Official Panasonic BT270/370/770 Owner's Thread - Page 7

Hey just stumbled across this thread and I had the same problem as you @KoolDre, I was playing around with it for ages and then after messing with the 'surround/sleep' button a load of times and changing it to 'manual' it worked. Although I had done this previously it seemed to work that time after setting it to 'Super Surround', and now all is fine. Don't know if this'll be any help at all, sorry if it's not.

I know the 2011 Panasonic Blu-Ray units support Netflix in 5.1, but can anyone confirm or deny whether these HTIB units will do so? I can't find this information *anywhere*.

The new 1.43 firmware that NovaKane mentioned has a tantalizing description:

"Adds support for Viera Connect Service"

Does that mean that the Viera Cast functionality is replaced with Viera Connect? Can anyone who's done the update report on the results please?

Hi, wondering if anyone can assist me in the issue i am having with sc-btt770p.
I have connected my cablevision high def box to sc-btt770p through hdmi then connected it to my panasonic gt30 tv through HDMI as well.
the picture just looks aweful (grainy and not sharp). Once i connect it directly from cable to home theater, everything looks great. Blu ray looks awesome as well.

anything i am doing wrong? missing a setting? tried everything in sc-btt770p settings but cant figure out

I have just added a Panny Btt370 Home Cinema to a Panasonic TX-P50G20BA Plasma and a Humax FoxSat PVR. On powering up the Panny Home Cinema I set the input to Digital-In (Optical cable) from the Humax but when I then use the AV function on the TV to select Hdmi1 (from Humax) the screen turns green (sound but no picture). Selecting 'ARC' as the input on the BTT370 has the same result. Any ideas? I have the BTT370 coupled to the TV via Hdmi2 (ARC).

I see there's been some discussion on this previously but can't locate any solutions...HELP!

They support 5.1.

We have nearly the same set up: Panasonic BTT370, Pana Tx-42G20B, and FoxsSat PVR, (as well as Humax 9150T)

Couldnt get everything to work with Harmony remote and ARC or Optical cables, and did get green screens but can't remember what settings caused them.

Have now turned off Viera controls and Hdmi detection (which I think may have been involved) on both Tv and BTT370 and am using its Aux input and RCA leads for its Sound connection from Tv, with Tv's Hdmi2 for Video from BTT370. Foxsat is on Tv's Hdmi1, and 9150 is on Tv's Av1.

Everything seems fine and no green screens but please let me know how you get on!

Thanks for the input. That's interesting but do you not lose the 'HD' quality when you start using RCA signals e.g. the 24p Cinematic quality?

I have tried turning off Viera Controls and HDMI Content Detection but to no avail :-(

Any SW combination involving the BTT370 on the TV's HDMI 2 (ARC) Port and the FoxSat on the TV's HDMI 1 Port causes the Green Screen conflict. The only sledgehammer over-ride is to switch the TV off and on again. This is just not palatable right now.

I've also been experimenting with the HDMI by-pass on the BTT370 (with a HDMI feed from the Humax FoxSat). This seems to work OK (as in effect all signals to the TV route into HDMI 2 Port on the TV. BUT there doesn't appear to be a neat way of 'toggling' between Blue-Ray and Humax signals on the BTT370 controls. Maybe I'm missing a trick?

I thought I had the answer yesterday. The guy at Richer Sounds where I sourced the BTT370 informed me that I have to use a HDMI 1.4 cable as this is ARC compliant. Seems that each and every HDMI cable isn't the same> rushed out and traded my budget HDMI cable for a 1.4 quality one today but alas it makes no difference whatsoever.

I bought 4 Hdmi 1.4 cables for £7 from USA on eBay, but they didn’t make any difference either….


Was not really sure what 24p is but assumed it was a type of HD and Wikipedia, among other things, says ‘…24p formats are being increasingly used for aesthetic reasons in image acquisition, delivering film-like motion characteristics.’ So am still none the wiser!

In our set up the Tv is the hub because it has discrete input commands in the Harmony database, and anyway PVR9150T needs SCART. The RCA leads just take Audio, from Tv's Analog Speaker output, to BTT370 via its Aux input. Surround sound and audio settings seem to be effective and and don't think HD (Video) is involved. Couldn't get an optical Audio connection to work.


Yes ARC doesn't seem much use - our set up is just like this, but with Audio on BTT370’s Aux input there is no Green Screen.


