Hardware: Using Headphones

[Black Hole]

This is just a quick tip in case anybody needs it.

I'm in a situation where really I need to use headphones much of the time, and my tool-of-choice is a set of RF cordless headphones (not expensive - Teccus if that means anything to anybody, I probably saw them advertised somewhere). They work great with the cheapie Asda-brand TV in the kitchen, but the main LG 32LD690 is crap - for an otherwise excellent telly the headphone socket does EVERYTHING wrong.

The Asda TV operates the main speakers and headphone socket independently with independent volume controls, so I can leave the headphone transmitter plugged in all the time at a suitable volume and just choose to mute the main sound when I need to (being cordless, the headphones have a convenient volume control built-in).

The LG TV cuts the main speakers as soon as anything is plugged into the headphone socket, so I have to keep connecting and disconnecting if I ever want to use main speakers, but to add insult to injury it seems to have a weak output so I have to ramp the volume up to max - otherwise the headphone transmitter thinks it hasn't got a signal and powers down. Even then it's intermittent. Seriously, in the times BH (Before Humax) you could find me watching the big HiDef screen in the lounge with the headphones fed from the kitchen.

What's more, there are no audio output phonos on the back for a surround sound amp, so nothing else to source the sound from except the SCART. I tried that, and it was better for live TV (constant sound level independent of the mute button), but once the Humax came along and I was feeding the TV from the HDMI - the SCART output disappeared (only available from the tuner).

If I had my time again I would be more critical of sound handling when buying a telly, but I might still have wound up with the LG because it ticked a lot of other boxes at the time. You might have a TV that works better in this department, or you might not use headphones so it doesn't bother you.

With the Humax I needed another solution, and although it doesn't have a headphone output there is a standard set of SCART and phonos on the back. I have my SCART connected to an analogue PVR (handy for converting to DVD format), and the stereo phonos connected to my headphone transmitter.

So now, whether watching recorded or live, I use the Humax as the signal source and either have the TV speakers on, or mute the TV and listen through headphones from the Humax. The only problem I am left with is to keep switching the lip sync between 0ms (TV speakers) and 160ms (headphones). Doh!

 

[brianmt]

Have a similar problem, I have to run a loop for hearing aids and do it the same way as yourself I use the Humax because the headphone socket mutes the speakers. I think you'll find the majority of modern sets do that. It's very rare to have a separate headphone output.

 

[Black Hole]

Obviously that's the easy way, and old-fashioned unsophisticated equipment did it that way because all you did was to put a switching headphone jack in line with the speaker outputs. But if a supermarket cheapie Freeview TV can run the headphone socket from separate outputs on the chipset with full independent management (and enough power), why the heck not a £400 telly?? Somebody's missing a trick.

 

[gomezz]

I feed my AV amp from the PVR using the optical audio connection which means that it is irrelevant that my (Samsung) TV cuts sound from its internal speakers when I have my cordless headphones plugged into it.

 

[grahamlthompson]

All the TV's I have had in recent years have one scart that you can elect to output an alternative to the internal tuner. Often called monitor which outputs what you hear from the TV speakers irrespective of source.

 

[gomezz]

Usually AV2. Mine is connected to my hi-fi stereo amp for better listening appreciation of music programmes than I get from my AV surround-sound amp. I also have a separate feed from my PVR direct to my hi-fi amp so I can listen to Freeview radio recordings without having the TV turned on. And a third audio feed direct from my Freeview PVR to my AV amp so I can listen to the 5 Live F1 commentary while watching the race in HD on my Freesat HD PVR, either live or chase-playing (needs a bit of practise to synch the two playbacks).

I think I need to write a user guide for my house sitter for when I go on holiday.

 

[Black Hole]

All the TV's I have had in recent years have one scart that you can elect to output an alternative to the internal tuner. Often called monitor which outputs what you hear from the TV speakers irrespective of source.

Yes, well, see, that's where my pre-purchase checklist let me down.