Bluetooth audio transmitter dongle -- recommendations and how-to?
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I don't use my RetroPie setup nearly as much as I'd like to, and one reason is my wife is usually in bed when I have time to game. Since I don't think I can make the PS4 DualShock controller work for audio the same way I do with the PS4 itself, I think the solution is to use an audio transmitter plugged in via USB.
Questions: 1) What do I need to configure to make audio output to USB possible when it's available? 2) Can I tell the Pi to send all output to the transmitter instead of HDMI when it's plugged in, yet still fall back on HDMI when the transmitter is detached? 3) Most important, are there any particular recommendations for USB-to-Bluetooth audio transmitters with a small form factor?
This is a 3B+ so it already has BlueTooth directly, but I've been told it's not up to the task of sending low-latency audio and gaming at the same time. Besides which, I already want to use Bluetooth controllers so maybe that'd be too many devices at once.
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@Lummox-JR For low form factor you could try a more powerful Bluetooth Dongle after disabling the internal one. I've never tried audio on one but they are used to fix controller lag/other issues when the internal Bluetooth doesn't seem to cut it so they may be powerful enough.
Also don't forget you could use a small 3.5mm audio Bluetooth adapter, MPow makes some good quality ones for cheap, I've bought several for different reasons. Just change the audio to 3.5mm in the Retropie Setup audio options and back to HDMI when needed. As far as automatic switching goes, that's beyond me.
Just some suggestions.
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Thanks @KN4THX . While I like the idea of a 3.5mm jack version, the only issue I have there is power. From what I understand, those dongles have to be charged up like anything else, and this solution I'm looking toward would already have me charging the controllers and headphones. The USB versions have the advantage of taking power right from the USB connection.
Of course as it stands I think I'm gonna want to put a charging station next to the couch anyway. My wife and I have a simple setup right now for our phones and iPads where we just plug their charger bricks into an extension cord, but it'd be nice to have a better unit for this sort of thing. I'd love to find something with a tall form factor like a pole for that.
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@Lummox-JR So if you're not wanting the Bluetooth USB either, I'd recommend checking this out :
https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Sound-Issues#using-a-usb-audio-device
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