Panasonic SC-BT100
Manufacturer: Panasonic Part number: SCBT100
- CNET Editor rating: Not yet rated
- Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 2 reviews
- More product information:
- Editors' blog post
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Manufacturer info
- Description:
- Take your favorite movies to the next level with the Panasonic full-HD Blu-ray Disc home theater system. Blu-ray discs give you superior sound, stunning HD-quality images, and exciting new interactive capabilities like Final Standard Profile for enhanced commentary, audio mixing and picture-in-picture features previously unthinkable in the DVD format. With Blu-ray, you'll never have to leave the couch for ... Read more
Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon.com Marketplace |  | In stock | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/07/2009 |
 |  | In stock | as of 12/07/2009 Refurbished |
CNET editors' blog post
By John P. Falcone, 03/31/08
The Panasonic SC-BT100 will cost just under $1,000.
(Credit: Panasonic)
Now that Blu-ray has secured its position as the one and only HD disc format, it's only natural to see it becoming more of a standard feature on desktop PCs, laptops, camcorders, and--now--home theater systems. Samsung's HT-BD2T has been available for months, while the Panasonic SC-BT100--which debuted at January's Consumer Electronics Show--is scheduled hit stores later this spring. Panasonic has yet to confirm pricing for its model, but the unit has already popped-up on J&R's Web site for $1,000 (give or take a nickel).
If the price sticks, it would appear to be a pretty good deal at first glance (plenty of high-style home theater systems can cost more than $1,000, despite being limited to playing back standard CDs and DVDs.) Indeed, the Panasonic model has a few advantages versus the Samsung model: it has a five-disc changer (versus the single-disc player on the Samsung), an SD card slot (for playing back digital media, including high-definition AVCHD video), and wireless rear speakers. It's also said to be Profile 1.1 compliant, meaning that it can play the BonusView (picture-in-picture video content) found on some newer Blu-ray discs.
Unfortunately, there's a pretty big list of caveats as well. The Samsung is a 7.1-channel system out of the box, whereas the Panasonic is merely 7.1-ready: you'll need to invest in an additional set of speakers (and another wireless transceiver unit) to get to seven speakers. While Profile 1.1 compatibility is better than many of the Blu-ray players currently on the market, it's already behind the curve compared with the state of the art Profile 2.0/BD-Live players already announced (Panasonic's own DMP-BD50) or available (the PlayStation 3). Furthermore, the SC-BT100 is likely to have the same limitations found on the DVD-only Panasonic home theater systems for the 2008 model year: iPod video playback is only available from the low-resolution composite output, and the skimpy connectivity (just one set of analog and one digital audio-only jack apiece). Those limitations are easy to shrug off on the $300 SC-PT660 and $400 SC-PT760, but become a lot harder to justify on a $1,000 unit.
You can have your cake (Blu-ray 2.0) and eat it too (7.1 home theater with plenty of inputs and outputs) for about $150 more than the SC-BT100's asking price by investing in a $400 PS3 plus a $750 Onkyo HT-S908 home theater system. Still, compared with the $1,500 price of the Samsung HT-BD2T, the $1,000 Panasonic model comes much closer to justifying itself versus purchasing such dedicated components. As those prices continue to drop--and feature sets continue to improve--look for the reaction to such Blu-ray home theater systems begin to move from "why bother" to "why not."
Related coverage
CNET TV hands-on video: Panasonic SC-BT100
CNET review: Panasonic SC-PT660
CNET review: Panasonic SC-PT760
CNET review: Samsung HT-BD2T
CNET @ CES 2008: Panasonic's new Blu-ray player goes Profile 2.0
Crave: PS3 firmware with BD-Live support now available
User reviews
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Beware of the sc-bt100!
by canoe68 on May 14, 2009
Pros: WHEN it worked it sounded great.
Cons: Worked for 5 months.
Summary: Message for others: We will never buy anything from panasonic again!!! Our blueray player kept cutting out on the sound when we played any movies. Customer service was horrible!!! After ...
Summary: Message for others: We will never buy anything from panasonic again!!! Our blueray player kept cutting out on the sound when we played any movies. Customer service was horrible!!! After several calls and sending it out for service at their warranted repair shop it still isn't working properly. We had to pay for shipping ourselves and then were told we would have to pay for shipping AGAIN to send to the same place that couldn't fix it before...such crap. And apparently the telephone agents have ADD since they can't ever seem to refer to their notes or case number. We get the same calls from different agents with the same questions over and over again....wasting our time. We will never purchase anything again from them.
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Great sound and picture when I connected to my LN46A650
by ohadba1 on May 5, 2009
Pros: Great shound, Great Blu-ray loading and picture, Remote back speakers
Cons: Does not play Blu-Ray 2 profile features, Need 2 remotes
Summary: Great system for the price (best-but $749). Great sound. Amazing picture and very good load time.
