Neither! Just a Sonova label.
I bought it from Costco soon after the K10s came out, and before the great chip shortage.
The box has no obvious brand, just “TV Connector” with a very small Sonova label on one side. So it appears they didn’t bother to rebrand a Kirkland model.
My “Phonak” connectors are Sonova branded as well. One was via ebay, so I have no knowledge of its original provenance. The 1.1 was direct from the phonak mothership, in the same kind of packaging that my hearing aids, Roger On, the battery for the charge case, etc all came in. No version number on the 1.1.
Hope this helps someone.
WH
Mine is like yours. Underneath your velcro will say Connector V2.
So what, if anything, makes the Costco at all different? Maybe they’re just selling the same thing anyway.
@WhiteHat : So it seems the only thing to distinguish the 1.1 from the 1.0 is that the LED only puts out one color. Does yours?
I dunno. Haven’t played around looking at colors much. The V2 is on my desk so I see it all the time.
WH
If you are getting a good enough signal from your TV Connector to your aids, fine – but the signal is getting attenuated somewhat by the TV.
Price! and perhaps availability.
oetgyg, I compliment you on the orderliness and neatness of your behind the TV installation. Mine doesn’t come close to that as I no longer have the agility and dexterity I’d need. Your installation is certainly policed up beautifully. Thanks for sharing.
Some of those HDMI outlets placed “up and under” can be a real challenge; but they help minimize the depth of the TV package. Clif
Yes. Was on a waiting list at Santa Rosa, CA Costco and picked mine up a few weeks ago. 5 stars for the TV Connector and Costco.
So for the noob in the crowd (me) went would someone need this device if the hearing aids are otherwise working properly?
I think that’s a very important distinction. Speakers alter natural sound though. Especially depending on size and quality. I can still hear mostly alright without it. It’s really nice to use instead of headphones when the spouse isn’t watching with me. A lot more convenient.
We have 3 from Costco, all have volume buttons.
Kevin,
The hearing aids usually help but the hearing aid microphones pickup all sounds reaching them and that includes things like room reverberation, noise from equipment like the air handlers for HVAC, the refrigerator or washing machine/drier, the barking dog and so on. With the TV streamer, most aids can be set to receive the stream and mute (or turn down ) the hearing aid microphones so you hear (mostly) the streamed sound without all the extra noise. There is also less processing (no conversion from electric to acoustic at the speaker and then conversion back to electronic in the hearing aid). For me, soft and accented voices are better with the streamed version even though the hearing aids themselves do help. I do not have experience with the Phonak/Costco devices but I think most hearing aid vendors offer a similar device for their aids - Oticon does and I have their version for my OPN S 1 aids. One feature my wife likes is the TV/sound system can be muted totally and I can hear the audio via streaming if she isn’t interested in the program.
Thanks, makes a lot of sense. I had not considered all of the external noise sources (probably because I haven’t experienced heating aids yet).
The first time I used a TV streamer I was watching a baseball game. I thought it was so cool that I could actually hear coaches in the dugout talking to each other. That’s something I never hear when listening through the TV speakers/ soundbar.
I am after something like you mention, the Roger Select, which will let me watch with my family. I rarely watch TV alone.
Do you think I could also use it at the movies?
Can anyone confirm that these other streaming devices like ‘V2’, ‘Connect 2’, ‘TV connect’, etc only send to hearing aids or headphones? And do you need a special one for headphones or can you use the same one as for your hearing aids? This may have been mentioned in the comments but the technical jargon is beyond me. I googled ‘optical splitter’ but it’s still all Geek to me (typo intended).
I need to find out before I go back to audiologist. I find that any time I go to an audiologist I need to have a set of specific questions, otherwise no information or very limited information given.
They only send it to your HAs. You will need another way to get the sound to headphones.
I haven’t done a movie in theater since getting my HAs. I have a Roger On, similar to the select you mention. I can imagine it working in the theater if I had a place to rest it. It doesn’t do so well for music for me when it is pics up acoustically. When it comes on via the cable, either the USB-C cable or the dock, music is great. It didn’t do so well picking up worship music in church. (Preacher’s voice, however, or someone praying, is ace.)
Best wishes!
WH
l have an optical splitter connected to the tv. One connects to my tv connector and the other to my sound system.
There is no loss of audio when using optical splitter.
Thanks WhiteHat,
Good to know.
All these tips are going to add up to the best choices.
Very happy I found this website.
Thank you, Terost, that’s great.
I think I’ll get one - time to tech up! Looks like I’ll need a sound bar or something as well as the optical splitter.
I’m due for new hearing aids in the next year. I’ll check out Costco for ones with T-loop, also invest in a Roger pen or Select which I need anyway.
Roger Pen has been discontinued as that technology came out in 2013.
