Advanced Audio Distribution Profile

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The Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP) defines how high quality audio (stereo or mono) can be streamed from one device to another over a Bluetooth connection^[1] - for example, music streamed from a mobile phone to a wireless headset.

A2DP was initially used in conjunction with an intermediate Bluetooth transceiver that connects to a standard output audio jack, encodes the incoming audio to a Bluetooth-friendly format, and sends the signal wirelessly to Bluetooth headphones that decode and play the audio. However, most Bluetooth 1.1, 1.2, and 2.0 mobile phones and portable media players natively support A2DP, and most newer Bluetooth 2.0 headphones support it as well.^[2] Bluetooth headphones, especially the more advanced models, often come with a microphone and support for the Audio/Video Remote Control (AVRCP), Headset (HSP) and Handsfree (HFP) profiles.

[edit] Operating Systems

Windows XP does not support A2DP out of the box, but some newer Bluetooth USB dongles come with a CD that include A2DP drivers for Windows XP^[2].
Linux desktop distribution is still sketchy. There exists open source code Bluetooth-alsa Project that integrates with ALSA (Linux) to provide any media player that makes use of ALSA to transmit audio over A2DP.
Windows Vista does not support A2DP, although it does look for drivers for it, enabling third parties (or Microsoft) to later provide drivers for A2DP without reworking the entire Bluetooth stack.
As of September 2006, Mac OS X v10.4, the current version of Apple's Mac OS X operating system, does not include support for A2DP; however, the developer preview release of Apple's forthcoming Mac OS X v10.5 does^{[citation needed]}.