UKC

Anyone out there able to give me an answer please?
My Mother is 90 years old and pretty much totally deaf although she can carry on a conversation. She reckons that she can't hear her own new TV but she can hear the Smart TV in the lounge.
Is there a difference? As I see/hear it there is no difference, even though I am partially deaf.
Thanks
Colin

In reply to Co1in H: Not sure to be honest. However, as someone with a hearing loss I know it is a problem and I wear aids. I find that there are two problems in that hearing aids amplify the unwanted sounds as well as what you want to hear and also, so I'm told, the speakers on modern tv sets are not very well positioned and the sound is directed downwards instead of outwards. Consequently I often finish up with the bloody subtitles on. On the other hand, when there is a properly trained news reader or announcer speaking clearly and without unnecessary background noise I have no problem and can often hear with the sown turned well down. I finde that some of the worst things to watch are some of the rubbish American films where they tend to shout and have blaring background "music"

In reply to Co1in H:

Could you fit a domestic room loop set up to help?

In reply to Co1in H:

What?

In reply to Co1in H:

There is a room loop in and working and she has a headset for personal listening but she's not overly fond of it.

I wear aids and manage fine without a loop or headset. I agree about background noise and gave up this evening watching The King's Speech because of the overbearing music content.
My wife, who has no deafness issues also says there is nothing wrong with the non smart TV and the sound is fine.
Maybe it's psychological and she just wants to spend money on a smart set even though she has no need for the extra technical content that they offer.

In reply to Co1in H:

I'm so used to subtitles I rarely bother using my aids when watching TV, only when watching DVDs with no subs.

In reply to Skol:

I can't think of anyone with hearing problems myself included who finds that even slightly amusing. Trust me I will sign a response you will be glad you can't hear

In reply to stroppygob:

I tend to use subtitles although they can be useless at times, my annoyance is when they insist on displaying all of a conversion at once so your either ahead or behind (destroys the flow)

In reply to lost1977:


Seconded

In reply to Co1in H:




Is there any harm in her doing this, i.e. can she afford it? If so, why not just go for it?

My stepdad is deaf and his solution, after years of subtitles/misplaced spectacles/etc was to get some super-fancy digital hearing aids - I suspect a different television would have been cheaper (and the dog wouldn't have eaten it, as she did with one of the hearing aids...)

In reply to Co1in H:
My Samsung smart TV has a "clear voice" setting, perhaps that may make a difference between the two sets.

In reply to Tall Clare:

you got me thinking now, my first big purchase when i get back in to work was going to be a new pair of HA's. maybe the 60" plasma with 7.1 surround would be a better purchase

In reply to Co1in H:

I struggle with the normal speakers on a TV and have invested in a soundbar. In fact, it cost more than the TV, but solved my problem.

In reply to imkevinmc:

how do you have your television positioned, for me supper thin tvs can be a nightmare (especially if wall mounted or positioned in a corner)

In reply to Co1in H: Thanks everyone.
The "Clear Voice" facility may answer the question, but I'll have to wait 'till my brother gets back. I mum-sitting for a couple of weeks.

Yes, I suppose she could afford to buy one, but she sat today watching the smart set with the sound off so I'm not really sure yet what is going on.

She is on her second Kindle which sits in the drawer and she has books delivered by the library.
Colin.

In reply to Co1in H:



>


Brilliant! I like the idea of a 90 year old gadget fiend.

In reply to lost1977:

Dedicated Yamaha stand with a Yamaha soundbar. Works a treat

In reply to Co1in H:

One of the downsides of flat-screen TVs is that, being flat, there's no room for a decent speaker. So the sound tends to lack lower and mid response, and ends up pretty tinny. Which I guess is one reason for the profusion of 'sound bars'.

I opened my TV up, removed the piddly little speakers, and fitted 3.5mm jack sockets so I could plug in some cheap speakers from a second-hand mini hifi. In the end, I found a Creative surround sound system, and use that, with a feed taken from the headphone socket. I guess I could do it 'properly' and take the digital audio feed into a decoder and amp, but ICBA...

My local charity shops often have computer surround sound systems for about £10. The speakers in those are likely to be better than the feeble things in the TV.

As for the smart TV sounding better, it may just be that, being a smart TV, they've spent a bit more on the audio chain (or audio signal processing), or, if it's a bigger TV, the speakers are also a bit bigger. Or it's just louder...

In reply to captain paranoia:


More or less what I said.

In reply to mypyrex:


Good. You were right, then...