bluetooth wireless headset for camera audio monitoring

Patryk_Rebisz

Patryk_Rebisz

Veteran
When working with a soundman as cameraman, he usually has some kind of audio solution. He does audio, i do images = easy. But sometimes i get one of those gigs where I must monitor the audio too and for that i have wired headphones that drive me crazy. The wire always gets in the way. Is there some kind of wireless solution? Something that connects straight to camera's aux jack and feeds wireless headphones?
 
DANGER WILL ROBINSON. Bluetooth is incredibly poor at latency - which I simply cannot stand with video. Lips and teeth with much more than 15ms start to annoy. Bluetooth latency can be huge!
 
Last edited:
That's a good point.

Well then, another way to go is a proper wireless receiver/transmitter and regular headphones. I use a couple sets of Sennheiser G3s to feed the boom operator and my feed. Unfortunately, that takes you from a $30 solution to a $300 solution (used G3).
 
Last edited:
I wouldn't go wireless for two reasons:

1) bluetooth has latency(you said you don't care), which is going to F you if you need to react to what is being said.
2) If there is break-up, interference, etc., how do you know if it's what's going to camera or what's going from camera to you?

I've spent 22 years being cabled to a camera monitoring audio and I use custom in-ears(low profile, sound isolating) and a low-profile "curly" cable to go from the camera to my in-ear cable. Allows me to set the camera down without unplugging or breaking anything.

If the audio being recorded in-camera is the primary(or only) audio, then monitor with wireless headsets/ears at your own risk.
 
Right now i'm exploring the options because the wire drives me crazy. How do people watch TV with bluetooth headphones if latency is so bad/connection is unreliable?
 
This could work well with a camera (+ low latency AptX BT 5.0): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07N1CFVPD/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2

Comments say it works with Apple AirPods- which are very comfortable and well designed, however they many not provide low latency on non-Apple devices (AAC and no AptX). These or similar could work if comfortable for you: https://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Earbuds-MEBUYZ-Headphones-Cancelling/dp/B07R413QBL/

Something like will probably work better / last longer: https://www.amazon.com/Bluetooth-Headphones-version-Wireless-Headset/dp/B07JCKZVCB/ (BT 5.0 with AptX).

Higher end, supports AptX (and AAC if you have an iOS device too): https://darko.audio/2017/12/bluetooth-future-fi-rha-ma650-750-wireless-iems/ (both around $100 on Amazon).
 
Patryk_Rebisz said:
Right now i'm exploring the options because the wire drives me crazy. How do people watch TV with bluetooth headphones if latency is so bad/connection is unreliable?
Click to expand...
Good point. Though a walk through a store's tv display area playing the same source even without bluetooth will demonstrate the very apparent/distracting different processing delays when heard together.
That new Roland R07 audio recorder has bluetooth monitoring..supposedly with a cutting edge qualcomm chip. I wonder how that fares.
 
And another battery to keep track of.

Personally, I wouldn't rely on bluetooth headphones in a production environment. But I agree that headphone cables can be a PITA. I use Sony 7506 cans, and just suck up the cable.

But some people I know remove the stock curly cable and solder in a straight cable of their preferred length. If you know your way around a soldering iron, it's an easy job. Or since you're in NYC, I bet you could swing by Gotham Sound or somewhere and they'd modify your headphones or some stock models for you.

Or you could check out Audio-Technica headphones. I'm not really familiar with their line, but I hear they're pretty good. And at least a couple of their professional models have removable cables, and come with a straight and a curly cable. The straight cable is 3 meters, but maybe they sell a shorter accessory cable, or maybe you could chop that down to length and put the connector where you want; that should be very simple.
https://www.audio-technica.com/cms/headphones/75b2f282c93a7651/index.html

Or maybe look at some sort IEM/over-ear bud that comes with a shorter cable... Like ENG style: TV News cam people monitor with just one small bud; it works well enough for them (and yes, I've chatted with some about it).
 
I've got the Sony headphones, but now I'm using $15 Monoprice headphones that have a 3.5mm jack in them. You can plug whatever cable type/length you need. So I use a short cable and plug it into the G3. What's nice about the removable cable is that if it gets snagged, it just pops out.
 
Paul F said:
Patryk, there are several demonstrations of the aptx low latency blue tooth transmitters on youtube. Check those out.

Here's one - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVKSwhc-sGA
Click to expand...

Great test. Just need a way to delay video monitoring 137ms and you've got perfect sync! ;)

This test shows AptX low latency working around 40ms:

Thus if you can find a matching AptX LL transmitter + headphones, should be possible to get ~40ms latency which is less than one video frame at 24fps or 42ms.

Wired: the AT-M40x are good headphones for the money (have a pair of ATH-M50's). For about $30 more, the Focal Listen's are significantly better than anything from AT or Sony near the $130 price point (I do like the 7506 for comfort and somewhat disposable price of $80): https://www.amazon.com/Focal-Listen-Closed-Over-Ear-Headphones/dp/B01H2NDPZY/ . I paid $249 for the Focal's after demoing them at CanJam. They are a steal at $129!
The wireless Sennhesier Momentum 2.0 are also excellent in both comfort and sound, however from the video test and reading the specs (BT 4.0), don't appear to support low latency.

Lots of AptX low latency headphones, some decent looking/specs starting around $36: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=aptx+low+latency+headphones&i=electronics
 
Last edited:
Patryk_Rebisz said:
When working with a soundman as cameraman, he usually has some kind of audio solution. He does audio, i do images = easy. But sometimes i get one of those gigs where I must monitor the audio too and for that i have wired headphones that drive me crazy. The wire always gets in the way. Is there some kind of wireless solution? Something that connects straight to camera's aux jack and feeds wireless headphones?
Click to expand...

I have a wireless setup for monitoring because I one-man band everything. Also for gimbal shooting it's critical. And often I shoot two cameras. One lock down, one moving. With a wireless headset I can monitor the main camera. The Bluetooth connection is surprisingly robust. I've been over a hundred feet away and still gotten a solid signal.

The big issue is...latency. First you MUST get APT-X Low Latency. This is harder than you might imagine. Standard APT-X is a "low latency" protocol, but there is also a special APT-X LL which is even lower. It's not easy to sort out what is or is not APT-X LL from descriptions. Secondly, even though headsets may be APT-X LL there is no guarantee that they will connect with the transmitter as APT-X LL.

After numerous combinations, this is what I've settled on:
Taotronics Bluetooth Transmitter - TTBA01 (I also have the TTBA12 but it seems latency is greater)
Sennheiser CX 6.00 BT Headphones - It's a bit pricey but I've not had reliable low latency with other ones.

With this combo, you have to turn on the headphones first and then the transmitter.

With this setup, the latency is okay if you close your ears off to external sounds. Otherwise it can drive you a bit batty. In your situation it's fine. Often I'm conducting interviews and that's where it gets dicey. It is actually hard to talk if you hear yourself back in your ears with a delay. That's what really drives you crazy.
 
Last edited:
dmitrizigany said:
Don’t underestimate how annoying it is Having audio and video out of sync! At least I’m finding it so annoying I can hardly do it.
Click to expand...

That is certainly true of regular Bluetooth. But if you can manage to get an apt-X Low Latency transmitter and headphones that work together (not as easy as it should be). It's not too bad. Certainly video/audio sync is not the issue as it's no different than listening to someone speak 20 meters away. The annoying part is hearing both natural sound and sound through the headphones at the same time. That drives you batty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top