|
Post by liffy99 on Dec 3, 2019 11:16:24 GMT
Please move if this is not the right forum for this one !
I succumbed to the lure and bought a standard (not 4k) Firestick this week to plug into my 9 year old Pioneer Kuro 50" plasma (still a gorgeous picture, only now being matched and possibly exceeded with OLED and 4k). And then the fun started . . .
First of all the Firestick has no audio output of its own. I could happily see the video when plugged into the HDMI 1.3 port on the TV, but no sound of course.
Found the TV's optical digital output and hooked that up to my Lyngdorf digital amp. No joy. The TV (like all others I understand) cannot split an audio track from an HDMI source over optical or SPDIF due to copyright limitations. Issue resolved for now by taking an analogue feed from the TV into the amp.
So, this got me wondering about better ways to do this (and reduce the number of leads). I could get the optional HDMI module for the amp (silly price mind you) - but presume I would then plug the Firestick into that and use the video pass through to the TV. Or my Oppo blu ray player has HDMI in and out - if I plug the fire stick into that I would still be met with the inability to split a full resolution audio signal from the audio output. However, rather than take an analogue output, the Oppo at least provides a downsampled digital audio output at 16/48 which should be better than analogue.
An AV receiver would probably be a solution, but that would be going backward in audio quality at the prices I could afford (Lyngddorf MP60 anyone - ouch) and I don't need all the channels etc.
What have other done with their Firesticks
|
|
|
Post by Pinch on Dec 3, 2019 14:59:37 GMT
That's odd. The audio from my two connected HDMI devices - Firestick and games console - runs from my TV's optical output into my DAC without any problems.
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on Dec 3, 2019 15:10:05 GMT
I use the Toslink from my TV to the digital TAD Pre
Previously RCA from TV to Belles Pre
|
|
|
Post by liffy99 on Dec 3, 2019 19:35:22 GMT
Must be down to the TV then. On my Pioneer the digital outputs are disabled if the source is HDMI. What output resolution do you get from your TV over optical ? I suspect it is downsampled from the 24/96 or 24/192 that comes across from HDMI. That would be the same as my OPPO does.
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on Dec 3, 2019 20:52:27 GMT
My source is SCART from Tivo and the TV itself, coax from Freeview box Will try HDMI and see if that changes it Hang on the Firestick is HDMI and works fine
I was surprised and dead happy it worked !
No idea what resolution I get. TV doesn't do optical in
|
|
|
Post by Slinger on Dec 3, 2019 21:21:40 GMT
Daft question: Have you checked the audio settings on the Fire stick? "Dolby Digital Plus" can cause problems. If you go to "Home" on the Fire Stick menu and then Settings > Display & Sounds You can check that the "Dolby Digital Plus" is switched off.
|
|
|
Post by liffy99 on Dec 3, 2019 22:41:27 GMT
Yes, did that. I think it’s simply a matter of what manufacturers are prepared to allow through a digital output. They cannot pass the full, high res signal through optical or spdif as there is no final HDMI handshake at the receiving end. But some , like my OPPO blu ray player, but not my Pioneer tV, will pass a downsampled digital stream. I can live with Analogue for Amazon Prime until a new TV comes along (or I can persuade Lyngdorf to charge a reasonable price for their HDMI module - crikey, £500 would buy me a whole AV receiver.).
|
|
|
Post by naim1425 on Dec 4, 2019 17:53:17 GMT
has this not got something to do with ARC audio return channel, because on my stick and NVidia shield i play 4k movies through Netflix and get Dolby digital 5.1,the shield and stick is plugged into the oled TV for the 4k picture part and the sound comes through a pioneer 1080p av receiver when i played the shield/stick through the av amp the 4k picture was scaled down to 1080p.that's why im looking for a new av amp with 4k pass through also is the hdmi set to pass through,i may be totally wrong,but just a thought.when i get a chance i will look at the stick settings.
