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Upgrading your home cinema setup to surround sound is easy with all-in-one systems such as Panasonic’s BTT370. This mid-range kit includes a Blu-ray player that also doubles as an A/V receiver for a powerful 1,000W 5.1 speaker system, which should be more than enough power for any living room.
The Blu-ray player supports all the features we would expect, plus several more that make it much more useful. As well as support for 3D Blu-ray movies, Panasonic’s conversion algorithm can upscale 2D content into 3D; we still aren’t convinced that the option is worth using, as the effect is rarely prominent enough to notice, but you may enjoy the effect. DTS Master Audio and Dolby TrueHD audio are both supported for a cinema-quality audio experience.
Like most all-in-one systems, connectivity on the BTT370 is fairly limited. The highlight is the two HDMI inputs that let you use the 5.1 speakers with a games console or set-top box, without having to reach behind the unit to change over cables. A standby pass-through mode will let you use any connected devices on a connected TV without having to turn on the speakers – audio will come through the TV’s speakers instead. Other connections include composite video out and optical S/PDIF and analogue audio inputs.
Once you connect it to your local network using the built-in WiFi or Ethernet port the BTT370 becomes a whole lot more useful. DLNA media streaming lets you play multimedia files from a PC or network hard disk, or you can play content directly from the internet using VIERA Connect. When we first saw the internet TV service last year we weren’t overly impressed, but this latest version is a big improvement.
The interface is exactly the same as the one built into Panasonic’s TVs, so all the usual channels are present: YouTube video streaming, AceTrax on-demand movie rentals and catch-up TV courtesy of BBC’s iPlayer service. The High definition stream looked very sharp and even standard definition footage had a surprising amount of detail. If you don’t already have an Internet-enabled TV, the BTT370 is a cheaper way to get the same content without having to upgrade.
Unlike the larger BTT775 that we looked at last month, the speakers included with this system are much more compact and would be better suited to a small room. The rear left and right satellites are tall and slim and are the perfect size to sit either side of a sofa on a coffee table or bookshelf. Stands are included, although you can wall-mount them if you prefer.
The centre speaker and two front satellites don’t come with stands, so you’ll either need to buy some or wall-mount them to get the best angle for 5.1 audio. Each one is about the same size as a coffee cup, which is refreshingly unobtrusive, but the plastic build quality is disappointing; we would have liked to have seen more study speakers given the price, especially when compared to the superior centre and rear satellites.
The multiple drivers in each rear speaker help produce a well-rounded sound that isn’t drowned out by the downward-firing subwoofer, as well as clear high notes and a strong mid-range. Despite their small size, the front satellites still managed to produce powerful audio.
Watching our test footage, the surround sound effect in Casino Royale was very immersive, with no discernable gap in audio. Bass notes were slightly too boomy until we turned off the extra sound processing, which made gunshots and explosions reverberate through our test room. Even at higher volume, there was no loss of detail from the centre speaker behind the rumble of the subwoofer.
At roughly £100 less than the bigger Panasonic SC-BTT775, the BTT370 is an excellent value all-in-one system that does much more than just surround sound. If you want a simple system that doesn’t require a separate amplifier and don’t mind the below average build quality on the front speakers, this is certainly a great option.
The extra features such as DLNA media streaming and catch-up TV make the main unit much more than just a Blu-ray player, and audio quality from the speakers is ideally matched for a small- to medium-sized living room.
