Setup guide
Connect a phone, tablet or laptop to your wireless transmitter. Play one language of the spoken translation on the device, then connect its audio output to a compatible input on the transmitter; receivers tuned to that transmission hear the selected language. This guide shows which device and link to use, how to match the lead to your transmitter’s input, how to set the level, and what each extra language needs.
SpanVoice turns the room’s sound into a spoken translation. A spare device plays one language through its headphone output into the transmitter you already own, and the receivers you already hand out carry it to every seat. Many systems can take the feed, provided the input type, level and connection are compatible. The sound desk and the desk app on the way in are unchanged; this guide is about the way out.
One device, one lead, one level. Save the setup and check it before each event.
In your SpanVoice admin, open the venue, go to the Settings tab and under Spoken translation make sure Available at this venue is on. Until it is, the audio link plays nothing. Leave Already on when someone arrives off: the device feeding the transmitter switches voice on itself, and the people reading on their own phones are not charged for a voice they did not ask for.
Spoken translation is charged per minute for each language being listened to, not per listener. A transmitter feeding forty receivers costs the same as one phone listening.
The transmitter needs a sound source. Any device that can open a web link and play sound will do: a Windows computer, a tablet, a spare phone. One device sends one language, so a second language on a second channel needs a second device.
The most reliable source is the venue’s Audio link, spanvoice.com/a/<venue code>/<language code>, played in a media player such as VLC through its open-network-stream option. It is on the venue’s Overview page under For your team and in the desk app under Links & QR. A media player may keep playing with the screen off (test your exact device and settings first) and has nothing on screen to tap by mistake. The audience reading page works too: open it, choose the language, press Hear the translation.
A phone or tablet with no headphone socket needs an audio adaptor on its USB-C or Lightning port, and a way to stay powered at the same time: either an adaptor with a charging pass-through, or a device that lasts the whole event on battery. Test the adaptor with the media player before the day; not every adaptor passes audio.
Before the event, on that device: plug in the power, turn on do-not-disturb, set the screen to stay on while charging, and give it the better internet connection if you have a choice. It is now feeding everybody with a receiver.
The device’s headphone socket is an unbalanced stereo output at headphone level. The transmitter end is decided by its input type, not by the size of the socket; two inputs can take the same plug and be wired differently. Find the input specification in the transmitter’s manual or on its rear panel, then pick the lead to match:
For a Windows computer that will do this every week, a small USB audio interface on the computer gives a cleaner, balanced line output than the headphone socket, and the same interface serves the desk app on the way in.
If a hum appears when the lead goes in, unplug the device’s charger for a moment. If the hum stops, it is a ground loop: an inline isolator on the lead, or a DI with its ground lift pressed, fixes it. If the hum stays, look at the lead itself and at anything running nearby that may be inducing interference.
Follow the transmitter’s own guidance for its input first. As a rule, bring the device’s volume up high and set the final loudness on the transmitter’s input gain, watching its peak or clip indicator: a quiet device pushed hard at the transmitter gives hiss; a loud device into a low gain gives a clean signal. If the transmitter has an automatic level control, let it do the work and keep the device out of clipping.
Each language that plays at the same time needs its own playback feed and its own transmission path. A transmitter with a channel selector usually sends one programme at a time on the channel you pick; selecting channel 2 does not add a second input. So a second simultaneous language means either a second transmitter on a different channel, or a system designed with several independent audio inputs. Check the manual for how many inputs transmit at once. The language channels guide covers planning and testing several channels.
The simple setup is one player device per language, each into its own transmitter. Label the receivers or channel numbers by language at the door, and keep the devices apart so nobody swaps leads in the dark.
People who want a language you are not transmitting, or who would rather read, use their own phones at the same time. The receivers and the phones hear the same translation from the same session.
Start a short session from the desk, say a sentence, and listen on a receiver from the back of the room. You should hear the translation a few seconds after the sentence ends. Walk to the far corners to check coverage, which is the transmitter’s job, not SpanVoice’s. Then stop the session. Whether the player picks up again by itself when the real event starts depends on the device and the player, so check it on yours; if it does not, press play when the event goes live.
Many systems can take the feed, provided the input type, level and connection are compatible. Match the lead to the input, not the socket.
| Typical input on the transmitter | Lead from the device | Watch for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| RF belt-pack systems (UHF/VHF) | Unbalanced stereo or mono aux (3.5 mm, 6.35 mm), or balanced XLR with a mic/line switch. | Stereo lead for a stereo aux; a summing lead for a mono input; a DI for a balanced or mic-level input. | Mute-on-silence off. One transmitter per simultaneous language. |
| FM assistive-listening transmitters | Unbalanced line or aux input, often beside a separate microphone input. | Lead matched to the line input; never the microphone input. | Some have automatic level control; set the device volume high so it has something to work with. |
| Infrared systems | Line input on the modulator (unbalanced or balanced), radiators on the wall. | Lead or DI matched to the modulator’s input type. | Line of sight to the radiators is the system’s job; the device does not change it. |
| Wi-Fi or app-based systems | A line input on the server box, or a USB input. | Lead matched to the line input, or a USB connection with no audio lead. | Two network hops: give the player device a wired or strong connection. |
| Hearing loop | Line input on the loop amplifier (often balanced). | DI or a correctly wired lead into the loop amplifier’s line input. | A loop carries one programme for the whole room and is usually reserved for the original language for people with hearing aids; use it for translation only if the room agrees. See the PA and hearing loop guide. |
Put on a receiver and listen; then check the player device, the lead and the transmitter in that order.
Check in order: a session is live and someone is speaking; the player device is playing the audio link (its own volume is up and it is not muted); the lead is in a line or aux input, not a microphone input; the transmitter is on the channel the receivers are set to.
Usually the device volume is low and the transmitter gain is high. Raise the device, lower the gain, and check the lead is seated at both ends.
Check in order: a mute-on-silence or auto-off feature on the transmitter; the device’s power saving or a network interruption on the player; radio coverage where the receiver is.
The player device is not on do-not-disturb. Set it, or use a device with no SIM.
Most often the device locked its screen or paused the browser. Use the audio link in a media player, keep the screen on while charging, and test background playback on that device before the day.
Check the input type (a microphone-level input needs a pad or DI) and then the gain: too much on the device or on the transmitter clips either way.
The device is set to another language, or two devices had their leads swapped. Label the leads.
Still unsure
Tell us the make of your transmitter and we will tell you which socket and which lead.
Talk to usThe free credit lets you test the setup on your own system. No credit card needed.
A$10 of free credit when you sign up, no credit card needed. Credit never expires — use it this week or next year.