I did not try that but even Harmony’s database contains no discrete commands which would switch directly back and forth (toggle) between BTT370’s inputs. The ‘Home’ command displays the ‘Home’ screen but it is ‘InputRadio/ExtIn/iPod’ which opens the list of inputs and cycles through them with subsequent button presses.

However, as above, we need to stay on Aux (for FoxSat on BTT370’s Hdmi1 you would need to stay on Hdmi1) which is remembered when going from Aux to Home, so then pressing ‘InputRadio/ExtIn/iPod’ recalls Aux, which is the next best thing to a 'toggle'. For us this is only needed when first powering up the BTT370 because it always starts up in Home, and this would presumably apply if you had FoxSat on BTT370's Hdmi1 too.

However, when using the 'HDMI by-pass' set up, would you not need the input to be set to ARC occasionally, to fetch the Audio from a programme on the TV's tuner?

i.e. Re. your question about Toggling between Blue-Ray and Humax signals on the BTT370 controls:-
(provided that Hdmi1 was the last input setting which was used before playing a DVD etc.) I think that, after playing a DVD or after doing something else from the Home screen, if you press 'Home' button and then press the ‘InputRadio/ExtIn/iPod’ button, this should return BTT370 to Hdmi1 input for FoxSat.

We picked up the BTT270 a couple weeks ago, along with a Samsung UN60D6000 TV. I'm having a dickens of a time getting ARC to work. The TV is ARC compatible, and I've got the proper cable.

Anybody gotten ARC working? I don't need to have a Panasonic TV, do I?

There seems no reason why you would have to use a Panasonic Tv, but please see the earlier post and replies so far.

If you can't get ARC to work either, then perhaps it doesn't matter. It does not seem essential but would just reduce the number of leads by one.

Right....settle down for a stiff drink. I've racked up quite a few calls to the Panasonic Technical Centre today and one to Humax. Their (Panasonic) Technical Lead appear to be familiar with the workings but it took 3 calls to find him!

For me it seems that however I reconfigure the architecture when I have the Humax plumbed to the Hdmi 1 Port and the BTT370 to the Hdmi(ARC) Port 2 I ALWAYS get the Green Screen. This is irrespective of whether I disable Vierra Link, Disable Hdmi Content Detection OR run an RCA Audio lead from the TV to the Home Cinema System. I have reconfigured the BTT370 upteen times to set the Aux port for the input. However when I switch back to the AV1 (Hdmi 1 Port ) on the TV there's a green screen to welcome me. I can overcome this by switching off and on the TV but this seems drastic.

Now it get's interesting. Since ARC doesn't seem to do anything I decided (on a hunch since if ARC isn't doing anything then why not!) to switch the HDMI leads over so that Humax feeds the HDMI2 port and the BTT370 is connected to the HDMI 1 Port (but with the Aux port enabled with the RCA cable). I have validated this several times and hey it kinda works. So in summary I just can only replicate your Aux solution if I switch the Hdmi ports around! This way I can toggle between HDMI 1 &2 ports on the TV using the TV remote. Vierra link works. There are two residual problems:

1) I'm not convinced that the colours or picture have been maintained. When watching a HD channel it appears OK but when watching a standard definition channel (now on the Hdmi 2 port!) we think the picture is fuzzy
2) If you pause a Blue Ray/DVD film and toggle to the Humax (now on Hdmi 2) and then back to the Blue Ray the film has stopped and you have to start the disk in the BTT370 all over again. It resets to Aux. It was never like this with Scart sockets!

The Technical guy states that the Panasonic Hdmi switching is fine but there are occasional compatibility problems with Sky/Humax etc. He kindly offered to send an engineer out as he couldn't explain the fault but we agreed that I'd check with Humax first.

Now, Humax state that this (Green Screen) is indeed a known problem but is limited to the Fox Sat HDRs i.e. it doesn't affect the terrestrial kit. Apparently they've taken the design of the HDR "as far as they can" but no firmware update has resolved the problem to date. However the Humax Call Centre guy has referred the query onto the techies so I may get a more in depth response. Humax state that in most cases switching the Hdmi ports resolves the problem. Coincidence eh!..given I'd tried that earlier in the day! Humax claim that it's something to do with the way Vierra Link works on the Hdmi 1 port. It seem seems that the switching protocol on the Hdmi 2 port fo the G20 are different to 1,3 &4 and Humax are clearly exploting that to get their kit working.

The Panasonic guy stated that the HDmi port 1 is 'designed' to take the input from the line TV, PVRs etc but I'm not exactly sure what that means. There must be some advantage to having the TV signal into the HDmi 1 port as all the reference books indicate Hdmi Port 1 should be used. Any ideas?

