how do I use Bluetooth headset across platforms?
April 12, 2008 4:45 PM Subscribe
Can someone explain Bluetooth to me - please? Specifically, use of BT headsets with different devices (more inside)
I always thought of myself as fairly technical but I am stumped by meager documentation and utter lack of miti-vendor support.I have a Thinkpad (X60 tablet), and BlackBerry Pearl. Can I use my Voyager 510 BT headset or any other BT headset (and if yes, how) to:
1. Talk on my Pearl
2. Listen to streaming music (Pandora on my laptop as I work
3. Dictate using Dragon Naturally Speaking
4. Talk over Skype.
5. Extra points for being able to talk on my office phone (I don't recall the system at the moment but it is VoIP.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
I always thought of myself as fairly technical but I am stumped by meager documentation and utter lack of miti-vendor support.I have a Thinkpad (X60 tablet), and BlackBerry Pearl. Can I use my Voyager 510 BT headset or any other BT headset (and if yes, how) to:
1. Talk on my Pearl
2. Listen to streaming music (Pandora on my laptop as I work
3. Dictate using Dragon Naturally Speaking
4. Talk over Skype.
5. Extra points for being able to talk on my office phone (I don't recall the system at the moment but it is VoIP.
Any pointers would be greatly appreciated.
Most headsets have a limit to the number of 'slots' for devices they can connect to without re-pairing - five is a common number. Your sixth connection wipes out the first one, usually.
Each external device has its own method for pairing with the headset, some involve a default PIN that will be listed in the headset manual. There should also be a way to set your headset to 'discoverable' so that when you search for it with your device it can be seen.
You can't break anything, and it's only by doing it that you can find out what services your headset can provide to your device. Experiment!
posted by DandyRandy at 6:56 PM on April 12, 2008
Each external device has its own method for pairing with the headset, some involve a default PIN that will be listed in the headset manual. There should also be a way to set your headset to 'discoverable' so that when you search for it with your device it can be seen.
You can't break anything, and it's only by doing it that you can find out what services your headset can provide to your device. Experiment!
posted by DandyRandy at 6:56 PM on April 12, 2008
my motorola BT earpiece will pair up with my laptop for all the normal 'headset-ish' type of things, in addition to pairing to my phone. it only has one speaker, so it's kinda useless for music.
the headset doesn't support pairing to both the laptop and the phone at the same time.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:02 PM on April 12, 2008
the headset doesn't support pairing to both the laptop and the phone at the same time.
posted by ArgentCorvid at 7:02 PM on April 12, 2008
Simultaneous usage almost never works. The functions supported by any particular bluetooth setup are determined by the device hardware at both ends, and the bluetooth drivers/software "stack" on the PC(or phone). The link between the headset and another device is called "pairing" - one thing to look out for is trying to use the headset with the PC while still paired with your phone, or vice-versa - you'll want to disconnect or unpair from one device before using another.
Pairing with the phone should be a snap, and it should also be easy to simply turn BT off on your phone.
On the PC, it can get more complicated. Assuming that you have a bluetooth radio built in to the PC, or a USB adapter attached, you pair it up and wrestle with it to accept the Services you want the headset to access - Headset, High Quality Audio, etc. Once that's done, the hard part is over. When the link is made, the PC then can use the headset as an audio input/output device for any software you might run. For instance, you'd get the headset all paired nicely with the PC, then start Skype. In your Options in Skype, you choose Bluetooth, or the headset itself if it shows up in the list, as your Audio Input Source and Audio Output source. Same with other programs.
posted by bartleby at 7:42 PM on April 12, 2008
Pairing with the phone should be a snap, and it should also be easy to simply turn BT off on your phone.
