Any soundbar type system worth it?

[2K6TBSS]

Can you post a pic of the setup? Are you using it as a soundbar, or separates? I have a Panasonic TV in the bedroom that I would be interested in getting a setup like this for.

Also, does it mount to the TV in some way, or do you mount the soundbar to the wall?

I don't have any pics. We're using it as a soundbar. It sits right under the TV in our setup where the TV is raised a little. If you had to put it on the same shelf or level as the TV, it wouldn't fit right and would block the IR sensor on the TV if you put it on the included stands. It doesn't mount to the TV, but it does come with the stands and brackets for a few mounting options. You could certainly mount it to the wall as either a bar or separates. All the hardware is there.

Keep in mind that my TV was manufactured in 2007, so the newer ones may be a bit different.

The sub sits on the floor. It has to be fairly close because that's what everything plugs into and you also need to have it where you can hit it with a remote for volume control. I suppose with longer cables you could put it about anywhere, but the speaker cables the unit comes with are probably 10 ft long or so which doesn't give a whole lot of options.

Thanks for the info. My Panasonic TV is about 5 years old, so it's probably about the same as yours.

I would probably mount the speaker as a bar on the wall under the TV, then fish the wires down the wall to hide them. I will have to look into this setup for the bedroom.

 

[LilBastage]

Thanks for the info. My Panasonic TV is about 5 years old, so it's probably about the same as yours.

I would probably mount the speaker as a bar on the wall under the TV, then fish the wires down the wall to hide them. I will have to look into this setup for the bedroom.

That would work perfectly. In fact, that's how I would have done it if we had our TV mounted on the wall.

I'm very pleased with it, especially for the price. It was less than $150 on Amazon when I ordered it and I had a $50 gift card to use. It's a little more now, but this type of item seems to fluctuate quite a bit.

Oh, and Tom, I'm right there with you. Kids are off of school today. I've not had the need for liquid refreshment like this in some time...

 

[JHolmes763]

Being as it's all Panasonic, does the volume adjustment from any remote control the soundbar or do you have to use that specific remote? I have a panasonic TV and Blu-ray player and the remotes can be used almost interchangeably, except for the device specific stuff. If the soundbar plays well with everything, I may have to add it to my wishlist.

Do all sources on the TV get routed to the soundbar? i.e. Blu-ray on HDMI, satellite box on AV1, Wii on AV2, etc.?

 

[Kxthor911]

Holmes. That is a feature that is controlled by hdmi. I would suggest you look and see if it has a hdmi input or if its fiber optic or the RCA type connection. If its not hdmi than its definitely a no. The feature is annoying to me so I have it turned off, it's called hdmi cec.

Some people don't like the feature because if you have a receiver blu ray player, tv and ect all with the controls on then it will turn everything on and off when you push the power button on any remote.

Ps. It does not matter if all the brands are the same.

 

[LilBastage]

Being as it's all Panasonic, does the volume adjustment from any remote control the soundbar or do you have to use that specific remote? I have a panasonic TV and Blu-ray player and the remotes can be used almost interchangeably, except for the device specific stuff. If the soundbar plays well with everything, I may have to add it to my wishlist.

Do all sources on the TV get routed to the soundbar? i.e. Blu-ray on HDMI, satellite box on AV1, Wii on AV2, etc.?

It's all part of the Panasonic Viera system (or whatever it's called now). We have Dish Network and the remote for that controls the TV and SAT functions, including volume. I use the Panasonic Blu Ray remote for movies because it lets me control volume and I find it more functional with the player than the TV remote. The Panasonic TV remote will work everything (with limited specific functionality) if I want to use it. This works as long as you turn the TV speakers off. If you leave them on, you'll have to use the specific remote for the soundbar/sub to control volume.

If you have a newer TV with ARC, you can get more functionality than I can. Our TV doesn't have ARC.

This system has 1 HDMI input (I use that for the Blu Ray), and 2 digital audio inputs (I use those for the OTA and SAT). When I switch sources, the sub chooses the active channel to broadcast the correct audio. I'm not sure how you could hook up more than 3 sources, but I'm sure it's possible.

Holmes. That is a feature that is controlled by hdmi. I would suggest you look and see if it has a hdmi input or if its fiber optic or the RCA type connection. If its not hdmi than its definitely a no. The feature is annoying to me so I have it turned off, it's called hdmi cec.

Some people don't like the feature because if you have a receiver blu ray player, tv and ect all with the controls on then it will turn everything on and off when you push the power button on any remote.

Ps. It does not matter if all the brands are the same.

The functionality I'm talking about is Panasonic specific. None of my devices turn on unless I choose to turn them on. I have it set up so that the when the Blu Ray player comes on the TV and sub switch to the correct inputs. It is all controlled via HDMI, but the Panasonic stuff does have specific settings to set this up so everything works how the user wants it to work. It makes it a very easy task to set it up for the folks in my family that want to watch TV/Movies without messing with anything.