Blaupunkt Android TV Dongle – smarten up your dumb TV (review)

The Blaupunkt BATV10 adds smart TV features to any TV – be it an older ‘dumb’ model or a smart one running an outdated interface. The Blaupunkt BATV10 uses the Android TV operating system, which is one of the best ways of accessing streaming content on your TV. Unlike many orphaned and generic TV operating systems, this delivers access to a huge range of streaming apps thanks to the Google Play TV Store. This includes Netflix, YouTube, Prime Video and Google Play channels (subscriptions required) as well as access to Disney+, Stan, Foxtel, Kayo, Binge and digital TV catch up (7+, 9 Now, 10 Play, SBS, iView) and much more.

Details: Blaupunkt BATV10 Android TV dongle

What is it?

Blaupunkt BATV10 is a ‘smart TV’ dongle. Simply plug it into a spare HDMI connector, power it up via the micro-USB cable (5V/1A and separate charger supplied) and your television becomes an Android smart TV. Then, sign in to a Google account on your smartphone, and you are ready to start streaming videos, movies and TV shows. You can also still access your regular free-to-air channels by switching your source to ‘TV’ instead of HDMI.

This model is made by SEI Robotics SEI400, and much of the information we discovered applies to it. SEI also makes it for Ayonz EKO KATV10, Motorola 4K, Polaroid SmartBox S, Android TV, Dish TV Smart VU, TIVO Steam 4K, as well as the heart of products from Benq, Dynalink, Epson, Google, Polaroid, Philips Neo/Pico Pix projectors and more. It is in good company.

Main Features – Blaupunkt BATV10

• Android TV OS 10 – there will be no OS upgrades, but it should receive security updates – last update 5 December 2020
• 4K@60FPS capable and will adjust to whatever lower resolution or frame rate TV or PC monitor you attach it to
• Dolby Vision decoder and depending on the TV will display it and subsets including HDR10 and HLG
• Dolby Audio decodes up to 5.1 (not Dolby Atmos)
• Google Assistant, Google TV, Chromecast, Netflix and Prime video certified
• Wi-Fi 5 AC dual-band 2×2 Tx/Rx capable of up to 866Mbps half-duplex (4K streaming capable)
• Bluetooth 5 (can connect external speakers, keyboard and mouse if you need to via the BT Scanner app in the Play Store)
• Amlogic S905Y2 A53 Cortex processor 1.8Ghz (running in 32-bit mode)
• ARM Mali-G31 MP2 600MHz
• 2GB RAM and 8GB eMMC flash (3.5GB free)
• Remote control (IR and BT)

Video and audio capabilities

For those a little more technically inclined, the BATV10 uses the Amlogic S905Y2 processor. This will decode video up to 4K@75Hz, H.264/5, VP9, and AVS2 4K@30fps (China). It will output (depending on the TV) up to 4K@60fps in Dolby Vision, HDR10, and HLG. If you have a 1080p TV, then it will output up to 1080p@60Hz in standard dynamic range. To be clear, whatever it receives, it will convert to your TV panel’s capabilities.

In terms of audio, it will decode Dolby Digital up to 5.1 channels or PCM mono or 2.0. It outputs 2.0 PCM stereo (Left and Right). As far as we know, it does not support Dolby Atmos or DTS.

Using Android TV

Android TV is one of the easiest TV OS with its intuitive horizontal ribbon menus. Over time it can (if you wish) learn your TV likes and present recommendations. It also has the major streaming apps ready to go out of the box, but you can download many more from Google Play. The physical limit is storage space.

One of the nice things about Android OS is that you can get digital versions of Free-to-air TV channels, so if you have lousy antenna reception but lots of NBN data, you can watch TV this way. It also has Spotify and various music streaming services. Have a look at the Google Play store categories – there are heaps.

For controlling it, there’s a remote which includes a Home Button as well as a Google Assistant Button. Then, there’s a multi-directional navigation wheel for accessing menus and selecting what you want to watch.

GadgetGuy’s take

Blaupunkt’s BATV10 adds Android TV to any TV or monitor. We would have commented on image quality but that is solely a function of the TV or monitor. As far as we can see, it neither adds nor subtracts from the native content, so no upscaling.

There are many Android TV dongles to choose from including Google’s own Google TV. For more features, you can go with a set-top-box (STB). STB are range from around $100 to the outstanding $350 Nvidia Shield TV that includes full Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, Ethernet, as well as 4K upscaling (if you have a suitable TV).

However, if you have an older TV and want an inexpensive and simple way to access Netflix and other streaming services on it, the Blaupunkt BATV10 is right for the job.