Now I'm going to wait a few days before I decide next steps. It appears that whatever brand Home Cinema I purchase I'm likely to encounter the same problem as there is a compatibilty problem between the Panasonic G20 and the Humax. (or you could say with the Panny G20 as maybe other TVs don't suffer from this). I guess if enough of us raise this with Humax they may be inclined to do something but to date most of their sales are with the Terrestrial kit, not the Free Sat. Panasonic will not initiate any dialogue (with Humax) as as far as their concerned their kit works.

However I feel 'cheated'. I'm having to fudge a solution when the a) the Hdmi should look after a fairly simple switching issue! i.e. surely to goodness there's a solution out there as I can theoretically see the benefits of the ARC function but surely it can't be that difficult to realise in practice!! b) I'm not convinced I'm now seeing a quality signal with the Humax inputting on thee TV's Hdmi port.

I'm reluctant to ditch the Humax since it's only 10 months old and you kinda get used to it! Certainly my other half is wedded to it.

Well done Jonnow for chasing things down! but...
While this is still possible, we continue to have no problems at all with Humax FoxSat HDR connected to G20's Hdmi1 (while Panasonic BTT370 is on G20's Hdmi2)

To do this with Harmony it seems necessary to turn off Viera and possibly also Hdmi detection, and to use Tv as hub and Aux for sound, when green/yellow screen is not a problem - so would recommend this set up if you do have problems.

We are happy with being able to press one button on the Harmony to turn on or switch between any of four components, with BTT370 handling the sound, another button to change channel etc. in any mode, and one button to put into standby any box which is currently powered up.

We have both Humax terrestrial PVR9150 and FoxSat HDR for direct comparison and there is barely a perceptible difference in picture quality when they are played through the Panasonic G20 (which upscales the SD picture from Pvr9150). We prefer the interface and programme guide of 9150 which is generally slicker and does not make you wait around while deleting recordings, but in each case the colour and clarity is excellent. I Reckon that the quality of the video broadcast is more significant than HD/non-HD on the receiver. If in doubt, and especially in view of the digital switchover with better signal strength imminent, go for the non-HD terrific Pvr9300T which offers Hdmi. 9150 needs SCART but both feature low power standby.

It is only a pity that G20 needs help from BTT370 with the sound. G20 gives a picture which is true to life and is in my opinion superior to the exaggerated HD effects of 'posterisation' with high brilliance to be seen with some other HD tvs. However, our old Samsung CRT tv in the bedroom is almost as good, with better sound, so perhaps the technical advances are not so remarkable after all ...and not to worry too much about using ARC

I have recently bought a PANASONIC VIERA TX-P42S30B 42" Full HD Plasma TV and a PANASONIC SC-BTT270 5.1Ch 3D Blu-ray Home Cinema System. I was having similar problems to some of those mentioned here and found this thread while seeking solutions. I had a cable box running into HDMI 1 using the HDMI cable that it came with while the high speed HDMI cable I bought with the TV and HTIB unit is connected from the HTIB to the HDMI 2 on the TV, these are ARC compatible. I also had a Optical Cable running from the TV to the HTIB unit but was never really satisfied with that set up and after reading this thread I unplugged the optical cable from the TV end and plugged it into the cable TV box. Instead of using the D-In setting for the audio I am now using the ARC setting and the sound is much better. After settling with that set up I decided to have a look through the set up options on the HBIT HOME page under Set-Up and found the bit about setting the sound to PCM or Bitstream. Now I had it running on Bitstream with the box on the bottom about the BD player set to Off but as I wasn't sure what this actually meant or which setting was better I decided to change them to PCM. I googled "PCM or Bitstream" but came away more confused than ever so my question to you good people is could you tell me based on the above combination what would be the best audio setting PCM or Bitstream and should the box at the bottom of that screen be set to on or off.

Edit: Removed. For an explanation see BIsladers's post below...

bluesjunior - I am confused about your setup. I gather you have a TV, a cable box, and the sound system with a built-in Blu-ray player. Yes?

If your cable box is connected with HDMI to the TV, then an optical feed from the set top box to the sound system is the way to go. TVs only pass stereo from HDMI sources. That's true with the TV's optical output and with ARC. Using optical from the cable box will give you DD 5.1, provided the set top box is configured to output DD 5.1 on programs that have it.

