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If you’re a person who tends to be trendy and keep in touch with the latest technologies, Bluetooth technology and Sony Bravia TVs must be your choices. Wireless technologies like Bluetooth are very popular and useful because they eliminate cable clutter in your home, increase usage flexibility and simply make your life easier.
Surprisingly, even when two devices follow the latest trends and seemingly support the same technology, such as Bluetooth, manufacturers sometimes trick us and limit our options in terms of connection.
Many people who bought Sony Bravia TVs encountered problems related to connecting Bluetooth devices they use every day to their new TVs. While reading their complaints and questions, we’ve decided to write this article and help them figure out how to establish a proper connection between a Sony Bravia TV and a Bluetooth speaker, and listen to any audio content through their Bluetooth speakers or headphones.
Table of Contents
- What Is Sony Bravia TV and How Does It Work?
- Android VS Google TV
- Do We Really Need to Use External Speakers with Sony Bravia TVs?
- How to Connect Bluetooth Speaker to Sony Bravia TV?
- Connecting a Bluetooth Speaker to a Sony Bravia TV with a Built-in Bluetooth Transmitter
- Connecting a Bluetooth Speaker to a Sony Bravia TV Without a Built-in Bluetooth Transmitter
What Is Sony Bravia TV and How Does It Work?
BRAVIA stands for “Best Resolution Audio Visual Integrated Architecture”, and it represents one of Sony’s brands used for certain television products and accessories. Bravia first appeared in 2005, when it replaced the LCD WEGA TV brand.
Over the years, Bravia brought us so many innovations related to television technologies such as Internet TV, Android TV, Google TV but it also peeked into the world of smartphones by adding Bravia image processing engine to some Sony smartphone models, starting with Xperia arc.
Sony Bravia TVs are high-resolution TVs offering a full audio/video experience. They deliver amazing picture quality (newer models support 4K) and have great built-in speakers. Bravia products aren’t cheap, but thanks to their incredible picture clarity, a splash of colors, and supreme contrast, they offer awesome cinema-like watching experience.
In fact, Sony Bravia offers even more – it offers live TV, online content streaming, access to different apps (including video game apps), Google Assistant help, etc.
Android VS Google TV
Considering that Sony Bravia TVs are mostly Internet TVs and closely related to Android and Google TVs, let’s say a few words about these platforms for all of you who aren’t so familiar with them.
Android TV can be defined as an Android-based operating system or a smart TV platform built by Google and meant to be used on smart TVs, set-top-boxes, media sticks, etc.
On one hand, Android TV is very similar to other popular smart TV platforms such as Amazon Fire or Roku because they use your home internet connection to stream video content to your smart TV. Another similarity is that you can use your smartphone as a remote control to navigate through the apps, settings, etc.
However, there is one thing that makes Android TV very different from other smart TV platforms, and that is the fact that it’s based on an open platform that Android definitely is. Subsequently, it has access to many apps that would otherwise be unavailable. Android TV is not used only for streaming – it can also be used as an emulator, as a media player, to run different apps, it can be connected to a TV tuner, and you can even play games by simply accessing them from your Google Play store, which makes it a budget gaming console. Plus, it comes with a built-in Chromecast, allowing you to use one of the coolest features nowadays – casting (aka screen mirroring).
Even if you don’t want to test your technical skills, all the basic services such as Netflix, YouTube, Hulu, HBO Max, as well as many live channels are available and easily accessible.
Google TV, on the other hand, can’t be considered just another operating system that is used on smart TVs. We would rather call it a software extension that has been developed to, as they say in Google, enrich user’s entertainment experience by making the browsing process much easier. That way, it saves you precious time and helps you decide faster what to watch next.
How does Google TV achieve that? Well, Google TV actually tracks your previous viewing history in all installed apps and subscriptions. So, the next time you activate it and search for, let’s say some romantic moves, Google TV will offer you some potentially interesting suggestions based on the movies in this category that you have already watched.
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- 6 Best Wireless Earbuds For TV In 2021
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- 8 Best Soundbars for LG TV In 2021
Apart from this, the difference between Android and Google TV is that Android TV is based on Android V9, while Google TV supports only V10. So, to get Google TV, you have to find a way to update your TV software to V10. Luckily, some of the latest Sony Bravia TV models come with pre-installed V10.
