Most manufacturers these days are offering a ‘tall boy’ speaker option on their key systems, and the Panasonic SC-BT330 Blu-ray Home Cinema System is no different. With a very similar specification, the taller speakers and improved sub-woofer are the only differences between this model and the SC-BT230.
If you’ve been looking around at home cinema systems from other brands, you’ll notice that the Panasonic SC-BT330 is a little more conservative in it’s looks than say the Sony BDV-E870, but that’s not to take anything away from Panasonic here – they design their products to last the test of time, so whilst it may not look cutting edge now, it will still look good in few years time when fashions have changed. Overall though the SCBT330 looks good, with the taller speakers looking solid (see below for full image) and well made.
The Panasonic SC-BT330 is also feature rich with the sought after features like an integrated iPod dock and Panasonic’s Viera Cast system. There is also the option of making your rear speakers wireless if you have trouble running cables to them from the main unit, with the SH-FX71 wireless rear speaker kit. Perhaps most importantly these days though is that it is now wi-fi ready – simply plug in the DY-WL10 wireless dongle into the USB socket on the rear, and you’re connected and can enjoy all the new online features of Blu-ray disc.
Being an all in one system, flexibility in terms of connection options was never going to be the Panasonic SC-BT330’s strong point. However, it does have two optical inputs, and two USB sockets, and a single HDMI output, which is ARC (Audio Return Channel) ready so that the unit can receive audio signals from a compatible television through the cable without having to connect an additional optical cable from the television to the home cinema system.
What to consider before you buy the Panasonic SC-BT330
An additional HDMI input would have set the system apart from the crowd, and would have made the system a little more flexibile.
Why you should buy the Panasonic SC BT230 Blu-ray Home Cinema System
With a street price only around £50 more than the SC-BT230, this system with it’s taller and easier to position speakers (you won’t need to pay extra for speaker stands!) is a good deal and is a sensible purchase for now and the future. Rating: /5
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can i buy the tallboy speakers as a seperate item to connect to my sc-bt230 system
if so will it sound as good as it does now.
Hi Ian. They are essentially the same speakers, but in a taller unit. I’m not aware of them being available separately.
Hi Ian, yes in theory it should all connect but I don’t if the speakers are available separately.
Hello, where can I get a speaker cable (with the adapter) for the BT330 from, I’ve seen
one on Ebay but it’s in the USA, is there anywhere in the UK I can get one from.
Hi yes you can get speaker cable from panasonic uk, the rear speaker cables are cheaper on ebay but for other accessories such has fromt speaker cables and remote control they are much cheaper direct from panasonic