PCM and bitstream refer to audio being fed from a source such as a disc player to a receiver. But, if your player is built into the AVR, then there's no audio being fed to the AVR. So, I do not understand where that setting comes into play in your setup.

I have no idea what idicev's post is about. (Sorry, but I suspect he doesn't either.) Again, from the way I see your system, you are not using the Digital Audio Output. That would only come into play if you were sending the audio from the sound system BD player to another receiver for processing.

BIslander, I guess it may be modern films but what sort of programmes tuned on Tv or Pvr are most likely to be in DD 5.1 please?

re. the interpretation of CPM/bitstream and BD on/off settings, please do go ahead and enlighten us

Hi - you mention 'similar problems' ....can you clarify whether this was the 'Green Screen' problem and if yes how you resolved it please? (or is it just the audio side that you've been experimenting with). PS What Cable Box do you have installed?

Not exactly sure what you mean to be sure but I will try and explain the way I have it hooked up again.

I have a Panasonic 3D HDTV and the same Panasonic 3D Blue-ray HBIT system this thread is dedicated to. I have the 270 version which only has one HDMI connection which is (ARC) capable and one Optical connection. The TV has 3 HDMI connections of which number 2 is (ARC) capable and one Optical connection. The Virgin cable digi box has one HDMI connection and one Optical connection. I originally had the HDMI cable from the Blu-ray going to HDMI 2 on the TV and also had the optical cable going from the Blu-ray to the TV and the HDMI cable which Virgin provided going from the cable digi box to HDMI 1 on the TV. With it set up that way I could watch TV via the Virgin box on the HDMI 1 channel on the TV and when I wanted to watch a movie or such on the Blu-ray I had to change the TV channel to HDMI 2 and then use the Home screen to choose whichever option I wanted eg Disc or USB flash drive. To get HTIB audio on the TV using this set up I had to change the setting from Home to D-In every time I changed back and fore between the HDMI 1 & 2 channels and also only got 4.1 surround audio on all settings except Manual Super Surround on the TV channels. I also had another problem when I would switch on the TV on a morning when sometimes the sound would be from the HTIB unit and other times just from the TV speakers.

As this did not seem a satisfactory arrangement I decided to go online to seek a solution and found this thread. After reading my way through it I became aware that I wasn't the only one having problems but also learned a bit about the ARC function and the difference between Normal and High Speed HDMI cables. So taking the view point that the Virgin cable was probably a Normal HDMI I unplugged the TV end of the Optical cable and plugged it into the Optical connection on the Virgin Digi box instead. Now instead of the D-In setting it automatically chooses either ARC or HDMI when I change between the HDMI 1 & 2 channels on the TV. I am also getting 5.1 surround sound on more than one setting on the HTIB unit and the sound also is much better, so feel that swapping the cable over has been an improvement on what I had previously.

After doing this I decided to go through the set up process of the HTIB unit again and while doing this noticed that on the Digital output (i think) screen there were three boxes with the option for either PCM or Bitstream and a fourth box at the bottom with an option for something to be switched on or off. The three boxes were set on Bitstream and the box at the bottom set at off. I changed these from Bitstream to PCM with the other box set to on just to hear (if any) what difference it made. By now I was getting tired and decided to leave it alone until today and in the meantime google what the differences were between PCM and Bitstream and to post a thread here to this end as well. From what I can gather you are saying that the boxes should be set to Bitstream and Off?. Otherwise I would like some clarification on if I have it all hooked up as good as it can be for optimum performance. Thanks for your replies.

By the way.The HDMI cable going between the ARC connections on the TV and HTIB unit is a http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sandstr...74247-pdt.html and the Optical cable is http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/sandstr...74242-pdt.html and I didn't pay those prices I got a 50% rebate on them plus the screen cleaner and extension cable free. I would have bought the cables on Ebay but the salesman said about needing a better grade of HDMI top get the best of the 3D so I thought what the heck and got them there.lol

Re. "From what I can gather you are saying that the boxes should be set to Bitstream and Off?"

yes but following OP's comment I deferred and deleted most of my post I now would be interested in what BSslander has to say too...


Re. "So taking the view point that the Virgin cable was probably a Normal HDMI I unplugged the TV end of the Optical cable and plugged it into the Optical connection on the Virgin Digi box instead."

