Panasonic SC-BTT583 Blu-ray Home Theater System - A Bang for Buck System

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 Home Theater System comprises of everything you need but the TV to setup a room entertainment system, promising storming 3D visuals and audio out of the box - or so it claims. We take it for a spin to see if it delivers the goods.

Home Theater in a Box

For movie buffs who shun sound bars thinking that they lack the aural punch required of a proper cinematic experience and yet still want a simple-to-setup home theater system, there are several from the usual suspects who offer complete home theater systems to choose from.

Panasonic recently refreshed their audio/visual product lineup and today we are taking a look at the SC-BTT583 Blu-ray Home Theater System. The SC-BTT583 is one of two complete home theater systems to be introduced by Panasonic and it packs a bewildering array of features that is to be expected from a modern home theater system. To be accurate, it's actually a Home Theater in a Box (HTiB) system as all the required pieces are neatly packaged in a mid-sized box and is designed to be easily set up. It's also coined as such because you can easily purchase a HTiB system at your favorite electronics retailer and is of a manageable size that you can personally transport it home.

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 Home Theater System consists of a 3D Blu-ray player/receiver and a 5.1-channel speaker system.

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 Home Theater System consists of a 3D Blu-ray player/receiver and a 5.1-channel speaker system.

 

For the SC-BTT583 Blu-ray Home Theater System, Panasonic promises a complete 3D experience. For starters, it has full HD 3D Blu-ray playback and also comes with Panasonic’s own 2D-3D conversion technology so that regular 2D DVD and Blu-ray movies can be converted into 3D with real and natural depth perception.

On the audio front, the SC-BTT583 features Panasonic’s new 3D Cinema Surround sound which is capable of simulating 25 virtual speakers from only a 5.1-channel speaker setup. Lastly, the SC-BTT583 also uses Panasonic’s Anti-Jitter Digital Amplifier technology that reduces distortion to create crystal clear sounds. The speakers themselves are also made using Bamboo Charcoal PP cones. Panasonic has been using Bamboo in their speaker construction for a few years now and they say that it reduces sound resonance. On top of that, because bamboo is extremely porous and lightweight, it also gives the speakers quick responsiveness and a crisp sound.

We shall be putting all its claimed features and capabilities to the test as we run the system through a variety of formal and informal test materials in the later pages. Meanwhile, we've a string of photos to show you more of what the product has to boast:-

The 3D Blu-ray player doubles as an AV receiver and also features an integrated iPod dock.

The 3D Blu-ray player doubles as an AV receiver and also features an integrated iPod dock.

 

There's also an iPod/iPhone dock stowed neatly away in the player/receiver. Note that the integration of a dock in a HTiB system of this class is a fairly new feature and is seldom seen in other systems.

There's also an iPod/iPhone dock stowed neatly away in the player/receiver. Note that the integration of a dock in a HTiB system of this class is a fairly new feature and is seldom seen in other systems.

The front panel flips down to reveal the Blu-ray drive along with the SD/SDXC memory card reader and a USB drive.

The front panel flips down to reveal the Blu-ray drive along with the SD/SDXC memory card reader and a USB drive.

Going to the rear, on the left, you'll find the AC-in as well as connectors for the speakers. The connectors and the speakers themselves are color-coded for easy setup.

Going to the rear, on the left, you'll find the AC-in as well as connectors for the speakers. The connectors and the speakers themselves are color-coded for easy setup.

Over on the other side of the receiver/player's rear, you'll find all the connectivity options. From left to right, you'll find a USB port, an Ethernet jack, an HDMI output, two HDMI inputs, digital audio in, FM antennae jack, auxiliary inputs and a composite video output jack.

Over on the other side of the receiver/player's rear, you'll find all the connectivity options. From left to right, you'll find a USB port, an Ethernet jack, an HDMI output, two HDMI inputs, digital audio in, FM antennae jack, auxiliary inputs and a composite video output jack.

The remote control has a logical and sensible layout. However, we found ourselves constantly mixing up the "home" and "up" buttons due to the small circumference of the directional buttons layout.

The remote control has a logical and sensible layout. However, we found ourselves constantly mixing up the "home" and "up" buttons due to the small circumference of the directional buttons layout.

Test Setup

For readers who have been closely following our reviews of audio/visual products, our testing material should be familiar by now. While it may seem boring to test the same tracks, it ensures an equal playing field for all products and also gives us a common reference point for comparison. Of course those are just the common formal test tracks that we'll be reporting based on testing this and other previous products. Further to that, we've also tried the system with a mix of audio and video materials from our personal collection to get a better feel of how the system handles a breath of media formats and its audio dynamics.

As usual, we’d like to point out that different people have different musical tastes, so your preferences with speakers may vary. The best way to find out if a pair of speakers is right for you, as it has always been, is to audition them yourselves in a proper environment.

