Thursday, January 21, 2010

Wireless Headphones

My wireless (Bluetooth) headphones just came in today. They are Sony's DR-BT160AS model and they worked with my iPhone out of the box, almost. Along with having to pair these with the iPhone (not a big deal), I had to learn a couple more acronyms: A2DP (Advanced Audio Distribution Profile) and AVRCP (Audio Video Remote Control Profile), both profiles of the Bluetooth networking standard, as far as I understand it, along with the HFP (Hands Free Profile). What these mean: HFP means you can use the headphones in "headset" mode, for talking on the phone. HFP, as I found out by pairing with my workstation, is lower quality audio (monoaural) than when using the headphones in "headphones" mode. Presumably, then, A2DP basically means transmission of a higher quality stereo signal via bluetooth. So what's AVRCP? This would allow the headphones to control playback of the iPhone's iPod with the next/previous buttons beyond just the volume up/down and play/stop. Which just means that while I can play/stop music and adjust volume, I can't skip tracks. Why only this limited AVRCP support I don't know, but as it often happens, hopefully Apple will add this in in the next software update...as for me, the next evolution of skiing with music is here: no more wires, woo hoo! Can't wait to try this out...it sounds good but it also means that I have to haul around yet another charger!

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