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Phonak TV Connector help

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I just got new hearing aids that have Bluetooth. I’m trying to connect the TV connector to my not so smart TV which is 8 years old. There is one optical connector that goes to the receiver. There are no other audio out jacks on the back of the TV. Also no headphone jack either. The receiver has no audio out jacks either, and the headphone jack on the front of the receiver is too big. Also if I get an adapter for that, won’t that turn off the speakers so no one else can view the tv too? I don’t know what to do next. Thanks in advance.

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I think you’d need an optical splitter. Splitter would be plugged into TV. It would create two “outs,” one for your receiver, one for TV Connect. Here’s an example, although I have no experience with the device: https://www.amazon.com/ZEXMTE-Digital-Optical-Fiber-Splitter/dp/B07BKQVB8N/ref=asc_df_B07BKQVB8N/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=241973970700&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2353208626206713&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9031807&hvtargid=pla-448760787245&psc=1241

If your TV can output both video and audio via the HDMI-out jack (just unplug the present optical connection and see what happens) then you could use that HDMI connection to feed the receiver and allocate the spdif (optical digital) jack to feed your TV Connector. In that instance you would control speaker audio via the receiver remote and TV Connector volume via the hearing aids or the TV Connector controls. HDMI audio and spdif optical are typically both active. Otherwise, as you say, the headphone out jack mutes the receiver audio output to your speakers.

In reply to @jewfoo

The aids are Phonak Paradise. The receiver is a Yamaha. I’ve ordered an optical splitter and I think that will work. I get that tomorrow (Sat) I will post the results when I hook it up. Thankyou

In reply to @MDB

Hello, I purchased the splitter. I plugged it into the back of the Tv, then plugged in the optical cable that is coming from the receiver into one side and the Tv Connector in the other side. Turn on the TV , bam,
I hear the tv in my aids.
Now: when I turn the receiver On so my husband can listen too, my aids turn off. How can I hook it up so both of us can listen to the TV? Ugh :expressionless: him through the receiver and me through my aids.

Thanks in advanced for your help
Bette.

@eyesr2020 said:

I plugged it into the back of the Tv, then plugged in the optical cable that is coming from the receiver into one side and the Tv Connector in the other side.

You placed the optical splitter on the TV, correct?
From that splitter, one side your TV connector hooks to and the other side of your splitter goes to your receiver input, correct?

Yes, correct. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-V473. If you google that you can see the manual. Thanks for your help
Bette

In reply to @eyesr2020

@eyesr2020 said:

Hello, I purchased the splitter. I plugged it into the back of the Tv, then plugged in the optical cable that is coming from the receiver into one side and the Tv Connector in the other side.

That sounds correct. If you purchased the device that MDB provided a link for above, do all the connections appear secure and tight? I expect that particular splitter is a passive one (no electrical power to run a detector/amplifier and LED) and those split the optical signal so each is weaker and if the alignment of the connectors isn’t right, the signal may drop too much. Active splitters convert the light signal from the source (TV in your case) to an electrical signal, amplify it, and then drive 2 (or more for larger devices or switches) LEDs or laser diodes, one for each output. The active devices are typically more expensive and may be built with better connectors to provide secure and reliable connections. They also don’t actually split the signal so there isn’t loss of light but they require a bit of electrical power to run the electronics.

You might ensure that the short cable from the splitter is plugged securely into the TV - good connectors will “snap” into place and be secure and not wiggle very much. Same for the connectors on the two optical cables running from the splitter to the receiver and the TV connector - they should “snap” into the receptacles on the splitter. Be careful bending the cables - they are typically a single plastic “fiber” and they can easily fracture if bent too much. Plastic fibers also absorb some of the light - for long runs (over 5 meters) the fibers should be glass or higher-quality multi-strand plastic but those are also delicate but perform better optically and are more expensive.

My Oticon TV Adapter 3 has an optical out port - I plug the optical fiber running to a Sonos sound bar into the optical out port so I don’t need to use a splitter. My TV Adapter optical in port connects to the single optical output from the TV. You might check to see if your TV connect has an optical output port - if so you would not need a splitter.

Yes all connections are secure. It works when the receiver is off. That is puzzling to me. When I turn the receiver on I lose the audio on my aids. Crazy. So it’s only half working.

In reply to @VinceJ

The splitter thing doesn’t seem to be working correctly. So tomorrow (Can’t today Because the ball game is on and I am banned from messing around with the TV at this time and just had a Yuengling Chocolate porter) I will try this. Makes sense that this might work, I just have to figure it all out. Thanks for posting.
Bette

@eyesr2020 said:

Yamaha RX-V473. If

I just had a look to the back panel of your receiver:

Yamaha RX-V473 review: Yamaha's budget receiver is light on HDMI inputs8

The Yamaha RX-V473 does a solid job, but its competition offers better value.

There is an audio out output, so instead of trying to connect your audio streamer to the tv using a splitter, you could connect it to this audio output and this would not only allow you to listen to the tv, but also to the radio and other audio sources available on the receiver.

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