Motorola HT820 Bluetooth Stereo Headset Review

Working with an audio-video system

Typically, at this point we would be finished with our review of ?normal? Bluetooth headsets, but we are using a different beast today. Besides being a more-than-adequate headset for telephony, this headset is designed for use with existing audio-video systems as a wireless headset.

To bridge the gap between your AV system and the HT820, Motorola has a $80 device called the DC800 which connects to your home audio/video system and turns it in a wireless media center.

Motorola DC800 Features:

• Listen to music from your Bluetooth phone’s built-in MP3 player over your home audio system speakers (for phones that support streaming stereo music over Bluetooth using A2DP profile).
• Play music on your home audio system and send the music wirelessly to your Motorola Bluetooth Stereo Headphone.
• Play MP3s from your home computer or laptop and listen to them over your home audio system speakers using another Motorola DC800 Stereo PC Adapter or embedded Bluetooth module with Bluetooth Stereo support.

Specifications:

• Dimensions: 130mm x 150mm x 70mm
• Weight: 3.5 oz.
• Supports Bluetooth Streaming music profile (A2DP)
• Audio input and audio output capabilities
• Designed with advanced Bluetooth Class 1 technology which provides a wire-free range of up to 100m (300 ft.) when used with other Class 1 devices

After pairing the HT820 with the DC800, we were able to listen to the audio from the output of our AV receiver. Whether the source was audio or video, the DC800 did a fine job of transferring signal to the HT820 headset.

Because we were also paired with our cell phone, the music that we were listening to automatically paused when either incoming or outgoing calls were initiated. After the phone calls ended, the music would automatically resume in the headset.

Once the issue of Bluetooth protocols (A2DP and AVRCP) is solved Motorola will have effectively removed the need to have both a headset for your cell phone and for your mp3 player.

To sum the Motorola DC800 up, it streams stereo music to the Motorola HT820. The DC800 can be plugged into your home stereo, television or MP3 player with the included RCA cable or 3.5mm cable. Not bad for something that can be found for under $80.