Bluetooth headset status?

[HelenF]

Hi, I've been searching for info about Bluetooth headsets on the Pandora, and only finding very old things. Is it still only A2DP? Do we still need to edit a config file? Does the microphone work? Headset buttons? Application support?

Also on Bluetooth, I was trying to use an "AB Shutter 3" (tiny keyboard with Enter and VolumeUp keys). When using it with the Pandora, its battery seems to go flat in minutes. Any ideas what could be going on there? I already wasted 3 batteries so should probably give up...

 

[Eight Bit]

Since the alterations Notaz made to the latest firmware Bluetooth audio works great for me. I haven't tried a headset but my Teufel Bluetooth speakers worked flawlessly out of the box. The only thing I had to do was add the bluetooth Alsa hook (If I say this correctly) and choose that as the output device in my audio player. Really less than a minute work and only has to be done once.
I've read experiences from other users that the headset buttons will probably not work out of the box but that might be solvable with some config file hacking.

When connecting to bluetooth audio, please mind though, that the Volume wheel on the Pandora is for Analog audio and doesn't work for Bluetooth audio. The Pandora will send the audio at max line level by default which can make you quite deaf when the audio blasts out at full volume unexpectedly.
Unfortunately my Teufel speakers do not have a volume control so I had to set the software volume control in Deadbeef and/or Audacious. My Car stereo does have a volume control so for that it doesn't matter.
As I didn't feel like switching my audio output device with each use I now just set Deadbeef up for Bluetooth audio and I keep Audacious as my analog audio player.

As far as your keyboard is concerned, I have no clue. it sounds like something is wrong with your device if it uses up batteries that fast. Does it get hot?

 

[Holliefant]

Eight Bit, as annoying as that may be to you. Could you please share your knowledge how to use the bluetooth audio? I know that the Information is somewhere and then you have to look somewhere else for another thing.. and so on. It would be so great if someone could Bundle that and maybe put it in the wiki, so that there is one documentation which includes all steps.

 

[HelenF]

This is the clearest information I found about headset profiles...

http://bluetooth-alsa.sourceforge.net/

(copying in case it gets changed)

Spoiler

Voice

The most common use of bluetooth audio is to make a wireless connection to a cellphone. This is typically done using a small headset that fits over one ear. These headsets don't deliver outstanding audio quality. A headset used for a phone call should not introduce much delay. A special transport, Synchronous Connection-Oriented, or SCO, was invented to provide this low-delay monophonic audio with voice-quality fidelity.

SCO headsets have one or both of two profiles for 2-way voice communication.

The simpler profile is the Headset Profile, or HSP. It provides for a way to tap a button to start or end a call and buttons for controlling audio levels.

The more advanced Hands-free Profile, HFP, adds a host of optional functions like call rejection, last-number redial, caller id display, and dialing specific phone numbers.

High-fidelity audio

The advanced audio distribution profile, A2DP, provides the basis for high-fidelity audio. The bandwidth of bluetooth cannot accommodate uncompressed high-quality stereo audio, so the audio stream must be digitally compressed.

Pausing, playing, advancing the track are features of the AVRCP profile, most commonly combined with A2DP.

The old information I found said the Pandora doesn't support HSP/HFP, and I'd guess that hasn't changed, unless someone knows otherwise? (I only have that kind at the moment, and not sure whether to buy a different one.)

For buttons on A2DP headsets, if the Pandora supports AVRCP then it should be possible somehow, but I couldn't find any mention of that.

As far as your keyboard is concerned, I have no clue. it sounds like something is wrong with your device if it uses up batteries that fast. Does it get hot?

It takes a 2032 battery which is supposed to last about 1800 button presses, and it was working fine with my phone or my Windows laptop. With the Pandora, when I put in a new battery it worked for about 5 minutes, and then it carried on blinking lights but nothing could connect to it any more (and I measured about 2.8V on the battery when I took it out). Taking the battery out and putting the same one back in didn't help; only a new one fixed it. As you say, it would be expected to get hot if the batteries went flat so fast, but I didn't notice anything like that.

 

[edgex004]

From what I had seen previously, Pandora does not support AVRCP because it uses Bluez4.