|
|
|
Post by liffy99 on Dec 4, 2019 19:57:03 GMT
I’m ok with getting analogue audio out of the TV for now. 4K, OLED, ARC etc are not part of a 9 year old TV. I was just trying to get a digital audio out, in mete 2 channel. I can probably do this through my OPPO or HDMI de-embedded. When I am rich I will buy a new TV but probably never be able to afford a Lyngdorf MP60 😂
|
|
|
Post by Slinger on Nov 3, 2020 14:04:01 GMT
I'm recycling this thread because it seemed daft starting another one with the same title. If you've got Amazon Prime, and you've got a 4K capable telly, but not a 4K Amazon Fire stick/dongle/whatever now's the time to get one as they're twenty quid off, i.e. £29.99 instead of £49.99. The other versions are all reduced too. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079QB9BD7
|
|
|
Post by Clive on Nov 3, 2020 15:03:50 GMT
I'm recycling this thread because it seemed daft starting another one with the same title. If you've got Amazon Prime, and you've got a 4K capable telly, but not a 4K Amazon Fire stick/dongle/whatever now's the time to get one as they're twenty quid off, i.e. £29.99 instead of £49.99. The other versions are all reduced too. www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079QB9BD7It's worth getting a 4k stick even for a 1080p telly. The HDR processing in the 4k stick results in a better picture.
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on Nov 3, 2020 16:08:27 GMT
Good point Slinger and CliveThat might tempt me to buy another as we still have audio dropout on the Alex but probably not 4k one <later> Box says 2nd Gen <later still> The HD has more buttons. Must be easier to navigate
|
|
|
Post by Slinger on Jun 2, 2022 15:06:04 GMT
I've had to bite the bullet and upgrade my original 4K "box" to a Stick. Several times lately my existing setup has rebooted for no good reason, or simply refused to function until powered down and powered back up again. I thought it prudent to replace it before it crapped out altogether. I'm sorry to see it go in many ways. It's served me well, considering it was a refurb when I bought it in 2018. June 1st 2018 to be precise, so it's given me 4 years for the £75.00 it cost at the time. It was, I believe, their top-of-the-line product at the time. Now, for the princely sum of £44.99 I've got the all-singing, all-dancing "Fire TV Stick 4K Max". I paid the extra tenner for Wi-Fi 6 capability. I haven't got a Wi-Fi 6 router, but £10 for a bit of future-proofing seemed reasonable. I also bought an "Amazon Ethernet Adaptor for Fire TV" so I could keep it on the wired network, and not have to rely on WiFi. Initial reactions are that it's smoother and faster than my old box. I'm not happy with the new interface out of the box, but I spent a lot of time with the old one and knew it inside out. I think it will probably end up being 50% me adapting the new interface, and 50% me adapting TO the new interface. I must commend Amazon for the stuff included in the box. There's a USB lead and a mains plug with a USB socket. My TV happily powers the device from one of its USB sockets, however, so that's saved a mains socket as the old model was plugged into the mains via a PSU. Also in the box is a little 4-inch approx lead that is an "HDMI extender". I looked at it and wondered why I might need to extend an HDMI lead by 4 inches. Then I tried to plug the stick into my Yamaha AV receiver and realised that the stick is too wide to fit between HDMI plugs on either side of it. It was then that I realised what the HDMI extender was actually for. It plugs into the receiver, the stick plugs into it. Neat. 2 x AAA batteries for the remote are also included. The setup was as smooth and simple as could be, and it happily synced to my Amazon account at the end of it. One other little bonus: my old box was connected to the receiver via an AQ Carbon HDMI lead, which of course is now surplus to requirements as the stick plugs into the receiver directly, so when my knees stop shouting at me for crawling about behind the telly I shall have to check and see if there's an AQ Cinnamon somewhere I can replace. Externally, it has a single micro-USB socket, and that's all she wrote. That's why I needed the Ethernet Adaptor. It's a cute little thing that plugs into the micro-USB socket via a short lead and has a neat little black box hanging off of it, with an RJ45 socket, and another micro-USB socket. Shove your ethernet and power cables into the relevant holes and Robert's your father's brother. I know that was all a bit long-winded, but I thought it might be useful to anyone thinking of upgrading or for first-time buyers. Oh, and I bought a nice bright red "grippy" cover for the remote too, in hopes that it makes it harder to lose. I've just found out that for an extra quid I could have got one that glows in the dark. Dammit! Anyway, that's the new Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max.
