Hello Family,

Yes, I am like a proverbial “dog with a bone” on this one. 

I have been doing some research and I am happy to report that many, many other users of WM6 phones both sight impaired and not are reporting almost identical problems with using their previously working Bluetooth devices with WM5 as I am. 

To refresh your memory, in short, the Bluetooth device that was working perfectly in WM5 does not do so in WM6.  Simply put, the device will not function as both a headset and as a handsfree device as it did in the previous version of Windows Mobile.  It would seem that Voice Command is not the cause of this issue.  In fact, my research suggests that CodeFactory may not be the cause of the problem as many sighted users are reporting the same issue. 

Well, I do not have the resolution but I think I finally understand the cause of this problem.  I learned today that in order to get full functionality with Windows Mobile 6 via Bluetooth, one must use an A 2 D P compliant Bluetooth device.  This is more commonly referred to as a stereo Bluetooth headset.  Believe it or not, the term stereo does not merely refer to allowing one to hear two music tracks but also, and more importantly, divides the signal stream between the phone and the headset into two channels; one channel handling voice information such as those taking place on a voice call and a data channel which handles the transmission of other information from the phone. 

It should be noted that the best rated Bluetooth devices for noise cancellation for conversation are not A 2 D P ready.  So, at present, one has to choose between full functionality and superior quality, an unfair choice, to be sure. 

After I consulted with someone on this, what I have been experiencing is completely consistent with his explanation of the problem.  In short, at present, my Bluetooth headset is acting like a headset or a microphone but not both at the same time.  According to my consultant, without the A 2 D P compliance, there is simply not enough bandwith to carry all of the frequency needed to provide the functionality we enjoyed when using Windows Mobile 5.

I hope this sheds a little light on this for all of us. 

Thus far, I have decided to keep my current BlueTooth even though it is not A 2 D P compliant for its voice transmission quality is the best I have ever experienced. 

If any of you decide to purchase a stereo Bluetooth headset, please let the rest of us know about it and your results, OK?

Keep reading as I have pasted a more technically accurate description of the entire matter below.

Mark
PS
I apologize for any and all typos in this post.  I am extremely sleepy but wanted to get this information out to you as soon as possible.

 

 

Bluetooth – A2DP explained.

,    |   Features

By David Field, Staff Writer   Comment Now     Email to a friend     Print
this story

Bluetooth is a ubiquitous wireless technology that has gained a lot of followers because it does its job with minimal fuss. Between its popularity and the demand for wireless headphones, Bluetooth is about to be extended to carry high quality stereo audio signals with the introduction of A2DP — Advanced Audio Distribution Profile.

Low quality audio was necessary in the first version of Bluetooth for reliable transmission to mobile phone headsets, because that market was rightly picked to drive the uptake of the technology. Now, consumer demand for wireless everything has meant high quality wireless audio has to be provided, and because you can’t change the reliable, low quality handset profile in Bluetooth, the A2DP profile has been created to compliment it by providing the bandwidth to send high quality audio.

This is what will power the next wave of Bluetooth headphones, and is being called Stereo Bluetooth by Motorola to avoid consumer confusion. In essence, Bluetooth’s available bandwidth is divided between two layers, a data layer and a voice layer. Mobile phone headsets use the voice layer — a small amount of dedicated bandwidth. All other Bluetooth communication happens through the much wider data layer. A2DP sets aside a section of the data layer and sends high quality audio through it.

Behind the Scenes

Mobile phone headsets have a throughput of only 64kbps, which is a limitation of the voice layer. Although this means rubbish sound quality (which is nonetheless good enough for mobile phones) the upshot is that there is less chance of interference. This dedicated, bandwidth-limited voice channel works well for voice transmission but makes music sound like it’s being picked up through an AM radio attached to a tin can with some string. Even though three 64Kbps connections can be used simultaneously, more audio flexibility is needed.
The remaining 723Kbps of bandwidth is called the data layer, and provides all other Bluetooth functionality. A2DP simply carves off a chunk of the data layer, then streams high bit rate audio through it. The data layer also provides services like synchronization, image transfer, remote control and network access. The bandwidth is shared by all these services, so if you are streaming audio and trying to do other things, you may get dropouts. The uptake of Bluetooth 2, with 3Mb/s of bandwidth as opposed to 1Mb/s will avoid this problem.

Although many newer devices will support A2DP out of the box, using it natively on a computer without a dongle may be a problem, and one entirely dependant on your Bluetooth adapter. Windows XP doesn’t support Bluetooth headsets natively, let alone A2DP headphones. It leaves that task up to your Bluetooth hardware’s driver, which may not yet support A2DP. If you can’t get a driver update to enable A2DP, you can use a dongle to get on the bandwagon, which both Blue Ant and Motorola have already started producing.

Using it

Just because the audio is being routed through a wider data path doesn’t mean that the other benefits of Bluetooth have to be abandoned. The modular nature of Bluetooth means that the control profile, which is used to accept calls in headsets, can be used to play, pause, stop and shuffle through tracks on the client. Remapping controls away from the host device and onto the headphones has a certain appeal. It’s functionality made funky and lazy.

Bluetooth has high expectations to live up to due the accessorisation it has brought to technology. Consumers are demanding wireless music playback from
MP3 players, and since the voice profile won’t let headsets deliver it to them, A2DP has fudged the underlying rules of Bluetooth audio transmission to let them.