Already using Tv's Hdmi1 for Foxsat and Hdmi2 (both cables 1.4) for BTT370, I just tried getting sound from FoxSat to BTT370 with an optical cable but that was silent on D-In for foxSat. ARC works for Tv and 9150 on Tv's Av1, but doesn't work for Humax FoxSat because, although sound is heard, upon going from Hdmi2 to Hdmi1 the picture is purple!
(I guess this is due to the Humax-accepted incompatibilty between BTTnnn and Foxsat)


Re. "Now instead of the D-In setting it automatically chooses either ARC or HDMI when I change between the HDMI 1 & 2 channels on the TV. I am also getting 5.1 surround sound on more than one setting on the HTIB unit and the sound also is much better, so feel that swapping the cable over has been an improvement on what I had previously."

That sounds interesting.
I have just tried it again and agree that both TV and 9150 (on Tv's Av1) may sound better on ARC compared to Aux which I have been using, thanks. However Tv's Viera Link has to be on for ARC to work, which unpredictably turns BTT370 on and off, apart from probs with Harmony, so its back to Aux.

bluesjunior:

First, the only difference between a Standard and a High Speed HDMI cable is support for 1080p video and 3D. And, even then, a Standard cable will often work with those functions, especially at short distances. (Also, you do not need a better quality cable for 3D. As long as a cable is made to HDMI specifications, it will work as well as any other cable.) Both types of cables support all audio formats. So, the cable from the set top box was not responsible for any of your issues.

Rather, when routing the audio from the set top box through the TV, you were limiting the output to stereo because most TVs will not pass DD 5.1 from HDMI connections. By using an optical connection from the set top box to the receiver, you can get true surround sound.

The Digital Audio Output settings are irrelevant in your setup. They would matter if you were sending audio from the Blu-ray player to another receiver for processing But, you aren't doing that. You are processing the audio locally.

In the US, most primetime broadcast network shows are done in DD 5.1. Many cable networks also do lots of shows and movies in 5.1.


Those settings control the format of digital audio sent to an external processor. They have no bearing on audio processed by the unit itself.

Thanks. This thread discusses 5.1 Tv in UK:-
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1599645

Thanks for the reply BIslander, I get it now and have changed the settings back to Bitstream and Off. Been playing around with it this afternoon and the sound is most definitely better, much fuller than the manual super surround setting and it seems to work much better when shifting between ch1 & 2. thanks again for the explanation you as well Idicev.

According to this advice for getting 5.1 from any HD broadcasts carrying surround sound:-
Have just tried FoxSat -> BTT370 Hdmi1, with Optical connection from FoxSat -> BTT370, and BTT370 -> Pana G20 Hdmi2 for video, which only momentarily gives Green screen when BTT is first powered up. Thanks very much for clarifying things.

Does anyone have discrete commands or codes for any of the inputs: FM, Aux, ARC, i-Pod, D-In, Hdmi1, Hdmi2, please?

Sure thing. Glad to help.

Good day ladies and gentlemen. I have the 370 and want to hang my rear surround speakers on the back wall. I am having a hard time finding a bracket that I think will work. I'm not impressed with the little keyhole (or whatever type) the hole is. What are you using to hang your speakers for the 370. I would like model numbers please as this would greatly help me to get the right thing.

Thanks much for your time and I appreciate it.

sn

Looking for advice on speaker stands for the rear speakers of the 770s. They are like 3" x 2.5". Curious what others have successfully used and thoughts on them.

Thanks.

JR

Hi everyone,

I recently bought a Panasonic BTT370 and a VIERA TX-L42E30B and I have a strange problem when listening using the BTT370 5.1 sound via ARC and watching Digital (over air) TV - I get surround sound but no sound through the centre speaker?

I have tested the setup using the BTT370 and the test signal through all speakers is fine, all speakers are connected OK.

Also, when I play a Blu-ray disc all 5.1 speakers play.

But, if I select "Home Cinema" using the Viera Link then the TV speakers mute and the 5.1 BTT370 speakers play - that is, all of them except the centre speaker! (the BTT370 displays "ARC" in its display window)

My connections are:

Aerial (Coaxial)--->TV
TV---->BTT370 (both via ARC HDMI slot)

and that's it!

If I watch TV using the TV speakers then the sound is fine, but if I switch on the Home Cinema (via Viera Link) I can't get that centre speaker working via ARC???

(as I said it DOES work when playing Blu-ray)


any ideas anyone?

p.s. I first noticed the problem when the centre speaker didn't play when I was watching internet TV (BBC Iplayer) but I assumed it was some problem with the internet transmission. but now I realise its an ARC Problem.

p.p.s. I have tried removing, wiggling and reseating the HDMI cable and even tried a different HDMI cable - no difference