Unisar Sounds TV Listener
by Bebe Sounds
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List Price: Category: CE See more product details |
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Customers in the UK,
Buy this product at amazon.co.uk
for British Pounds
Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Unisar Sounds TV Listener
Customer Review: I like it, but it's got problems!
Summary: 3 Stars
First off, the listing tells you that the Bebe Sounds TV Listener works with any television. Okay, I guess technically this is true. But, practically, it is not exactly so!
We have an older television in our bedroom and I wanted to be able to listen while my bed partner snoozes. So as not to be disturbing I was turning down the tv so low I couldn't hear it! Since I knew it was an older television and probably didn't have the proper jacks I looked for something specifically for "any" television.
What I found was that if you don't have the proper jacks on your television there is a tiny microphone to put near the tv speaker. You must have the sound on very low (no problem for me) to pick up audio in the headphones. We tried this - and what happens is that the microphone not only picks up the audio on the tv, it picks up all sounds in the room. At one point the dog barked and I almost wet the bed! And my spouse's snoring was amplified over the microphone, just like the tv sounds, which was definitely not good!
So...we switched televisions with one in our guest room. It has a proper jack on the front of the television. We connected it and all I could hear was the radio on my bedside table (which was turned off). We fiddled with it somewhat and I was finally able to hear the television - and the sound came in really, really well!
The second or third night I used it, it dawned on me that the sound was only coming into my left ear. The speaker on the right ear was not working. We called the company and were told that we needed to plug the cord into a surge protector in order to get sound into both ears. (Now, my spouse is an engineer and says this makes absolutely no sense at all.) We haven't tried it yet.
I continue to use the Bebe Sounds, but I am not completely satisfied with it. The sound I get (in one headphone only) is top-notch, very clear. I can doze off to sleep better and my spouse isn't bothered.
But I really believe I should be able to hear from both sides of the headphone or the Bebe Sounds folks should know how to troubleshoot their products better.
Customer Review: static and strange head placement for headset
Summary: 1 Stars
I put this on my Christmas wish list, after finding good reviews for this item. My wife complains when she's sleeping and I'm trying to watch tv, she can't sleep. Anyway, I hooked this thing up and here are the problems I have.
1) For my TV set, and I don't know if others are the same or I plugged it into the wrong spot, (I have a new 55 inch new Sony rear projection), plugging in this headset unit does not actually remove the sound as you would expect. You can still hear the TV when you have the headset sound amplifier on. I hope I didn't plug it into the wrong jack, but it's not easy to get behind my huge TV set, and I tried multiple jacks.
2) The unit does succeed in allowing me to keep the TV sound much lower than I would need to in order to watch TV without the headset, however, the static in the unit is out of control. I tried all sorts of amplifier placements to line up with more line of sight with the headset, and the unit does the job of amplifying, but there is still a lot of static. I couldn't find any line of sight angle that produced no static. Maybe because I'm further away from the unit than is recommended, I'm not sure. Also, I have to tilt the headset in my head in a very unnatural position in order to get the least amount of static.
Conclusion. Sound quality with the static is much worse than expected. If there was a unit that had a very long wire and provided no static, I would buy that one. Having a long wire makes no difference when no one is around to trip over it since they're sleeping. Static sound and inability to completely mute the tv while watching is a 1 to 2 star review in my opinion. I might have given this unit 2 stars, since it sort of barely does the job, but to offset the average 4 star rating, which I find to be very misleading, I give it 1 star.
If anyone can tell me if I'm doing something wrong and how to make this thing work better, I'm all ears.
Customer Review: Worked great
Summary: 4 Stars
My father in law is VERY deaf. You literally have to speak very loudly right in his ear to get him to hear you. He has tried all kinds of hearing aids with no real improvement. He had to have the TV incredibly loud and still couldn't really hear it. He put these things on and got this huge grin on his face. He said it was the first time he had really heard the news in a very long time. I believe it helps that these things fit over the ear and help block ambient noise, they don't encapsulate the ear though so they don't block all surrounding noise. They can be worn with a hearing aid as well.