|
|
|
Post by MikeMusic on Jun 2, 2022 15:23:09 GMT
Nice to know if ours becomes a problem A free mains socket could be useful
What do you plug into the micro USB ? Also lost on ethernet and power into relevant holes Type s l o w l y
Externally, it has a single micro-USB socket, and that's all she wrote. That's why I needed the Ethernet Adaptor. It's a cute little thing that plugs into the micro-USB socket via a short lead and has a neat little black box hanging off of it, with an RJ45 socket, and another micro-USB socket. Shove your ethernet and power cables into the relevant holes
|
|
|
Post by Slinger on Jun 2, 2022 15:55:57 GMT
Normally, the only thing that goes into the micro-USB socket is the power, because the chances are that you're using WiFi to connect your Fire Stick to your network. Most TVs now have USB sockets around the back, and they're good enough to provide the 1A you need to power the stick, so you can run the USB lead provided from the stick to the USB socket on the TV. Some older TVs only have 0.5A USB sockets. It's easy to tell which sort your telly has. If it's 0.5A then the Fire Stick won't power up. It's that simple. If that's the case then you need the mains plug with the USB socket provided by Amazon, and you run your USB lead from that to the micro-USB port on the Fire Stick. If, like me, you've got a wired network connection to your Fire Stick, then, and only then, do you need the Ethernet Adaptor.
|
|
|
Post by brian2957 on Jun 2, 2022 17:28:33 GMT
I got a Firestick 4K with Alexa voice control a few weeks ago and must say it's a lovely piece of kit. I've been using it on wifi (app 10m from the router in the same room) and must say the picture quality is exceptional IMO. I think I may be able to use it wired. Are there any gains to be had in doing so Paul ?
|
|
|
Post by Slinger on Jun 2, 2022 17:47:48 GMT
I got a Firestick 4K with Alexa voice control a few weeks ago and must say it's a lovely piece of kit. I've been using it on wifi (app 10m from the router in the same room) and must say the picture quality is exceptional IMO. I think I may be able to use it wired. Are there any gains to be had in doing so Paul ? Much the same with using a wired connection from a router to a music server, it's a more reliable connection, and, theoretically at least, a " better" connection. I've got my Raspberry Pi/Volumio streamer hard wired too, plus the PC, both NAS boxes and my printer. I fortgot the TV when I installed it all, but it seems happy with WiFi. The usual rule applies: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you're happy with your picture etc. There's probably no reason for you to go hard-wired. It was a deliberate move on my part, just something I wanted to do with the music setup for starters to maximise throughput, so I measured up and ordered all the cables from Blue Jeans in one fell swoop.
|
|
|
Post by brian2957 on Jun 2, 2022 18:40:44 GMT
I got a Firestick 4K with Alexa voice control a few weeks ago and must say it's a lovely piece of kit. I've been using it on wifi (app 10m from the router in the same room) and must say the picture quality is exceptional IMO. I think I may be able to use it wired. Are there any gains to be had in doing so Paul ? Much the same with using a wired connection from a router to a music server, it's a more reliable connection, and, theoretically at least, a " better" connection. I've got my Raspberry Pi/Volumio streamer hard wired too, plus the PC, both NAS boxes and my printer. I fortgot the TV when I installed it all, but it seems happy with WiFi. The usual rule applies: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. If you're happy with your picture etc. There's probably no reason for you to go hard-wired. It was a deliberate move on my part, just something I wanted to do with the music setup for starters to maximise throughput, so I measured up and ordered all the cables from Blue Jeans in one fell swoop. My music server/computer is hard wired to the router mate as was the telly. However, I prefer to use the Firestick to access Netflix etc. as the Firestick makes the apps on the TV look rather 'clunky'. I think I'll leave well alone. Thanks
|
|
|
Post by MartinT on Jun 2, 2022 20:04:28 GMT
I'm still using a Roku HD streamer on the kitchen TV and I do think the apps work well and it's stable.
|
|
|
Post by naim1425 on Jun 3, 2022 14:37:45 GMT
I have a few 4k fire sticks and a fire tv cube in Amazon last sale half price ish which you get the Ethernet connection box with it ,the connector is only 100 Mbps but most people will just use WiFi they are good for the price and easy to set up but still the nvidia shield is still far superior as it has a plex server built in,fire sticks are very easy to install IPTV and it’s good for Plex just have to change a few settings.
|
|