First the agony, then the ecstasy (more or less)

My family recently took the plunge and bought a Panasonic plasma for our living room as a second TV. While setting it up, I read about something called "VieraLink" - a way for Panasonic devices to talk to each other over an HDMI connection. My curiosity piqued, I hit the web to find out what kind of other toys might want to talk to my TV. An hour later I had placed an order for the SC-BT100. Buyer's remorse kicked in almost immediately: did I really just spend almost a grand for a receiver and a glorified DVD player?

The math is simple: a comparable home-theater-in-a-box (HTIB) system can be had for around $350. Throw in another $350 for a Blu-Ray player and you can build a functionally similar setup to the SC-BT100 and still have $300 left in your wallet. A-ha, but Panasonic still has a few aces up its sleeve here. First, there is the simplicity of having the Blu-Ray player included with the HTIB setup instead of as a standalone component; second, there is the interoperability promised by VieraLink; and finally, the icing on the cake - wireless rear speakers, which I figured would save a few hundred bucks in electrical work by avoiding the need to have speaker wire fished through my walls.

The first benefit is apparent right out of the box, as setup for the SC-BT100 is very straightforward. Panasonic obviously realizes the HTIB solution is aimed at home-theater rookies and people who like to keep things on the simple side, as they have gone out of their way to color-code everything.

Unfortunately, one of the components of this "keep it simple" philosophy backfired during my install. Panasonic provides 18-gauge speaker wire with bare wires on the speaker end, and a proprietary snap-in connector on the receiver side. The wires they provide are very short, and created some logistical challenges while deciding where to install the speakers. In the end I had to make a trip to Radio Shack and get instructions on how to perform a splice using a wire nut to extend the rear speaker wires. Something to note if you are the type who is into a completely fished, in-wall setup with no wires showing - you will definitely need a sautering iron and some extra wire to achieve your goals.

Wait - did I just say rear speaker wires? I thought they were wireless? Well, actually, they're both. They are wireless in the sense that they don't actually connect back to the main receiver; there is a wireless transmitter that snaps in to the back of the receiver, and a remote receiver that you place in the back of the room. But they do have wired connections to this remote device, which is itself connected to A/C to provide power to drive the rear speakers.

Finally, as for the VieraLink...what followed was a multi-step process involving two product manuals, three remote controls, one extremely UNhelpful call to Panasonic customer service, and enough swearwords to make a Longshoreman blush. Let's just say it was not easy. It really should be - the steps are simple: 1) Turn on VieraLink function on the TV; 2) Enable and configure the functions using the TV remote; and 3) Set the audio properties using the SC-BT100's remote. However, neither product's manual gave a clear picture of the whole process, requiring me to try and stitch the two instruction sets together to make something meaningful (which took two days, because I literally gave up on day 1). The final challenge was that configuring the audio wasn't done on an on-screen menu, like everything else in the process, but using the LED panel on the face of the SC-BT100. Why? The process was such a mess that I almost gave up. I'm glad I didn't, because the result is pretty sweet: the receiver powers on automatically when the TV is turned on, and changes audio inputs to match whatever source I select for the TV. Sure, you could do most of this with macros on a good home-theater remote, but this is slightly more cool because the link works both ways, so popping a disc into the player automatically tunes the TV to the appropriate HDMI input.

So how does it sound? Pretty darn good, fairly comparable to the mid-pack Yamaha receiver and Cambridge Soundworks speakers in the other room. The subwoofer has serious punch, which is surprising because it is completely passive.

The Blu-Ray player looks great, even upscaling standard DVDs to look great on the new Panny TV. Our one BD title currently is "Live Free or Die Hard," and stuff blows up real good with this system. Real good.

If you pull down a hatch on the front of the unit, surprise - there's an iPod dock! I plugged my 4G video iPod in without the need for any adapter (your mileage may vary, depending on your iPod model) and it started charging right up. When switched to iPod mode, you can either control the iPod through an on-screen guide ("Extended" mode). This is what I tried first, and immediately discovered the fatal flaw with this method - moving through the menus takes forEVER. Literally. I have over 5,100 songs on the device, and calculated it would take over 35 MINUTES to scroll through my entire music catalog. If you can't live with this, or want to watch videos from your iPod device on the TV screen, you can do so using "Simple" mode which requires you to use the iPod's own on-device controls. You will also need a video cable connection from your iPod directly to your TV, which the SC-BT100's manuals don't make clear. As an added bonus, connecting up your iPod will also charge the device, even when the HTIB system is powered off.

The Blu-Ray disc door and iPod dock both feel somewhat flimsy, so don't let your kids bang around on them too much.