Panasonic SC-PT760 Wireless Home Theater System

The Panasonic SC-PT760 has 5.1 channel surround sound, with a 5-disc DVD changer. It upscales your DVDs to 1080p ensuring the best possible video experience.  The system includes a wireless transmission unit for the rear speakers, which are wired to the rear amplifier.

Panasonic uses a rigid bamboo material in their front speakers, which helps to achieve a clean sound. It is also cool to be able to tell your friends that your speakers are made of bamboo! It has a rather neat flip-down iPod dock, and displays a full iPod menu on the TV screen for easy navigation. The Kelton subwoofer system ensures plenty of bass, and it has VIERA link for those of you with Panasonic VIERA HDTVs.

If you are interested in expanding your audio experience beyond your home theater room, you can have playback in up to three additional rooms with optional purchase of the Panasonic SH-FX85 Wireless multi room audio kit.

The only downside with this system is that it has no video inputs and only 2 audio inputs. For those of you with more complicated setups, this may not be the ideal choice.

How much: $329.41 at amazon.com

Sony DAV-HDX576WF Wireless Home Theater System

The Sony DAV-HDX576WF has 5.1 channel surround sound, with a 5-disc DVD changer and 1080p upscaling.  Sony uses its S-AIR technology for wireless transmission to the rear surround speakers, and also includes an S-AIR Airstation speaker. This can be used as a standalone unit in a separate room, allowing for simple multi-room audio functionality.

For those of you with Sony TVs, it has BRAVIA Theatre sync which allows the home theater system and the TV to communicate. It has an iPod cradle, and auto calibration with included microphone. This is a handy feature because it takes some of the guesswork out of calibrating your home theater system.

As with the Panasonic, the only downside with this system is the lack of video inputs. The Sony system has only 2 audio inputs as well, which leaves you high and dry when it comes to more complicated setups.

How much: $380.44 at amazon.com

Samsung HT-Z520T Wireless home theater system

The Samsung HT-Z520T has 5.1 channel surround sound with a 5-disc changer. Like the others, it does upscaling of DVDs to 1080p. In contrast to the other two  systems, the HT-Z520T uses 5.8Ghz RF transmission, which means that it is less likely to interfere with wireless phones, and wireless internet.

In the “weird materials for speakers” category it comes up trumps over the Panasonic system, using “green” bio-kelp fibers, which are supposed to reduce distortion.  It has an included auto calibration microphone which will help you to get the most out of your system. Like the others, it has an iPod dock, but Samsung also include a USB host with CD ripping which offers you a few more options for playback on your system.

The HT-Z520T has 1 HDMI video input. While 2 or 3 would have been better, at least this will let you easily add in a Blu-ray system if you buy one later on. It is still fairly crippled with audio inputs, with only 2 available.

Price: 379.99 at amazon.com

Conclusion:

There is a lot of value to be had in these sub-$400 systems. You won’t get the latest and greatest features, and there is not a lot of flexibility, but you will get a system that offers basic functionality with very decent sound quality.  As you can see, there are more similarities than differences between these wireless surround sound systems. The ultimate choice depends on what you are looking for. All things considered, though, I think the Samsung HT-Z520T is the slightly better option.

Technorati Tags: Dvd player surround sound, Wireless home theatre, wireless surround sound speakers

Panasonic is looking to take the wireless home theater system experience one step further with the upcoming SC-ZT1 wireless surround sound system. The system uses 2.4GHz RF transmission to send uncompressed audio to four speakers, doing away completely with speaker wires. You will still need a power cable for each speaker, but without long speaker wires everywhere  it will make for a much cleaner looking system.

The system uses just four speaker units, each consisting of four small speakers vertically aligned, with a 5 inch down-firing woofer at the base. Panasonic uses a virtual technology to give the illusion of 7.1 surround sound with only four speakers. There will probably be a noticeable difference between this and a real 7.1 system, but it will look a lot better in the home theater.

For those of us looking for a fully wireless home theater system, you can add a Panasonic VIERA Z1 TV and a DMP-BD80, BD70V or BD60 Blu-Ray player which have wireless video transmission, giving you fully wireless audio and video.

The SC-ZT1 is slated for release spring 2009 in the US, but there hasn’t been any further updates since the press release in January. For Australian consumers, it looks like it will be released in August 2009 as a 2 speaker system according to Gadget Guy.

This system is unlikely to be gentle on the hip pocket, but if you are looking for something that will look amazing without compromising too much on sound quality, then this should be on your wish list.

Press release at Panasonic USA

Technorati Tags: Panasonic, wireless home speaker system, Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre

Luckily for you, Audioholics has just posted a great review article that covers how the acoustics of your listening room affects sound quality.  They will teach you about the all-important concept of critical distance, and how various acoustical phenomena occur, and what you can do to battle them.

