Example app to stream to headphones

RE: Example app to stream to headphones

Karl Ylvisaker — Thu, 08 Sep 2022 01:34:06 GMT

Hello again, Keith

Sorry about my late reply - after the 'verified answer' status the ticket got pushed to the end of my list, unfortunately.

[quote user="Jazman"]So you're saying that all current production wireless headphones and earbuds (ie: Airbuds, Samsung version, Oneplus version, etc) are all using Bluetooth Classic protocols for audio streaming. [/quote]

This is correct, for the most part - unless they are controlling both sides of the link, in which case they might use a proprietary protocol, but usually it is just Bluetooth Classic there too.

[quote user="Jazman"]The fact that a backwards compatibility mode wasn't built in to the standard was a big "ooops" since it will make adoption VERY hard.[/quote]

As you note, the Bluetooth Classic standard is very old, and definitively due for an upgrade. This also made backwards compatibility infeasible, since the upgrade is such a large one, with a whole host of new features and improvements over the old standard.

[quote user="Jazman"] In your blog post you note that there are no current phone or tablet devices that support it. Until they do, there is no way manufacturers will create headphones to support it.[/quote]

Please keep in mind that this blogpost was written in April/June, and a lot of things has happened since then. Android 13 is soon due to come out (october, usually), with support for LE Audio, and I would not think that iOS is far behind on this either.
It is also likely that some manufacturers will produce 'hybrid' headsets for the first couple of years, to smooth the transition to LE Audio. I would however think that LE Audio-only headsets will be the prominent ones in a few years, tops.

[quote user="Jazman"]My product will be targeting late Q1 2023 so LE Audio won't work. Thank you for the quick response.[/quote]

No problem, I am happy to help! :)
If you would like to discuss market outlooks and changes etc. I would recommend that you reach out to your Regional Sales Director with these questions instead - I personally work exclusively with the technical aspects, and so I do not have much to contribute to this discussion, but the Regional Sales Directors do!
The RSD for Wisconsin is Barry Hawley and you may reach Barry on barry.hawley@nordicsemi.no - please do not hesitate to contact him about this, he'll be happy to take your questions! :)

Best regards,
Karl

RE: Example app to stream to headphones

Jazman — Fri, 26 Aug 2022 22:09:56 GMT

Thank you very much for the response Karl. So you're saying that all current production wireless headphones and earbuds (ie: Airbuds, Samsung version, Oneplus version, etc) are all using Bluetooth Classic protocols for audio streaming. I was not aware of that until now. Given how long BTLE has been around, I'm kind of shocked.

Unfortunately, developing a product with the LE audio standard is a non-starter at this point. If there aren't headphones to use with my device, then all the new bells and whistles are meaningless. The fact that a backwards compatibility mode wasn't built in to the standard was a big "ooops" since it will make adoption VERY hard. In your blog post you note that there are no current phone or tablet devices that support it. Until they do, there is no way manufacturers will create headphones to support it. Chicken or the egg problem...

My product will be targeting late Q1 2023 so LE Audio won't work. Thank you for the quick response.

Keith

RE: Example app to stream to headphones

Karl Ylvisaker — Sun, 21 Aug 2022 02:33:37 GMT

Hello Keith,

Unfortunately, none of our devices supports the legacy Bluetooth Classic protocol, so it is not possible for you to create a gateway device for the Bluetooth Classic protocol using any nRF devices.

However, I would strongly recommend that you look into using the new LE Audio standard in any new product developments - it really improves on all aspects of its predecessor.
If you want to know more about the new LE Audio standard, and the improvements it comes with, you could check out this short blogpost that summarizes it :)

We also already have a reference application - the nrf5340_audio application - for the functionality that you describe using LE Audio, made for use with our new nRF5340 Audio Development Kits.
With two such kits you could have the application that you are describing up and running within minutes - streaming audio from one nRF5340 Audio DK (either input through the USB or the LINE_IN jack option) to the other, either using the new LE Audio Broadcast(BIS) feature, or the 'traditional' Connected(CIS) mode.

Best regards,
Karl