://support.xbox.com/en-IE/xbox-360/audio-video-setup-and-use/connect-sound-system

You may be able to get tv to send xbox audio to sound amp over the hdmi cable without using a optical cable at all- there is mention of it in the menus but i havnt tried this.

There is no hdmi cable in the box(€1.50 in dealz)

DaDeadly1

ozmo wrote: »

Lots of xboxes - so depends on how old it is:
http://support.xbox.com/en-IE/xbox-360/audio-video-setup-and-use/connect-sound-system

You may be able to get tv to send xbox audio to sound amp over the hdmi cable without using a optical cable at all- there is mention of it in the menus but i havnt tried this.

There is no hdmi cable in the box(€1.50 in dealz)

lets just say its the worst case scenario. I know my tv has optical out so would that not do the sound from everything including the xbox once the tv optical out is in the surround system?

air

Are these left in store anywhere now? From the website it looks like online delivery only.

DaDeadly1

air wrote: »

Are these left in store anywhere now? From the website it looks like online delivery only.

I went into a currys and asked them could they order one in for me and they did, so im collecting in store tomorrow

air

DaDeadly1 wrote: »

I went into a currys and asked them could they order one in for me and they did, so im collecting in store tomorrow

Excellent, Thanks for that.
I'll do the same then.

former legend

DaDeadly1 wrote: »

Collecting mine on wednesday, will i need to buy an optical cable to get surround working when im watching tv or playing xbox?

Yes, there is no HDMI input into the sound system so an optical cable is the only option for surround. There are also analog L/R inputs but obviously that will just give you stereo rather than surround.

So mine arrived on Saturday, really happy with it. Great sound, very easy to use, speakers (esp the woofer) are compact enough not to take over the living room.

At that price, it's an absolute steal.

DaDeadly1

former legend wrote: »

Yes, there is no HDMI input into the sound system so an optical cable is the only option for surround. There are also analog L/R inputs but obviously that will just give you stereo rather than surround.

So mine arrived on Saturday, really happy with it. Great sound, very easy to use, speakers (esp the woofer) are compact enough not to take over the living room.

At that price, it's an absolute steal.

Great thanks, sounds good. Wanted to get a blu ray surround sound system for about a year. This one was priced at a steal, couldnt say no. Cant wait to get it now

ozmo

former legend wrote: »

Yes, there is no HDMI input into the sound system so an optical cable is the only option for surround.

Hi - havent tried it as my tv doesnt support it - but - the HDMI on the BlueRay player *IS* an Input (as well as being an output)

- so if you have a newish TV - No need for an optical cable in some cases.

Here is the details:
http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/hdmi_1_4/arc.aspx

This player does support this ARC standard - your TV might not - might also need a compatible HDMI cable - otherwise optical is grand.

Seanieke

OK, Prob a stupid question but will it work as a 2D player?

Maybe someone could answer this too??

ozmo

Seanieke wrote: »

OK, Prob a stupid question but will it work as a 2D player?

Maybe someone could answer this too??

Probably think Im selling these Im answering so many questions.. lol.
Have to agree with other poster that Separates can be best sound wise - but my setup was really complex with lots of boxes (amp with separate dts decoder), three remotes and power supplies and crazy cabling and convertors - so this suits me having it all in one box - plus having it on the lan now also is nice.


Re 2D - Yes - I did see that option in the menus - when the source is normal 2 channel stereo - you can have it play as 2 channel on the front speakers, or have it turn it into 3d.
If you don't want 3D at all - you could try just not plugging in the rear speakers - but I would leave the center and subwoofer as they do add a lot to the sound.

dodzy

sh1t. Back up to €250:mad:

donegal.

if you really want a blu ray player smething like this could be fine, if the price was right.

BUT if you primarily want a surround sound system to use on lots of devices, you'd be mad to get this.

former legend

donegal. wrote: »

if you really want a blu ray player smething like this could be fine, if the price was right.

BUT if you primarily want a surround sound system to use on lots of devices, you'd be mad to get this.

This is the 'Bargain Alerts' forum, not the 'Tech' forum.

At €160, this was a great deal, you will be hard pushed to find a blu-ray system with this spec at anything like that price.

donegal.

former legend wrote: »

This is the 'Bargain Alerts' forum, not the 'Tech' forum.

At €160, this was a great deal, you will be hard pushed to find a blu-ray system with this spec at anything like that price.

sorry, you are correct

i was just thinking its not a bargain if it doesn't do what you think it will do/what you want it to do. The two products look very similar but the bluray one has very few connection possibilities .

air

Was going to order this today, missed the boat by the looks of it.

ozmo

Did anyone find out the IPhone apps to use with this.

There were two mentioned - One on the box/online adverts suggests there is one where you can use as a remote and do lots of tweaking
- and one in the manual suggest there is one where you can transmit the film playing to broadcast to your IPhone...

If I am reading it right...

Havn't found them yet in the App Store...

dodzy

donegal. wrote: »

if you really want a blu ray player smething like this could be fine, if the price was right.

BUT if you primarily want a surround sound system to use on lots of devices, you'd be mad to get this.

Why? Optical out from TV not a valid option for multiple devices?

terryduff12

Mine got delivered today, nice system easy to set up have it set as a soundbar option mention in previous page, first option that came up in easy setting menu. Time to dust off farscape and get watching it

gerryk

Back to 249

air

gerryk wrote: »

Back to 249

Old news!