Panasonic SC-BTT775 Blu-ray 5.1 home theatre

In the dock

Next to that front panel is a section that slides out to reveal a dedicated iPod dock, which will also charge your device while it’s plugged in and allow you to control it using the Panasonic remote control. There’s also an FM radio on board.

The iPod dock adds to its versatility, and there's an FM radio too

The identical front and satellite speakers each include a pair of 3.5 x 10cm oblong cone bass/mid drivers, surrounding a 2.5cm semi-dome tweeter – the centre channel uses the same configuration, minus the stand. The subwoofer, meanwhile, uses a downward-firing 16cm driver. Incidentally, the sub doesn’t require an extra power port – everything runs off the main player.

The graphic interface is easy enough to find your way around, and conceals plenty of settings options for the jiggery pokers among you, including 3D settings to adjust depth and border and individual volume levels for each speaker. There’s also an option to convert 2D images to 3D if you really want to get some more use out of that new 3D screen.

Panasonic’s Viera Live internet portal covers the basics with YouTube, AceTrax film downloads, and EuroNews, as well as Skype and Twitter, weather, Picasa and DailyMotion video clips. Not an extensive line-up by any means, but getting better, and access using Ethernet was quick and hassle-free. There’s also the option of a wireless receiver add-on, if you prefer to connect to your home network using Wi-Fi, but it will set you back around £106.

The main menu highlights the playbackback options

You can customise the main screen to feature your seven favourites and juggle them around at will with other services on the lower menus. However, there’s no browser and no Brit TV catch-up service like BBC iPlayer or ITV Player either. Not yet anyway.