How to send Bluetooth audio to non-Bluetooth speakers?
Solution 1:
What I was looking for was a Bluetooth audio (A2DP) receiver. All Bluetooth headsets qualify; some are designed with a 3.5 mini stereo jack so other wired headsets (or speakers) can be swapped in.
Unfortunately, all many Bluetooth receivers seem to suffer from audio lag. This means video ends up not sync'ing with the audio properly. This may be fixed with the upcoming 3.0 version of Bluetooth. See SHIFT: Why you don't have Bluetooth headphones yet for more info.
Update: I did some more research recently. Bluetooth does not have enough bandwidth to transmit raw audio; it must be compressed in some way. This is why there are lag/video sync issues: in many cases the audio signal is delayed by an extra encoding/decoding step.
There are a couple of ways to avoid this problem:
- Skip the extra encoding/decoding. If the paired Bluetooth devices both support the codec being played (like MP3 or SBC) the audio signal does not have to be re-encoded. SBC is the only codec mandated by the Bluetooth spec[PDF].
- Calculate how much lag encoding/decoding will cause, then delay the video signal by that much.
So if you pick your Bluetooth hardware carefully, you may be able to avoid much of that lag. The previously suggested BT3030 seems like it would pair well with the Broadcom Bluetooth chip on my Lenovo X301, but now I am having trouble finding a place to get it.
Solution 2:
this is what I am using now to send BT audio to my speakers in my room.
X2-N88
The Jabra BT3030 Dogtag is the rebranded, more expensive version of the same product. Have your pick, both works just as well with no issues whatsoever.
Solution 3:
I believe the Belkin Bluetooth Music Receiver should do the trick.
http://www.belkin.com/iwcatproductpage.process?product_id=508754