On the PC, it can get more complicated. Assuming that you have a bluetooth radio built in to the PC, or a USB adapter attached, you pair it up and wrestle with it to accept the Services you want the headset to access - Headset, High Quality Audio, etc. Once that's done, the hard part is over. When the link is made, the PC then can use the headset as an audio input/output device for any software you might run. For instance, you'd get the headset all paired nicely with the PC, then start Skype. In your Options in Skype, you choose Bluetooth, or the headset itself if it shows up in the list, as your Audio Input Source and Audio Output source. Same with other programs.
posted by bartleby at 7:42 PM on April 12, 2008
sorry, I mentioned the bluetooth stack because you want to make sure that you've got the latest updated drivers for Bluetooth on whatever the PC is using for bluetooth, before you start messing around. Your X60 may or may not have a Bluetooth reciever built in - if it's older, it may not supprt stereo. If so, I recommend the PC850 adapter, which supports most functions for most headsets, and just plugs into a USB port.
posted by bartleby at 7:48 PM on April 12, 2008
posted by bartleby at 7:48 PM on April 12, 2008
Best answer: Two years ago, I tried to find a bluetooth headset that would: a) work with my computer, and b) do the same things as a wired headset with mic - namely play music and relay microphone audio to the computer.
I learned the following.
It's hideously complicated, even to me, a person who lives and breathes tech.
On the computer side, there are different stacks from different vendors in the Windows world (for example). One stack does some things well and fails at others, and the other stack does the same, but for a different set of things / headsets. There's an almost underground sect of geeks who trade details on which version of which bluetooth stack is most appropriate for a given headset and application, getting down to versions which were only released in Japan for particular PCs, but work really well on (insert your hardware here).
And that's just the PC side.
The headsets are another story. A headset can support high-quality audio. This may entail that the headset decompressed a compressed audio stream. Not all headsets do this, because it adds to their manufacturing costs. I am no sure if it is possible to do high quality stereo audio on a bluetooth headset without this compression, due to bluetooth's limited bandwidth.
Anyhow, it's a mess, and I expect bluetooth to collapse under the weight of its own massive committee-designed ineptitude, to be replaced by something more sane in, oh, 10 or 20 years.
Until then, if you want good audio, check out the bluetooth headsets that are recommended by Dragon/Naturally Speaking. But know this - the best bluetooth headsets (that I've tried) couldn't hold a candle in audio quality and reliability to the cheapest Logitech headsets at the discount rack at my local PC store.
In short: high-quality bluetooth audio is elusive, frustrating, unreliable, and may reduce you to tears.
posted by zippy at 10:33 PM on April 12, 2008
I learned the following.
It's hideously complicated, even to me, a person who lives and breathes tech.
On the computer side, there are different stacks from different vendors in the Windows world (for example). One stack does some things well and fails at others, and the other stack does the same, but for a different set of things / headsets. There's an almost underground sect of geeks who trade details on which version of which bluetooth stack is most appropriate for a given headset and application, getting down to versions which were only released in Japan for particular PCs, but work really well on (insert your hardware here).
And that's just the PC side.
The headsets are another story. A headset can support high-quality audio. This may entail that the headset decompressed a compressed audio stream. Not all headsets do this, because it adds to their manufacturing costs. I am no sure if it is possible to do high quality stereo audio on a bluetooth headset without this compression, due to bluetooth's limited bandwidth.
Anyhow, it's a mess, and I expect bluetooth to collapse under the weight of its own massive committee-designed ineptitude, to be replaced by something more sane in, oh, 10 or 20 years.
Until then, if you want good audio, check out the bluetooth headsets that are recommended by Dragon/Naturally Speaking. But know this - the best bluetooth headsets (that I've tried) couldn't hold a candle in audio quality and reliability to the cheapest Logitech headsets at the discount rack at my local PC store.
In short: high-quality bluetooth audio is elusive, frustrating, unreliable, and may reduce you to tears.
posted by zippy at 10:33 PM on April 12, 2008
This thread is closed to new comments.
Documentation on who supports what profiles is often poor (I just took a look at the Dragon website, and they just mention "certain bluetooth headsets").
posted by adamrice at 5:04 PM on April 12, 2008 [1 favorite]