“The ‘critical distance’, measured from the speaker, is reached when the reverberant sound level equals the direct sound level. The direct sound is the sound that comes directly from the speakers, without any reflections. So, at that distance, 50% of the sound is the result of the reflections on the room’s boundaries.“

In the typical home theater, the critical distance can be as little as 6 feet! If your listening position is further away than this, then you may be getting a sub-optimal listening experience. The best way to improve your critical distance is to modify the acoustics of the listening room, by absorbing or diffusing the reflected sound ways.  While this sounds expensive, it doesn’t have to be.

“…acoustical improvement constitutes one of the most efficient and economical ways to enhance the performance of a sound system, since all the various listening parameters can be improved in a very significant way. For the DIY, it is possible to treat a room with affordable semi-rigid fibreglass panels.”

Even if you aren’t all that DIY minded, acoustical improvement can be as simple as covering your windows with curtains, or putting a big fluffy rug on your wooden floor. It sounds simple but it can give a big boost to your wireless home theater system. Of course, you could just hire a consultant to do it all for you, but where is the fun in that?

How Does Listening Room Acoustics Affect Sound Quality? At Audioholics

Technorati Tags: acoustical improvement, room acoustics, Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, wireless surround sound speakers

So, you have purchased your wireless home theater system and have the box (or boxes) sitting in your room. The first thing you want to do is start unpacking and get your system set up as quickly as possible so you can enjoy your new toy.

While this is completely understandable, if you set everything up without a plan for optimizing your speaker placement, you risk ending up with a wireless home theater system that won’t reach its full sonic potential. To help you get the maximum bang for your buck, I have found a great article at crutchfield.com that covers the basics.

Here are some points which I found especially useful:

• If your center channel speaker is on top of your TV, make sure the front edge of the speaker is precisely aligned with the front edge of the TV screen to reduce distortion from sound reflections.
• Your front left and right speakers and center speaker should form a slight arc, with all three speakers equally distant from your chosen listening position. Measure carefully – even a few inches can make a difference.
• Your rear surround speakers should be to the left and right of your listening position (between 90 and 110 degrees with respect to your TV), but not pointing directly at ear level. If this is not possible due to your room situation, then feel free to experiment with other positions as the positioning is not that critical. This is where wireless home theater systems have the advantage. You can place your wireless surround sound speakers in the best position for audio quality without having to worry about where you are going to put all the wire.
• Your subwoofer can go just about anywhere.
• Leverage your room’s acoustics. If you have a small satellite speaker that is lacking in base, mount it close to the wall. If your speakers sound a bit muddy, you might see some improvement in clarity by moving them away from the wall.

For more information and some great diagrams, check out the full article here

Technorati Tags: speaker placement, surround sound speaker placement, Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, wireless surround sound speakers

Are you looking for the convenience of a wireless surround sound system, but want to stay up to date with the latest technology? The Panasonic SC-BT100 wireless home theater system might be worth checking out.  It is one of the first home theater in a box systems to come bundled with a Blu-ray player instead of a regular DVD player, and couples this 5.1 channel sound with wireless surround sound speakers.  At a price of around $1000RRP this system looks to pack in a lot of features for a very reasonable price.

Features:

• Blu-ray disc player with 5-disc changer
• 5.1 channel surround sound
• Wireless surround sound speakers using 2.4GHz transmission
• iPod dock
• SD card slot for playing back digital media

Advantages:
The Panasonic SC-BT100 system is especially well regarded by reviewers for its excellent video quality, as you would expect from a manufacturer who (in my opinion) makes some of the best HDTVs. The upscaling to 1080p is handled especially well by the system. Also handy is the iPod dock and SD card, which give the system more functionality than a basic wireless home theater system.  The system will also easily upgrade to 7.1 surround sound with the purchase of another wireless transmitter and pair of wireless surround sound speakers.

Disadvantages:
Despite excellent video and a great feature list, some reviewers think that the system is let down by its sound. It depends who you ask: at testfreaks.com and whathifi.com the reviewers claim that the sound is too harsh. At hometheatermag.com they think that the system has a “not unpleasantly warm coloration,” and remains easy to listen to even at high volumes. If they can’t all agree then in my opinion it can’t be that bad, right?

Conclusion:
If you want for a high-end wireless surround sound system that comes complete with Blu-ray player and a list of other great features, then look no further. The video quality is reportedly amazing. While the reviewers may disagree about the overall sound quality, at a price of $1000 RRP  the system is great value of money. Get it at amazon for $548.87 and the value is even better!

More information:

For more information, check out these reviews:

hometheatermag.com

whathifi.com

testfreaks.com

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, Wireless surround speakers

Words can’t even begin to describe how awesome this little device is. The small circular touchpad does a great job of finding its way around the screen, and the keyboard is the perfect size to thumb type. I barely ever use my other computer now. Whether I want to browse the web or watch a movie, this little keyboad does it all. The battery life is fantastic too, lasting up to a month in some cases.

The only complaint I have with this keyboard is that sometimes the trackpad seems to drop out for a second or two. This is only rarely, and seems to be fixed by giving the trackpad a break for a second or two before resuming. It seems to happen more often when the battery is running low.

If you have a home theater PC connected to your home theater system, I would seriously recommend getting one of these. 

Technorati Tags: Wireless home theater system, Wireless home theatre, Wireless surround speakers