Gaming Bluetooth Hands-free Set with Windows 7 & Skype

[sonknuck23]

I'm full of questions today!!

I've decided that it's much easier to play Wii online and use Skype to chat with my buddies rather than get the stupid headset which is only compatible with VERY few games. But, since I need to leave my laptop plugged in (shitty battery) it's real annoying to yell across the room while playing.

I decided that maybe I should get a headset, and then it hit me that a hands-free bluetooth set would be better. (My PC does support bluetooth.)

So, I'm wondering, if I get any old Bluetooth headset (lets say for the PS3 or even one for a mobile phone,) would I connect it to my PC and use it as a mic with Skype?

Running Windows 7

 

[exangel]

It can be done, I had a friend have to do that (with ventrilo, not skype though) temporarily when his real headset's mic broke.
Bluetooth isn't known to have good range with quality though. Headsets are usually best in the ~1 meter range from the receiver.

 

[sonknuck23]

Well My PC desk is right beside my bed.

So it'd be within the same room which is about. . . 1 footstep away from each other haha. So it'd work good.

 

[Originality]

Bluetooth 2.0 is supposed to work up to 10m (line of sight), but really only works 7-8m. Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (enhanced data rate) is supposed to work much further (can't remember if it was 20m or 100m, LoS). Either way, my first experience with bluetooth headsets was bad. It worked terribly on my phone, and I had to struggle to get it to work on my computer (and even then the constant clicking sound was horrible). I returned it for a refund.

EDIT: Correction, Bluetooth falls into classes (similar with memory cards) - class 1 has a 100m range, class 2 is 10m, and class 3 is 1m. If you use a higher class transceiver (e.g. class 1 to connect to a class 2 device) it'll have a slightly longer range than a pure class 2 pairing (due to the increased strength/sensitivity of the transceiver).

There's also Bluetooth 3.0+HS (high speed, utilising WiFi for the actual data transfer and bluetooth for pairing) and 4.0 was completed earlier this year, combining "classic", HS and low power bluetooth protocols.

 

[exangel]

Bluetooth 2.0 is supposed to work up to 10m (line of sight), but really only works 7-8m. Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR (enhanced data rate) is supposed to work much further (can't remember if it was 20m or 100m, LoS). Either way, my first experience with bluetooth headsets was bad. It worked terribly on my phone, and I had to struggle to get it to work on my computer (and even then the constant clicking sound was horrible). I returned it for a refund.

EDIT: Correction, Bluetooth falls into classes (similar with memory cards) - class 1 has a 100m range, class 2 is 10m, and class 3 is 1m. If you use a higher class transceiver (e.g. class 1 to connect to a class 2 device) it'll have a slightly longer range than a pure class 2 pairing (due to the increased strength/sensitivity of the transceiver).

There's also Bluetooth 3.0+HS (high speed, utilising WiFi for the actual data transfer and bluetooth for pairing) and 4.0 was completed earlier this year, combining "classic", HS and low power bluetooth protocols.

Yes, I read up on that before, I didn't think a lot of headsets are out there in class 2 because of additional power consumption.
And my friend that had to use it temporarily found it intolerable for sustained use. Not just because of the sound quality, but because it was designed to hang off his ear and wearing that in a 5 hour raid in world of warcraft was awful. I think he had to set comms to come from his speakers and hang it from his shirt collar to use as a mic only.

 

[Originality]

I would hate to be on the receiving end of that setup - the feedback/echo would be horrible.

My current headset is making it impossible to wear for long because of a lump in the material that now presses against my skull. I thought about using a webcam mic and using my new headphones hooked up to my monitor, except I don't have a working webcam yet.

 

[exangel]

Ventrilo is typically used with a push-to-talk configuration so there is some control over the audio duplication unless people talk over you a lot anyway.

 

[Originality]

In WoW raids, especially guild raids, that's a lot ;p