However, the following suggests there should be at least partial support:

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12152998/avrcp-configuration-for-bluez

 

[Eight Bit]

Eight Bit, as annoying as that may be to you. Could you please share your knowledge how to use the bluetooth audio? I know that the Information is somewhere and then you have to look somewhere else for another thing.. and so on. It would be so great if someone could Bundle that and maybe put it in the wiki, so that there is one documentation which includes all steps.

Oh, sorry... all I did was add this

pcm.btheadset {
    type plug
    slave {
        pcm {
            type bluetooth
            profile "auto"
        }
    }
    hint {
       show on
       description "BT Headset"
    }
}
ctl.btheadset {
  type bluetooth
}

to /etc/asound.conf by typing sudo mousepad /etc/asound.conf in terminal

After that there's an extra output method in the ALSA settings of audacious or deadbeef.
First Pair and connect, then select the bluetooth audio output.
It might also be handy to browse through /etc/bluetooth/audio.conf as stuff like auto reconnect etc can be set in there.
[doublepost=1457988084,1457986535][/doublepost]I added this, my first wiki contribution

http://pandorawiki.org/Bluetooth_audio

I hope it works for everyone

 

[HelenF]

Thanks! I ordered a basic A2DP headset, will try it out when it arrives. I'll probably have more questions then.

If anyone has buttons or microphone working, please tell me about that too.

 

[Holliefant]

Thanks a lot Eight Bit
Of in Nederlands, heel erg bedankt (ik ben Nederlander, maar ik ben geboren en opgetogen in Duitsland en heb nooit geleerd Nederlands te schrijven )

 

[ekianjo]

Great, will probably do a short post on Pandoralive for that

 

[Eight Bit]

Het gaat je prima af Ik hoop dat het je lukt met de audio.

Groet,
8

 

[ekianjo]

Of in Nederlands, heel erg bedankt (ik ben Nederlander, maar ik ben geboren en opgetogen in Duitsland en heb nooit geleerd Nederlands te schrijven )

German speakers can easily understand what you write anyway

 

[Holliefant]

Works like a Charm btw.
I dislike audacious because it is not very good to play audiobooks.. but at least I can use the headset. Maybe I get gmu to use the headset, then it would be perfect

 

[directive0]

Wow... it actually friggen works. I can finally listen to music with BT headphones like it's 2016 and everything.

Eightbit, you are my favorite person today. I sure hope BT audio is something that the Pyra does zero-config and out of the box.

 

[ekianjo]

I confirm it works for me as well with a BT speaker.
Note that audacious cannot control the sound volume at all for me, but Deadbeef can.

 

[directive0]

Again, this is so great.

Weird thing is sometimes deadbeef just straight up refuses to keep playing anymore songs, but a quit and reopen fixes it. I'm wondering what's going on there, not sure its BT related but it doesn't do this when hardwired.

 

[Eight Bit]

I confirm it works for me as well with a BT speaker.
Note that audacious cannot control the sound volume at all for me, but Deadbeef can.

I had to tick the softvol checkbox in the preferences section to get that to work in Audacious but like I wrote earlier, I use Deadbeaf for bluetooth playing at home anyway. I set the volume hotkeys to O and P

Again, this is so great.

Weird thing is sometimes deadbeef just straight up refuses to keep playing anymore songs, but a quit and reopen fixes it. I'm wondering what's going on there, not sure its BT related but it doesn't do this when hardwired.

I've had no issues with deadbeaf whatsoever... weird... Maybe delete the appdata folder for a fresh start?
I do want to know if it's possible to set Rock Box up for playing over Bluetooth. I can't find any audio output settings in it... It would be ideal in the car.

 

[ekianjo]

Again, this is so great.

Weird thing is sometimes deadbeef just straight up refuses to keep playing anymore songs, but a quit and reopen fixes it. I'm wondering what's going on there, not sure its BT related but it doesn't do this when hardwired.

Same problem here.

 

[directive0]

I have switched to VLC for BT audio playback, and it works great indefinitely.

Would prefer deadbeef, but that problem persists. Its weird, its the same thing that happens if you turn off your BT headset but leave the audio output target as "BT Headset". It must be some error when it tries to play to the BT audio buffer or whatever.

 

[ekianjo]

VLC, you mean the ancient VLC available on the repo ??

 

[directive0]

VLC, you mean the ancient VLC available on the repo ??

Not the oldest one by sebt3, the 3 year old PND on the repo. It's called Vlc2. I'm guessing they'd both do the job, though.