The Amazon Fire Stick allows you to enjoy your favorite streaming online. It’s a great way to take your entertainment to the next level. However, while the device is simple, it can be a challenge to connect to your home theater if you don’t know how to. In this article, we will show you how to connect your Amazon Fire Stick to your home theater system or your surround sound system.
How Can A Fire Stick Be Connected to Home Theater?
You can use one or more of the following methods depending on whether your TV and receiver have HDMI ports or not.
Method 1: Plug The Fire Stick Directly Into The Home Theater System or TV
If you have an integrated home theater system like the Samsung HTJ5500 Home Theater then all you need to do is to plug the Fire Stick directly into one of the HDMI ports on the home theater system.
In fact, the best setup for this case is to connect the Firestick to the TV and then connect the TV to the home theater system using an optical cable.
If you do not want to use the optical port, another option is to connect the Firestick to the TV, then do Analog audio (like headphone_out) from the TV to the home theater system. However, if you do this, you will only get stereo sound, not surround.
Method 2: Using An HDMI Cable
If your TV set has an HDMI port, you can connect your fire stick to this port by doing this:
- Plugging your Amazon fire stick into your television’s HDMI port
- Plugging the device into your power source (Your power outlet or USB port can do this)
- Turning your home theater system on
- Using your remote, you can go through the setup and enter your Wi-Fi password
- Logging into your Amazon account
Please note that you can plug your fire stick into your receiver or amplifier, follow the above steps, and get the same results. Please note that this also will not give surround sound.
To get surround sound, you need to plug the Fire STick directly into the home theater system via an HDMI port.
Method 3: Using an HDMI Extender
If there’s no HDMI port on your receiver, you can use an HDMI extender. Since Fire Stick typically comes with this device, you shouldn’t struggle to find it.
Moreover, if you misplace this device, you can find one on Amazon whenever you want. So, once you connect the HDMI extender to the receiver’s input port, you’ll be able to establish the connection and start streaming your favorite content.
Ensure you connect all your HDMI pins to the receiver. Your home theater should start streaming the content once you’ve connected all the pins.
To learn more, check out our article on HDMI splitters or HDMI distribution amplifiers.
Method 4: Connecting A Fire Stcik to an Old Home Theater
If your home theater system comes with analog video ports instead of HDMI ports, you might encounter some problems should you attempt to use the tips we’ve seen above. Instead, it would help if you used a compatible HDMI-to-composite AV converter.
Amazon offers various devices too at affordable rates, so you can shop for one online and achieve your goal. This signal converter for the fire-streaming stick allows you to quickly connect your streaming device to older home theater systems.
Please note that you’ll still require the HDMI extender as well to be able to connect your Amazon fire stick to your home theater system safely.
Method 5: Connecting Via Bluetooth
Bluetooth offers you another perfect solution if you don’t want to mess around with the correct audio settings, cables, and the like.
To use this method, you should plug your 4K Amazon fire stick into your TV and then pair it with your soundbar, AVR, or earphones. However, it’s good to note that this will only give you stereo sound.
How Should I Connect my Amazon Fire Stick to the Right HDMI Port?
Some people complain that connecting Amazon Fire Stick to a home theater system via HDMI ports is difficult or doesn’t guarantee the best experience. That shouldn’t be the case. You should enjoy connecting the devices if you do the following:
- Ensure you connect your AV receiver to the television using Audio Return Channel (ARC) enabled HDMI out on the receiver and the TV’s ARC HDMI before doing anything with your fire stick.
- Use HDMI cables rated for the highest speed.
- Plug your fire stick after connecting your TV and AV receiver. To do this right, you should remember to choose your HDMI port depending on the version of your fire stick.
That means you should plug your fire stick into your receiver’s HDMI input labeled HDCP 2.2 if the streaming device supports 4K. For any other fire stick model, you can use an HDMI port.
- Take advantage of your HDMI extender. If your amazon fire stick is covering the adjacent HDMI ports, consider using this cable. You can do the same if you cannot get the desired reception between your fire stick and the remote. After doing this, you should place your streaming device over or next to your AVR.
Why Do I Need A Unique Port for My 4K Fire Stick?
HDCP 2.2 is the approved copy and content protection standard for 4K apps. So, if you want to stream 4K resolution but your receiver’s or TV’s ports are labeled anything other than WDCP 2.2, one of the following will likely happen. You will either not watch any content or watch it in no other resolution than 1080p.
Why Should I Plug My Amazon Fire Stick into My AVR?
It would make great sense if you plugged your fire stick into your AVR rather than straight into the TV. Some TV sets can pass the audio signals down to AV receivers. If yours falls under this category, plugging the device into AVR is not a requirement.
However, if your TV lacks this capability, it won’t pass the audio signal unless you plug the device into your AVR.
Overall, plugging your fire stick into the correct HDMI port on your AVR is an excellent way of ensuring you get audio.
How Do I Change the Audio Output on My Fire Stick?
Once you’ve connected your Amazon fire stick to your home theater system and turned the power on, you should find the settings to get the right quality of music. Here is what you should do to improve the audio output:
- Go to “Settings”
- Navigate to “ Sound/Display”
- Proceed to “Audio”
- Select “ Dolby Digital Plus Automatic”
Does fire stick have audio settings? You now have the answer. It’s ‘yes.’ You can also adjust the settings as required by using the tips above.
Can you Watch Normal TV on Your Amazon Fire Stick?
Yes, you can watch your standard TV on your Fire Stick. After connecting your fire stick to your home theater system, you can access your favorite channels through your streaming providers. You can also watch the content directly from the apps you’ve downloaded.
What If I Have A Soundbar?
If by home theater system you mean a soundbar, then you can actually connect your Fire Stick directly to your soundbar using HDMI, AUX, or Bluetooth. Check out our article on how to connect a Fire Stick to your soundbar to earn more.
How To Connect A Fire Stick To A Ful Surround Sound System
If you have a full surround sound system e.g a 5.1 surround, then you can connect the Fire Stick to your AV receiver. If you need more information, just plug the Fire Stick into the HDMI input port on the receiver.
How Do I Get Surround Sound With My Fire Stick and Home Theater System?
The only way to get surround sound from your Fire Stick and home theater system is to plug it directly into the Home Theater system via HDMI.
How Do I Connect My Firestick To My Surround Sound Without HDMI?
Whether it’s your TV, receiver, or both devices that you do not have HDMI connections available, you can use an RCA cable and or a converter to have the connection.
Fire Stick Audio Settings
For proper and successful connections, the fire stick settings should be correct. To ensure the audio settings are correct, press the Home button on the remote to the Home Screen. Enter into Settings and select the Dolby Digital Output option. Set the Dolby Digital Plus to off.
Summing Up
Now, as you can see, the perceived difficulty of connecting your Amazon fire stick to your home theater system should not hinder you from giving your home theater the features of smart television. We’ve provided all the simple ways you can establish the connection quickly and answered some of the common questions you might have on the same.