Wireless TV Headphones

The appeal of wireless TV headphones are pretty obvious.  Not only do you get the ability to enjoy your television without bugging others in the home, but a good wireless TV headphone set will likely give you better sound quality than your television's original speakers.  After all, the manufacturer of your television was not thinking about directing the sound at one person; instead, they had to design the speakers to perform for a crowd.  With wireless headphones for TV, however, you can change that, and direct optimal audio directly at your ears and your ears alone.  In this article, we'll look at different types of wireless TV headphones and discuss the pros and cons. 

Infrared is a type of electromagnetic energy, and is part of the same spectrum as radio waves, x-rays, gamma rays, microwaves, and ultraviolet.  Visible light is also part of this spectrum, with infrared falling just between it and microwaves, which introduces one of the first problems with infrared technology.  It requires line of sight, which means you have to be able to see the transmitter, which will be located by your television and connected with a wire, any time you expect the wireless TV headphones to work on your head.  This is not the hard limit you might be thinking, though, as you can always run a longer wire from the TV to the transmitter and place the transmitter in a better place if you have issues.  To get an idea of what will and won't work, consider a television remote.  Notice if someone is standing in the way, you get nothing?  It will be almost the same with infrared wireless headphones for TV.  I say almost because there's typically more technology involved in wireless TV headphone sets then remotes, which means that you will have a bit more flexibility with where you stand, and turning your head won't necessarily break the connection as the receiver on the headsets are often tri-directional.  So unless you begin examining the back of your seat, you should be fine.  Also, since it is nothing but a light ray that you can't see, infrared won't travel through walls.  This could be more of a boon, though, as this means it cannot interfere with any other devices in the house that are outside of that room.  Infrared wireless TV headphones are not suitable for outside use; the sun also produces infrared light, which will disrupt the signal, sort of like some jerk screaming non-stop on a third phone while you're trying to have a conversation with someone.  His loud noises will keep you from understanding the more delicate speech.

RF stands for radio frequency.  Basically, RF wireless TV headphone sets broadcast much like a radio station, only much shorter range and on a much tighter band.  They can work up to 300 feet in any direction from the transmitter, though walls and any other solid objects in the way will limit this drastically.  They work on the same bands as cordless phones, so if you own a cordless phone, you'll want to pick one that operates on a different frequency.  You should be able to find the frequency listed somewhere on the phone; it'll be something like 900 megahertz or 2.4 gigahertz.  Also, as anyone can listen that is on that same band, it is possible that your neighbors will be able to use a headset (or possibly even their cordless phone) and hear what you're listening to, regardless of volume.  This is a double edged sword, as you could also pick up their telephone conversations with your headphones.  Cordless phones and wireless TV headphones aren't the only things that can interfere with each other, however.  Wireless routers and even the electric fields that major appliances and electronics produce can also cause distortion of the RF signal, which will degrade the audio quality.  RF headphones work great outdoors, and if you can see your television, you can probably bet that your wireless TV headphones will work just fine, regardless of where the transmitter is located, as long as it's plugged in. 

A recent addition to the choices of wireless TV headphone sets, Bluetooth technology has been used widely in computers and cell phones for some years.  As of yet, there aren't very many options when it comes to Bluetooth wireless TV headphones, but that's likely to change.  Bluetooth is superior to infrared in that it does not require line of sight, and superior to RF in that it's not as susceptible to interference.  The reason it's not as susceptible to interference, however, is also Bluetooth's biggest downfall.  It only has a usable range of about 30 feet, which means it won't receive or cause interference beyond that range.  Otherwise Bluetooth is pretty much the same as RF – in fact, Bluetooth is just short range, pulsed RF. 

The choice is going to be mostly a personal one, though there are some hard limits.  If you're going to be using your wireless TV headset outdoors, or if there is going to be anything at all between the transmitter and you, including a bookshelf or entertainment center, infrared is out, and you'll have to use RF.  That being said, if you know you're going to have line of sight between yourself and the transmitter, infrared is likely going to be the way to go as it's not really susceptible to interference like RF.  Pretty much every other scenario is going to require either RF or Bluetooth.  If you're going to be within 30 feet of the transmitter at all times, then Bluetooth is certainly the better option, as long as you can actually find Bluetooth wireless TV headphones.