Cut The Cord
Adding a Bluetooth transmitter and receiver is a great way to upgrade an older TV or a newer one not fitted with Bluetooth.
Living in a condo or an apartment often means listening to your favorite movies in a subdued volume so your neighbors sharing a common wall aren’t hearing the loud special effect sounds of an action movie shaking their wall. Instead of plugging headphones into your tablet to watch streaming movies, maybe you just want to watch your 65” TV after everyone else has gone to bed.
Bluetooth Transmitters
If you have been hoping for an easy way to pair one or even two sets of headphones to a TV, a small Bluetooth transmitter is an answer. Bluetooth 5.0 low latency TX (transmitter)
They can hook up to any TV using the supplied mini plug which is the most common model and even connect to any RCA output with a “Y” adaptor or many transmitters are supplied with multiple audio adaptors. In most models, the volume on the TV may be muted and you will still hear the sound through your headphones.
Bluetooth For Most Devices
You are not limited to a TV and headphone experience, you can use them for wireless Bluetooth speakers, mobile phones, tablets, and PCs to TV. I even use one to link my desktop with my phone for making and receiving phone calls directly from the PC.
Options
There are dozens of valid manufacturers offering Bluetooth transmitters/receiver combinations, but you don’t want to purchase anything complicated. User-friendly Bluetooth transmitters are the best way. For example, if you are interested in only upgrading your TV to Bluetooth Transmitting only the “1Mii” B06TX Bluetooth 4.0 Transmitter made specifically for TVs is a great choice at only $43. Quality sound, simple one-button pushes for either one or two headphones. It comes complete with all the cables needed to work on 99% of all TVs.
It is important to make sure they offer low latency or “Lag-Free-Synchronization” models to keep the sound in your headphones synced with the sound on the TV. The models that have aptX HD which supports 24-bit audio file transmission via Bluetooth while reducing signal-to-noise ratios while making for a cleaner sound and are worth the few extra dollars. Bluetooth 5.0 for TV should only cost you from $20 to $100. On the low end of the spectrum, if you don’t mind a Bluetooth 4.2 transmitter/receiver the SZMDKLX on Amazon is only $7.99.
How To
Surprisingly, it is very simple to convert your TV to a Bluetooth transmitter.
- Determine the correct sound outports available on your TV
- RCA (the red and white ones)
- Mini (small receptacle for the mini plug)
- Optical (almost square covered opening)
- Add power to the Bluetooth transmitter, you may use it in the 5W supplied adapter or plug it into your TV’s USB port if it has one
- Select the correct cable to match your TV’s audio ports and plug them in. In some cases, if your purchase only included a mini plug, you might need an RCA “Y” adaptor to a single female mini plug
- Push the Bluetooth pairing button on your transmitter and on your headphone, they should automatically find each other
- Put your headphones on and enjoy
Note: Most phones, tablets, etc., have a mini plug to plug your wired headphones directly into the device but if you want to listen from across the room, simply reverse the process and plug your wired headphones or speakers into the Receiver Mode.
Summary
I have installed dozens of transmitters/receivers for clients and once the headphones or earphones are paired, they only have to be turned on in the future to connect to your TV sound. It is hard to beat the low prices, convenience, and simplicity of installation and use.
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Hi Jim,
We live in a condo with exterior walls. Can you recommend any specific Bluetooths for our smart TV? We are all on the same cable with Spectrum, using their remote. Husband does not like to use headphones. Thank you, Barb
Hi Barb, I like these four the first 3 are sold on Amazon and are great for long range transmission. The first is the “HomeRTX Pro” it is a little pricey at $80, the second is the 1Mii B03 Long Range Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter Receiver at $60. The 3rd is the 1Mii an upgraded unit from the Bo3 above but is $80. They are all returnable so if they don’t meet your needs you can send them back. The next one is sold at Crutchfields and sounds more like what your looking for it is the Russound X1-TX8
4-source wireless audio transmitter it is more expensive because it works best with its own receivers with 100 feet transmition this is the priciest but cuts the need of wires through walls. I hope they are what you are looking for.