Modern Vespa

I'm thinking of setting up a mini media suite in work so students can watch TV, DVD's, digital media on a largish LCD/ Plasma screen TV and tutors can use it for presentations etc (TV will be connected to a PC/ Mac for digi media presentations).

I would like to be able to connect stereo headsets to the TV so students can listen to the wireless audio without disturbing others in the room. I envisage a group of students to be no more than 6 - 8 at one time. I've looked at the possibilities of linking bluetooth headsets via a bluetooth transmitter plugged into the TV. Is this a viable idea? can 8 headsets pair similtaniously with one transmitter? are there any better options (infared etc)?

I do have a limited budget (about £1000) for the whole project so costs need to be kept to a minimum.

Any ideas??? [/b]

I'm not up on some of the Bluetooth solutions, but you might want to take a look at some of the products our friends at Sennheiser make.

I know they're a big player in systems used in theaters and concert venues for the hearing-impared. I think most of thier stuff is IR based.

Good luck, hope this helps...

Cheers Kib, i've looked at a few options but I cant get any info on whether you can run multiple headphones off one transmitter (either Bluetooth or IR) it seems that you obviously get one transmitter per set of headphones but i would want to connect 6-8 sets of headphones off one transmitter. Is this possible,? will there be any degradation in audio quality?

Any advice?

I'd consult the folks over at AVSforums... Best of luck.

Bluetooth wouldn't work. There's not enough bandwidth to stream more than one stereo audio signal simultaneously. If you added several bluetooth adapters and paired each to a headset, you could possibly do it.

Otherwise look into an IR-based solution.

There is a wireless headset system that my church uses to provide translation services for the Spanish speaking members of our congregation. I'll check on the system and let you know next Monday what their using, how many headsets it supports, and if I can get someone to talk the cost of the system. We have a large auditorium and the signal reaches the rear with ease.

It should fit your needs and shouldn't be difficult to wire the audio from your system into the transmitter for the headsets.

Canford Audio may be able to help...
http://www.canford.co.uk/

A simple wireless headset transmitter can support as many headsets as you can fit in the room. You simply need headsets tuned to the same frequency as the transmitter and within the range of the transmitter. You don't want or need IR, as the signal is more easily blocked than high freq radio. The "wireless" headset units with one transmitter and one headset would work if the headsets could all be tuned to the frequency of the one transmitter in use. I'd just check with the vendor.

After reviewing their spec sheets, the Sennheisser looks like it would work. They do offer additional headsets, eliminating the need to buy a transmitter with each headset. Since the transmitter also serves as a battery charger for the headset, you will need to find another solution to that.

I'd locate a tech savvy UK vendor and discuss it with them.

Bluetooth is overkill for this application, even if it could handle the number of headsets.

Al

Cheers for the info people, i've decided to go down the route of Sennheisser Hi-Fi Wireless Headphone - RS120, they seem like a good option, price is good and they will do the job.

Jim that stuff on the Canford Audio site nearly gave me a stroke
shit! that stuff is expensive

Christos-

My experience is that when you price "professional" stuff, it's sky high. Just like a piece of "boating" hardware will sell for 50% more than the exact same piece of hardware in a general hardware store.

Good luck

Al

C.X. -

Been a bit busy, sorry I couldn't get right back to you...

If the Senn RS120 works for you, great. I guess I was thinking in terms of believing they had a product that had a single IR sender that could be used with multiple IR headphone receivers, that way you'd only have to send the audio signal to one transmitter.

After seeing the post on some of Sennheiser's professional-line equipment, it may have been one of those products I was thinking of (yeah, crazy $$$ for some of that stuff but depending on the scope of work, you sometimes have to bite the bullet...)

If you have not already placed the order, I also recall Sony made a similar product at one time.

Again, good luck. Sounds like you're trying to take good care of the students. I'll try and keep an eye on the thread to hear how it works out.

[EDIT: One last thing comes to mind... you might Google "ADA" (Americans with Disabilites Act) audio systems. I realize you're in the UK, but there's a law here in the states that calls for assistance for folks with disabilites (like hearing-imparement) in public facilites. I suspect there are a number of products that might meet your needs and because of the legislation, might be priced to make it easier for facilitiies to comply]