To test the Panasonic SC-BTT583’s audio capabilities, we loaded our usual suite of MP3 test tracks into a USB flash drive and stuck it into the receiver’s USB port. To see how the SC-BTT583 performs while watching movies, we have also included Michael Jackson’s This Is It on Blu-ray and also the Superman Returns Blu-ray movie. This variety of test tracks should give us a good all-rounded feel of the SC-BTT583's overall capabilities as a home theater system.

MP3 Audio Track Testing:
 

  • Hotel California - Eagles
  • Sail on Soothsayer - Buckethead
  • Melt My Heart to Stone - Adele
  • Elements of Life - Tiesto

Blu-ray Testing:
 

  • This Is It - Michael Jackson
  • Superman Returns

Setting Up

Before we begin our analysis of the Panasonic's SC-BTT583's performance, here's some notes about setting up the Panasonic home theater system. Connecting the speakers to the Blu-ray player/receiver was as straightforward as possible as the wires and connecting ports are all color-coded.

Fire up the Panasonic SC-BTT583 for the first time and you'll be greeted by a setup screen which helps configure and tests the speakers to make sure they are all properly connected. You'll also be given the option to configure the playback for sources such as CDs, iPods and USB flash drives, either in regular stereo mode or in surround mode. For the purpose of this test, we will be evaluating the system mainly in stereo mode, but we'll also add notes at the end with regards to surround mode performance. Of course for movies, we used the surround mode since they are best enjoyed with enveloping audio.

For anyone who has a Panasonic Smart TV, the SC-BTT583’s user interface should be familiar. It looks slightly dated - we suspect mainly due to the use of the Serif fonts - and is not as responsive as we would have liked. Fortunately, the layout is pretty straightforward so trying to find what you are looking for shouldn’t be an issue. That said, there are some quirks to the SC-BTT583. For example, if you are playing music from your USB flash drive for example, returning to the main menu will stop music playback.

If you have an Internet connection, you can enjoy Panasonic's Smart Viera platform, which has apps such as Twitter and YouTube.

If you have an Internet connection, you can enjoy Panasonic's Smart Viera platform, which has apps such as Twitter and YouTube.

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 also features the company's Smart Viera platform, which gives access to Smart TV functions and apps. This is useful for users who have older TVs that do not have Smart TV capabilities. Admittedly, Panasonic's Smart Viera platform isn't the most refined, but it does have useful applications for communication and newsgathering, such as Facebook and Associated Press. For music lovers, there's SHOUTcast radio, which gives access to to a bewildering array of Internet radio stations playing all sorts of music.

MP3 Audio Testing

The Eagle’s Hotel California remains one of the all-time great reference tracks and first impressions of the SC-BTT583 is decidedly average. The opening drum sequence failed to blow our socks off and there’s a general sense of hesitancy and also muddiness when it comes to low notes. Henley's famously raspy vocals are a good test of a speaker's ability to produce textured sounds and while the SC-BTT583 did sound pretty clear, it was lacking in details.

On Adele’s mellow Melt My Heart to Stone, vocals were clearly reproduced but lacked body, this resulted in Adele’s powerful voice sounding more tinny than it should. We also noticed a lack of punchiness in the overall sound, the drum beats in particular, sounded hesitant.

On Tiesto’s Elements of Life, the track sounds and feels lively enough. There’s enough urgency from the beats, but sadly, it’s just not hard hitting enough. You get the sense that while the front channel speakers are working hard, the subwoofer is once again lackadaisical in its performance. The subwoofer seems to be all over the place, blanketing the entire track with a mush of bass.

Buckethead’s Sail on Soothsayer is a much less hectic track and with its heavy focus on guitars, the Panasonic SC-BTT583 manages to claw back some points. On this instrumental track, the guitars sounded relatively clear and the speakers coped well with the track’s faster sections. However, the distorted components of guitar sounded too blunt.

Next, we tried playing the tracks in surround mode. As we had expected, there’s a wider sound stage and a slightly more spacious feel to the sound. Also, vocals sound a tad bit clearer. However, we found that separation wasn’t as clear and distinct. This was apparent on Hotel California during the guitar play between Felder and Walsh.

MP3 Testing
Score
Hotel California - The Eagles
7.0
Sail on Soothsayer - Buckethead
7.5
Melt My Heart to Stone - Adele
7.0
Elements of Life - Tiesto
7.0


Blu-ray Testing

 

Michael Jackson - This Is It

Michael Jackson’s This Is It is a decent title that lets us gauge the all-round capabilities of any audio system and the Panasonic SC-BTT583 proved to be a decent performer in this aspect. Compared to our earlier MP3 testing, Blu-ray testing demands a different skill set from the speakers. With MP3 testing, it was really critical listening, on Blu-ray however, what we are looking for is overall feel, while still keeping the basics in mind.

