Bluetooth Dongles and Adapters

clayto · 15 Mar 2020

For my TV I have just replaced an older / failing Soundbar with a new one, which has Bluetooth option. Although I have a smart TV it does not have BT but I understand it is easy to add it. I would like to know what the difference is between using a simple dongle, and a BT adaptor. Both are quite inexpensive (and I have an unused dongle CSR4) anyway but as adaptors cost a bit more and seem more sophisticated I guess they have greater functionality? Also,if I get an adaptor with the required sockets am I right in thinking I can use the RC cable instead of / as well as the the Aux cable?

Will the BT actually work, with either? I can understand it working on my PC (which also has BT) but I am not sure if it will work on the TV without the Windows OS.

Barman58 · 15 Mar 2020

Most if not all modern Sound bars, and full 5.1/7.1 sound processors will come with a Bluetooth installed option. This is added as the majority of households will have various Smartphone, tablets, and other devices with bluetooth support, this allows the user to connect their devices to the sound bar to provide better quality audio than the device itself.

There are some TVs with Bluetooth built in but some of these will just be for using the TV as an output device for portable devices, you can purchase adaptors to add Bluetooth to a TV, ( or any other device with a Jack Sound option, but these are not usually reliable

TVs will usually be connected with some other wired, (or wireless), connection this could be HDMI or jack plug or Phono plugs, or even wireless 2.4 or 5 Ghz (as used in a network)

You could use the Bluetooth for connection but I would recommend a wired connection of some type

Berton · 15 Mar 2020

clayto said:

I would like to know what the difference is between using a simple dongle, and a BT adaptor. Both are quite inexpensive (and I have an unused dongle CSR4) anyway but as adaptors cost a bit more and seem more sophisticated I guess they have greater functionality?

"Dongle" is a common term for anything that plugs into a port on a computer and can refer to USB to Ethernet adapter, USB to Bluetooth, wireless mouse, wireless keyboard, etc. Basically, Bluetooth is a short range wireless versus the 802.11a/b/g/n/ac flavors of Networking. Looking on the Internet shows the CSR4 as a Bluetooth 4 adapter, might check if the newer Bluetooth 5 may be necessary.
CSR4 at DuckDuckGo

Helmut · 15 Mar 2020

Smart TV, I doubt it will take a Bluetooth adapter.
You cannot just plug in a random USB Wireless/Bluetooth adapter there will not be a driver.
A so-called Smart TV just does not have the functionality.

Barman58 · 15 Mar 2020

@Helmut

Just a FYI I have not seen a USB bluetooth dongle for a smart TV, yet, (I have a WIFI N adaptor that fits into my samsung TV HDMI port but that is a Samsung Item so assume the drivers are pre installed for the option.

You can however get universal bluetooth to audio adaptors (they are often RX or TX switchable), so you could use the Headphone out jack from a TV to feed a soundbar via bluetooth

Bluetooth Transmitter Receiver, (AptX Low Latency,A2DP,12 Hour Play) Built-in Mic Hands-free Call, Dual Link with Paring Button, Mpow Portable Wireless Bluetooth Aux Adapter for TV Car Stereo: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

clayto · 17 Mar 2020

I did not expect a BT Dongle to be of use, but as I have one I thought it worth asking before wasting time on a dead end. In contrast there are BT Adaptors which are advertised as being for TVs and other devices.

I have two reasons for being interested in BT for my TV. The first is that I find Aux cables (I have tried a few) a bit unreliable in that the plugs often seem not to fit in securely at the TV end, with just a minor nudge causing them to loosen --- resulting in unpleasant sound interference, and irritating delicate fiddling about to find the spot which restores the sound to acceptability. So BT could provide an alternative worth trying. Connection via RCA cables should be more reliable too? Second, I would like to see if other BT devices can be used with the TV, especially my BT keyboard. There is much about the TV which is like a PC. It came with some apps and others can be installed, and the WWW can be browsed just like a PC. I have only dabbled with it because I find entering text on screen is awkward, hence the interest in seeing if there is a way to use the external BT keyboard.