Now the down side. Not rechargeable so you either have to spring for 2 AAA rechargeable batteries and a charger unit or buy a lot of batteries for it. There is no auto shutoff so if you leave it on by accident (switch on headset), there goes a set a batteries.
An update. These things have been great. My mother in law decided she needed her own headset so I bought the entire unit, instead of just another headset. I hooked up the extra base unit to their other TV so now they can take their headsets (set to the volume that is comfortable for each of them) to either TV.
Make sure the user can see the lights on the base unit. If they can't all they will get is static.
Another update. After 2.5 years of very heavy use (lots of TV gets watched there) both headsets have lots of static. I realized that both had been used at or near full volume for all of that time and the internal speakers are simply blown out. Again, these are elderly users who need the amplification so I just bought them another 2 sets. The important thing is that they can both hear the TV and their neighbors can't. If we can get another 2 years out of the new sets, I am very happy. These aren't perfect but they are simple, cheap and work just great for this application.
Customer Review: MAKE sure to note ear pad design
Summary: 4 Stars
as described in other reviews, it's fairly simple to set up. my tv hangs on the wall w/ no shelf nearby tho, & the cords on the transmitter weren't long enuf for me to set it on top. i began receiving fairly good reception immediately. i only say 'fairly' cuz it was as good as i had gotten w/ my old headphones (wired panasonic). it still had the same issue (hissing), but i compensated for it by turning the headphone level lower & the tv volume higher. i don't know if it's just where my tv sits or what but i've just about accepted that i'll always hv that issue. anyway, the night wore on (i was watching 'L O S T') & i was thrilled to be able to get out of my recliner w/o having to remember to take the headphones off, dint hv to worry about the cord getting tangled in the recliner mechanism, could hv my dog in my lap, etc. after 2 or 3 hrs, my ears started to hurt & i had to take the phones off for a minute. i am returning them (for that reason) in exchange for the 'open-ear' design (i think that's the correct term), where there's padding around the earpiece that fits against your head & the middle allows space for your ear. also: i experienced some interference occasionally; don't know what it was. it sounded like the noise that comes thru my computer speakers when i'm near them & turn my cell phone on. otherwise, very compact lightweight design, easily accessible on/off & vol switch, & i liked the idea of the included microphone. i would hv kept them if they were the 'open ear' design. i also hv a fairly lg head (hat sz: 7 1/4); that may have had sumpin to do w/ the discomfort i felt after wearing them for a while.Customer Review: Best Bang for the Buck! Works great, as long as you realize IR limitations.
Summary: 5 Stars
This was a Christmas present for my 65 yr old father who is hard of hearing (inverted ear drums). After a LOT of research I whittled the choices to 3 (TV Ears, the DSI Wireless Serene TV-Direct Listener, and this item by Bebe Sounds). Both TV Ears and the DSI device were over 100 dollars, and TV ears looks very cheap and flimsy. I couldn't decide so I asked a guy in my office who is 63 and deaf in one ear to pick which one he would prefer. This is what he said, "TV Ears looks like it would be heavy after a while and pull on your ears. I don't like the DSI because you have to put in ear plugs. Us old dudes like good old fashioned headphones." We he was right, my father said the same thing. The item itself was easy to hook up. Three steps: Plug in the power to the transmitter, plug the audio cables from the transmitter into the back of the TV (He has a LCD), and pop in a couple of batteries into the head set, you're done. The audio is transmitted via Infra-red (IR) like your TV remote control. So that means it's line-of-sight. Audio quality is good as long as you face the TV/transmitter. It does cut out if you turn your head or try to walk around, but that is not the fault of this device. That is the fault of the limitations of IR and all TV listeners that use the technology. If you want mobility you'll have to go with Radio Frequency (RF) or Bluetooth, there aren't many out there and they are really expensive. My father uses them primarily at night to save the sanity of everyone else and he's completely happy with them. In the end, that's all that matters. Why spend more?