Wannabe Startin’ Something was the starting track and while the SC-BTT583 did a convincing job of replicating a good overall concert feel, we noticed that like earlier, it was missing punchiness and bass performance was weak. This became even more evident on the more aggressive Jam and They Don’t Care About Us. While dialogue and vocals were relatively clear and well-handled, low notes were lacking the impact we were expecting. Beat It is a fast and fun song and the SC-BTT583 handled it pretty well. But again, that punchiness and that urgency is missing.

Fortunately, as we fiddled around with the equalizer settings, we found one that enhances the overall feel. The SC-BTT583 has four equalizer settings, by default it is in Flat, and apart from that there’s Heavy, Clear and Soft. After a bit of experimenting,we found that the system works best with Heavy. It focuses the front channels, hardens the treble and adds more impact to the bass. Even so, the bass is still kind of mushy and lacks definition.

 

Superman Returns

Finally, we put on Superman Returns to see if the Panasonic SC-BTT583 can deliver a true cinematic experience.

The latest iteration Panasonic’s 3D Cinema Sound technology boasts of producing cinema-like sound by simulating a total of 25 virtual speakers from a 5.1-channel speaker system. To put this technology to the test, we listened intently to the opening sequence of Superman Returns where The Man of Steel’s home planet of Krpyton gets blown up.

Here, the SC-BTT583 delivered a pretty impressive soundstage as we could clearly hear the debris of planet Krpyton getting blown past us. The SC-BTT583 also sounded pretty authoritative. Again, the boominess of the subwoofer is apparent, but in this case, it does add to the overall cinematic feel somewhat.

Moving on to the scene where Superman rescues the falling airplane (around the 30-minute mark), the SC-BTT583 managed to reproduce dialogue clearly enough; and perhaps thanks to the boomy subwoofer, the scene conveyed a genuine sense of hysteria and panic.

With the SC-BTT583, Panasonic claims that a genuine surround sound experience can still be had even if you placed the rear surround speakers alongside the front channel speakers. This is a boon because one of the downsides to a 5.1-channel speaker system is and always has been the rear speaker setup. Prior planning is definitely necessary if one wishes to avoid unsightly wires running across the house. However, we found Panasonic’s claims to be over optimistic and we would recommend placing the rear surround speakers in the rear - as they should be - for the optimal performance. Even so, we have to comment that the rear surround audio was more complimentary and didn't really add much impact due to their tiny stature and low-cost build.

 

This Is It - Michael Jackson
Score
Wannabe Startin' Something
7.0
Jam
7.0
They Don't Care About Us
7.0
Beat It
7.0
Superman Returns
Score
Opening Sequence
7.5
Airplane Scene [33:00 mins]
7.5


Home Theater on a Budget

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 Blu-ray Home Theater System offers users a fuss-free solution for setting up a 3D home theater. It packs a 3D Blu-ray player/receiver and a sufficiently competent 5.1-channel speaker system in one neat package, meaning the only thing you need to complete your setup is a television.

On the audio front, the SC-BTT583 is let down by its poor subwoofer performance which has somewhat of a split personality. The subwoofer is either very weak in certain audio segments and excessively boomy in others. Its boominess often blankets the rest of audio spectrum, leading to a very subdued mid range. The subwoofer also often sounds lazy and hesitant, so all in all, this leads to a somewhat frustrating music listening experience. On the flip side, the boomy subwoofer does lend itself pretty well to watching movies as it creates a more dramatic movie-viewing experience for a small room. At its range, the SC-BTT583's overall audio performance can be summed up as decent, but average. A tidier and more competent subwoofer would certainly have elevated the SC-BTT583's overall performance score.

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 Blu-ray Home Theater System may not be the most aurally accomplished HTiB systems we've tried, but at S$599, it is certainly one of the most bang for buck.

The Panasonic SC-BTT583 Blu-ray Home Theater System may not be the most aurally accomplished HTiB systems we've tried, but at S$599, it is certainly one of the most bang for buck.

While the SC-BTT583’s audio performance leaves much to be desired, it does pack loads of useful features. The SC-BTT583 also supports Panasonic Smart Viera platform, which gives users access to Panasonic’s Smart TV functions and apps such as Twitter and YouTube. This is a much welcomed feature especially for users who have older TVs which do not have Smart TV capabilities.

On top of Smart Viera, the addition of an integrated iPod dock into the player/receiver unit is a really thoughtful move considering how widespread iPods and iPhones are. The ability to also play content directly from USB drives and SDXC memory cards also makes it very easy to transfer media content to play on the SC-BTT583.

All in all, with its very attractive price of just S$599, it’s really very hard to fault the SC-BTT583 even if its audio performance leaves much to be desired. For movie enthusiasts on a shoestring budget who require a well integrated set-up, it’s hard to get a better option than the all-in-one Panasonic SC-BTT583.

Our articles may contain affiliate links. If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission.

Share this article