Do We Really Need to Use External Speakers with Sony Bravia TVs?
In the introduction, we have mentioned how great Sony Bravia TVs are in terms of both – picture and sound quality. So, why do we need to connect them to Bluetooth speakers? Well, if you would compare a group of Bluetooth speakers of different quality and a group of the best built-in TV speakers, the chances are – Bluetooth speakers would get a better score. The truth is – even the best built-in TV speakers can hardly compete with external speakers.
No matter how great Sony Bravia TVs are, they all have a similar “problem” – these TVs are thin, and the speakers built inside are tiny. An even bigger problem is that Bravia has some limitations in terms of Bluetooth connection, but we are here to show you how to overcome these limitations. We believe that this little trick we are about to show you will help you connect not only your speaker but also your Bluetooth headphones to your new TV. And we all know how useful they can be for private listening.
How to Connect Bluetooth Speaker to Sony Bravia TV?
No matter how amazing Sony Bravia, Roku TV, or some other TVs are, they always come with some limitations forcing consumers to buy only a limited number of compatible products. Sony Bravia users often complain about their TV being unable to pair and connect to random Bluetooth devices.
In case you own a Sony BT speaker or headphones, you can easily go to Sony’s official website and check if your Bravia TV is compatible with them or if it supports Bluetooth at all (that’s probably the first thing to check).
Connecting a Sony Bluetooth speaker to a Bluetooth-enabled Sony TV
If your speaker is not on the list or if you have a speaker of some other brand, you can try to pair it to the TV but you won’t be able to establish the connection. Why? Because Bravia simply doesn’t recognize most Bluetooth products.
Luckily, we have a small trick, or rather two tricks, for you. The first trick applies to Bravia TVs that support Bluetooth and have a built-in Bluetooth transmitter (not just receiver), and the second trick applies to all non-Bluetooth TVs and to all Bluetooth-enabled TVs that only have a Bluetooth receiver (those that don’t have a transmitter).
Connecting a Bluetooth Speaker to a Sony Bravia TV with a Built-in Bluetooth Transmitter
After you make sure that your Bravia TV supports Bluetooth and A2DP profile, you need to install the app that will help you connect your speaker (or some other Bluetooth device). Various apps can do the job well, but we believe that the Bluetooth Pair app is one of the best and most universal.
Once you install it, open it and complete the scan to find all available devices. When you find your Bluetooth speaker among them, click the Pair button, play some music on YouTube and enjoy the sound coming from your favorite Bluetooth speaker.
Connecting a Bluetooth speaker to Sony Bravia TV using the Bluetooth Pair app
Another great application you can try is Bluetooth Scanner, but we have to warn you that it works with and finds only those devices that have Android V8 or later installed.
Connecting a Bluetooth speaker to Sony Bravia TV using the Bluetooth Scanner app
Connecting a Bluetooth Speaker to a Sony Bravia TV Without a Built-in Bluetooth Transmitter
If your TV is only capable of receiving a Bluetooth signal (like from your phone) and can’t transmit the signal to your Bluetooth headphones/speakers, you will have to buy a Bluetooth transmitter. But it can’t be just any transmitter – it has to be the transmitter that supports aptX LL BT codec. Why aptX LL? Because this codec enables the lowest possible latency.
Also, you will have to find the transmitter with the right kind of audio input. If your TV has analog audio outputs (RCA or AUX headphone output), you will need a transmitter with AUX/RCA inputs. If your TV has only digital audio outputs, you will need a transmitter with digital audio inputs.
The installation is usually hassle-free. Just connect your TV to your new Bluetooth transmitter, turn it on, and initiate pairing. If necessary, adjust the sound settings on your TV, and select the right output device.
How to Install and Use a Bluetooth Transmitter
Since the time I got my first pair of headphones in 2012, I’ve been fascinated by these little gadgets that have the power to change our moods through our favorite music. Whether it was the cheap $5 earphones or the premium JBL headphones, I have played my favorite music on tons of different audio devices for all these years.
At AudioReputation, I test and review headphones of all kinds. From popular earbuds like the Airpods pro to the expensive HIFIMAN Susvara, I always perform a deep test and present my honest and unbiased opinion to my readers.