RF headphones transmit sound from your TV using a stereo frequency modulation system. These wireless electromagnetic signals can range from 3 kHz to about 300 GHz, although most types of wireless headphones use 2.4 GHz RF technology, which boasts a remarkable wireless range of up to 300 feet (~ 91 meters).
Think of it like tuning in to a mini radio station where the wireless headphones are the only thing that can pick up the audio.
RF headphones usually come with an RF transmitter or docking station and can often require RCA audio cable and 3.5 mm-to-RCA adapter cable to establish a connection with your TV. To avoid damaging your system, make sure all the parts are turned off before you make any connections.
Infra-red Headphones:
These headphones use what is known as line-of-sight technology, meaning you must be lined up with the transmitter (within line of sight) in order to receive sound from your TV. At its core, infrared technology comprises light-emitting diodes that utilize a focused beam of pulsating, invisible light from your TV to the headphones.
You must be lined up with the transmitter (within line of sight) in order to receive sound from your TV.
Bluetooth Headphones:
Bluetooth was named after the famous Viking and Danish King, Harald Blåtand Gormsen, who was renowned for uniting the tribes of Denmark into a single kingdom and his ability to help people communicate. This was actually the idea behind its nomenclature as the idea behind the technology was that it would unite devices and enable them to communicate with each other wirelessly. Blåtand loosely translates to Bluetooth in English.
The simplest explanation for how BT headphones works is that the audio is continuously transferred from a paired transmitter (in the TV) to a paired receiver (headphones). It operates in the frequency range of (2.402 -2.480GHz) and the devices can sometimes randomly hop between frequencies to avoid interference with other devices that may use a similar bandwidth.
If your TV does not have built-in BT capability, you can get an external Bluetooth audio adapter and pair with your BT headphones.
We hope this article provided some new information for you. Now that we know a little bit more about these three options, next week we will review the pros and cons of each one.