This is a bit of an unusual query, but if anyone can help it would be appreciated.

I have a standard CRT 28" Hitachi TV and a Pace Sky+ box, all working fine. My wife is profoundly deaf and as such our local health authority supplied her with an infra red device which attaches to the TV, (either through a scart lead or by way of a microphone) and this relays the sound to her using headphones she wears to pick up the infra red signal. It really works well and she finds it a godsend.

My son is also somewhat deaf and so we leant him the device to try at his house to see if it might be a good idea to get him one too. He has a whopping big Sanyo 42" plasma screen + a Sky box. Unfortunately it appears that the plasma screen emits some sort of radiation field which interferes with the infra red transmitter, (it sounds like a lot of static). We have tried moving the transmitter as far away from the set as possible but it only works if you and the transmitter are placed to the left or right of the set, which means that you can't see the screen!

I am quite keen to get a digital TV myself, but obviously if my wife can't hear the sound through her headphones then its a no goer.

My questions are, (sorry its a bit longwinded!):

Does the size of the Plasma screen dictate the amount of radiation, ( in other words, would a smaller plasma screen say of 36" or less be better)?

Does an LCD screen also emit similar radiation and if so is it likely to be more, less or the same?

Obviously I don't want to spend £600+ and find that my wife can't hear the set.

The only other solution I can think of is perhaps investing in a standard headphone set which plugs into the TV but before I do that I would be grateful if anyone might have an answer to the questions posed above.

Many thanks

well its a difficult one ok

nigel goodwin could possibly help you but i will search the internet for you

a wired headphones could be the answer however for ease of use and tidyness it would help being wireless.

i will get back to you

As many home theater aficionados know (first-hand, unfortunately), plasma TVs emit a significant amount of EMI and RFI signals from their surfaces that can confuse nearby IR sensors and render them useless, especially if your home theater gear juts out in front of the display.

http://www.digitaldirect.co.uk/produ...=12850#Scene_1

you can travel a fair way with them and your wife could listen to the radio through sky channels in the garden

at least you can use some with plasma albeit pricey. how long before NHS supplies them?

As Niall says, Plasma sets are EXTREMELY noisey electrically, I often wonder if they truely meet the CE specs?.

You often have trouble with 'magic eyes' on Sky boxes if you have a Plasma TV where the magic eye is - we have a customer with two identical Sony Plasma's, and the magic eye on the second has always been a problem, eventually we managed to maximise it's reliablity by VERY careful positioning. But we couldn't cure it!.

i just copied off the internet as I am very poor and cant afford plasma

Thank you for those comments, at least I know its not me doing anything wrong. I presume that my best bet might be to either go for an LCD screen or more likely a direct earphone connection.

Mind you its a bit frightening realising how much radiation comes from one of these big sets. I suppose its probably ok but the amount of 'noise' produced was very significant and does make you wonder!

Thanks again for your helpful thoughts.

I do wonder if using RF cordless headphones instead of infrared cordless would be any less susceptiable to this problem ?

You don't necessarily have to spend a fortune on RF headphones, but they might not be that good. LINK