There are many reasons why we love our Bluetooth headphones: they are versatile, available in many form factors and design variations, and can provide with fantastic comfort for long periods of time. No wonder then that so many people want to use their favorite pair with their TV. The problem is that connecting Bluetooth headphones to TV can get very complicated very quickly. Some televisions already come with Bluetooth capability, while others require special adapters and cables.

This guide will familiarize you with everything you need to know in order to connect your Bluetooth headset to TV and enjoy all the benefits that come as a result. Don’t worry, we always to our time to explain things in detail, so you don’t get lost or confused.

Bluetooth-Enabled Television

If you are lucky and own a Bluetooth-enabled television, congratulations. All you need to do is use your remote controller to navigate the on-screen menu and figure out how to connect your Bluetooth headphones to your TV. Essentially, you will want to put both the TV and headphones into Pairing more and link them together.

Each TV is slightly different, so you will have to consult your manual and find out how exactly to use the Bluetooth feature of your particular model.

Bluetooth Dongle

If your TV doesn’t come with Bluetooth connectivity, there are still several options how you can proceed: you can take either the analog or the digital route. With the analog conversion, you may experience slightly worse audio quality. That’s because the signal gets converted from digital format to analog signal and then back to digital only to be converted to analog once more.

You need to purchase a dongle that connects to your TV’s headphone jack, like this ClearSounds QLink Stereo TV Transmitter, and pairs with your Bluetooth headphones. The best thing about this solution is that you can plug it into any device with a headphone jack and transmit the audio to any Bluetooth receiving device.

The other option is to use a TOSLINK optical port (also known as Digital Audio Output) present on most television to directly output digital signal. For this, you will need a device that accepts audio through TOSLINK and sends it via Bluetooth to your headphones. A great example is the Nolan TRX HD Bluetooth transmitter.

Signal Quality

Modern Bluetooth headphones provide audio quality that is virtually indistinguishable from any analog headphones that you may come across. That being said, a living room is often filled with electronic devices, such as your Wi-Fi router, that can interfere with Bluetooth transmission.

It’s a good idea to switch your Wi-Fi to 5Ghz, instead of 2.4GHz, to prevent interference and increase the overall audio quality. Additionally, metal objects around the transmitter or receiver (your headphones) can also negatively affect the signal quality, and you may want to consider moving them around and listening for any audible difference.