Summary: Great system for the price (best-but $749). Great sound. Amazing picture and very good load time.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Panasonic
- Part number: SCBT100
- Description: Take your favorite movies to the next level with the Panasonic full-HD Blu-ray Disc home theater system. Blu-ray discs give you superior sound, stunning HD-quality images, and exciting new interactive capabilities like Final Standard Profile for enhanced commentary, audio mixing and picture-in-picture features previously unthinkable in the DVD format. With Blu-ray, you'll never have to leave the couch for a big-screen quality movie experience. Combining a PHL Reference chroma processor with advanced P4HD (Pixel Precision Progressive Processing) imaging technology, UniPhier - the precise digital video processor - reproduces crisp, natural colors that are extremely faithful to the original movie. It does this by up-sampling the color information in decoded video signals, while the super high-speed P4HD up-converts content recorded in 480i/p, 720p or 1080i format to 1080p by correctly generating each pixel according to information drawn from up to 60 surrounding pixels. The image motion of each pixel is then categorized into one of 16 levels, from stationary to super fast. Image quality is further enhanced by diagonal processing, which creates smooth, sharp diagonal lines, and 3:2 pull-down, which optimizes the processing accordingly for film or video making the images look natural and lifelike. In addition, the BT100's HDMI output is deep color compatible, with 4,096 steps of gradation for even smoother, finer-quality images that meet Hollywood's stringent demands, so you can experience movies just the way they were meant to be experienced. With precise digital audio, Blu-ray's beautiful images are complemented by exceptionally pure, accurate sound thanks to the included 5.1 channel surround sound of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD and expandability to advanced 7.1 channel surround sound. Use of a highly rigid bamboo material in the center and front speakers helps achieve an extremely pure, clean sound. A Kelton Subwoofer system with a dual diameter structure delivers a deep, powerful bass. Whisper-mode surround allows you to enjoy rich surround sound even when watching movies at low volume. The built-in universal dock for iPod gives you a great new way to enjoy music and video. Just slip your iPod into the cradle and enjoy. The dock charges your iPod, allows you to use the home theater remote to control the iPod, has on-screen audio menus, and also plays back iPod video. You can also use the system's convenient SD card slot, which allows easy viewing of hi-def videos and photos on your VIERA HDTV. The newly enhanced VIERA Link displays a menu on the TV screen, making it easier to operate your connected Blu-ray Disc home theater system. For example, you can display a menu with a list of the movies or music stored on your iPod, and use the VIERA remote control unit to select one and begin playback.
General
- Product Type Home theater system
- Dimensions (WxDxH) / Weight 16.9 in x 12.9 in x 3.8 in / 9 lbs, Speaker system : Right/left channel speaker : 4.8 in x 5.1 in x 13 in / 3.7 lbs, Speaker system : Center channel speaker : 11.9 in x 5.3 in x 4.4 in / 3.5 lbs, Speaker system : Right/left rear channel speaker : 4.8 in x 5.1 in x 13 in / 2.2 lbs, Speaker system : Subwoofer : 7.1 in x 12.4 in x 14.2 in / 10.4 lbs
Audio System
- Components Speaker system, Blu-Ray disc player / AV receiver
- Built-in Cradle iPod cradle
- Sound Output Mode Surround Sound
- Built-in Decoders DTS 96/24, DTS Neo:6, DTS decoder, Dolby TrueHD, Dolby Digital, DTS-ES decoder, Dolby Digital Plus, DTS-HD Master Audio, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS-HD High Resolution
- Audio D/A Converter 24bit / 192kHz
- Sound Effects Hyper-Bass
- Equalizer Yes
- Surround System Class 5.1 channel
- Amplifier Output Details 250 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 10 % - 2 channel(s) ( Front ), 250 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 10 % - 1 channel(s) ( Center ), 125 Watt - 3 Ohm - THD 10 % - 2 channel(s) ( Surround ), 250 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 10 % - 1 channel(s) ( Subwoofer ), 104 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 2 channel(s) ( Front ), 101 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 1 channel(s) ( Center ), 34 Watt - 3 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 2 channel(s) ( Surround ), 95 Watt - 6 Ohm - THD 1.0 % - 1 channel(s) ( Subwoofer )
- Additional Features On-screen display, Wireless surround channel
Connectors
- Headphone Jack Yes
- Optical Digital Input Yes
Equalizer
- Equalizer factory presets Flat, Soft, Clear, Heavy
- Equalizer factory preset qty 4
Speaker System
- Speaker(s) 2 x Right/left channel speaker - 2-way - External - Wired, 1 x Center channel speaker - 2-way - External - Wired, 1 x Subwoofer - External - Wired, 2 x Right/left rear channel speaker - External - Wireless
- Driver Details Right/left channel speaker : 2 x Woofer driver - 2.5 in, Right/left channel speaker : 1 x Tweeter driver, Center channel speaker : 2 x Woofer driver - 2.5 in, Center channel speaker : 1 x Tweeter driver, Right/left rear channel speaker : 1 x Full-range driver - 2.5 in, Subwoofer : 1 x Subwoofer driver - 6.5 in, Subwoofer : 1 - 10 in
Radio
- Type Radio tuner - AM/FM - Digital
CD System
- CD system type None
DVD
- Media Format CD, DVD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW, DVD-RW, DVD-RAM, DVD+R DL, DVD-R DL
- Upscaling Yes
- Output Resolution 1080p
- Additional Features JPEG photo playback, Progressive scanning
Cassette System
- Cassette system type None
Digital Player (Recorder)
- Type Digital player
- Supported Digital Audio Standards MP3
- Additional Features JPEG photo playback
MD System
- MD system type None
Remote Control
- Remote Control Remote control
Connections
- Connector Type 1 x HDMI ( 19 pin HDMI Type A ) - Rear, 1 x SPDIF input - Rear, 1 x Component video output ( RCA phono x 3 ) - Rear, 1 x Composite video output ( RCA phono ) - Rear, 1 x Audio line-in ( RCA phono x 2 ) - Rear, 1 x Headphones ( Mini-phone stereo 3.5 mm ) - Front
Power
- Power Device Power supply - Internal
Slot(s)
- Slot Provided 1 x SD Memory Card
Manufacturer info
- Panasonic
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Panasonic products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.panasonic.com/
- Address:
One Panasonic Way, Secaucus, NJ 07094 - Phone: 800/662-3537
