Bluetooth headphones on a TV: how to connect them and what to know
Why headphones on a TV
Headphones on a TV are handy in the evening when others are asleep, when someone at home hears less well and wants it louder, or when you want to watch a film without the kitchen noise. With wireless headphones there is no cable across the room and you can get up from the sofa without getting tangled.
What to know first: not every TV sends sound over Bluetooth, and on some the sound arrives slightly after the picture. Both have fixes.
Smart TVs with Bluetooth
Many recent smart TVs have Bluetooth for sound. The menu differs by brand, but the route is similar: Settings, Sound, Sound output or Speaker list, then "Bluetooth headphones" or "Bluetooth device". Put the headphones in pairing mode and pick them from the list when they appear.
If the TV has Bluetooth only for the remote or a keyboard, it will not find the headphones. The TV's manual says whether it accepts Bluetooth headphones or speakers.
A TV without Bluetooth
If the TV has no Bluetooth, you have two options. The first: a Bluetooth transmitter, a small adapter that plugs into the TV's headphone or optical output and sends the sound to the headphones. The second: a cable.
The Pods Ultra come with a 3.5 mm cable too, so you can plug them straight into the TV's headphone socket, if it has one. That way Bluetooth and delay no longer matter.
Delayed sound
Bluetooth needs a moment to send the sound, and on a TV it shows: the actors' lips move before the voice. Many TVs have a sound sync setting, called "AV sync", "Lip sync" or "Audio delay", that lines the sound up with the picture.
If you cannot find the setting, a cable fixes it completely. With a transmitter, choose one that clearly says it has low latency.
Which headphones to choose
For long evenings in front of the TV, over-ear headphones are the most comfortable: nothing goes in the ear and the battery is big. The Pods M6 last 60 hours and fold when not in use; the Pods Ultra last 48 hours with ANC on and have the 3.5 mm cable for TVs without Bluetooth.
If you prefer something small, true wireless earbuds work just as well. The GTA02 have a gaming mode with a latency of about 60 ms, useful for films too.
Tips for the evening
Turn the TV volume to zero before connecting the headphones, so the sound does not start suddenly loud. Keep the headphones in the same room as the TV: walls weaken the signal. When you finish, disconnect or switch them off, or the TV may keep sending sound to them the next day.
Most TVs send Bluetooth sound to a single device. If two of you want to listen, check in the manual whether the TV allows more than one.
For someone who hears less well
Headphones on the TV help a lot in homes where someone needs more volume than the rest of the family. Whoever wears them listens as loud as they need, and the others keep the TV at their level. On many TVs the speakers switch off when you connect headphones; look in the menu for an option that keeps both on, if you also want to listen together.
For someone who finds menus hard, pair the headphones once and show them only how to switch them on. Over-ear headphones, which sit on the head without going into the ear, are usually easier to put on and take off. The volume need not go to maximum: if speech is hard to follow, try the TV's dialogue mode, which many models have.
Every model is in the shop, under over-ear headphones.